Teenage Cave Man

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens with black and white images of prehistoric cave art. A narrator tells us, "In the beginning there was chaos and eternal night. And a voice said, 'let there be light' and the dark was separated from the night. There was created the waters and the land and there were made the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night, and the stars to give light to the darkness. The Earth was made to bear growing green things and fruit. The animals were created and they were fruitful and multiplied. And then there came man." A torch burns on a cave wall. Title and credits follow.The Curly-Haired Boy (Jonathan Haze) calls to the other tribe members carrying a dead elk back to the village (Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA). The Symbol Maker's wife (June Jocelyn) talks to her husband, the Symbol Maker (Leslie Bradley). He asks, "Where is the boy?" The wife mimes, beyond the river. The Symbol Maker's Teenage Son (Robert Vaughn) leans against a tree holding a spear. His father approaches. The father reminds his son of the law. The son admits he did go beyond the river, but only a little way. He argues that the area is plentiful with game, but his father tells him it is forbidden. The Symbol Maker tells his son it is a place of sickness and death. The Symbol Maker admits that he once visited the forbidden area, but only once. He warns of a creature known as The God that Gives Death with its Touch. The Symbol Maker tells his son it is time to return to the village.The Black-Bearded One (Frank DeKova) tells the Blond Maiden (Darah Marshall) that the Symbol Maker's Son will not reach the rights of manhood. There is a growing antagonism between The Black-Beaded One and the Symbol Maker's Son. Three men sit in the center of the village. The Symbol Maker's Son asks the first, "Why do you do what you do?" The Tender of Fire (Robert Shayne) answers, "It's the first of the three great gifts of man." The Symbol Maker's Son asks the second man, "What good is it to worship a thing that turns?" The Turner of Wheel (Joseph Hamilton) replies, "It is the second of the great gifts of man." The Black-Bearded Man asks the Symbol Maker's Son if he questions the keepers of the gifts often. The Symbol Maker's Son asks the third why he builds and then breaks. Breaker and Builder (Marshall Bradford) replies, "It's the third gift to man and the first great lesson." The Black-Bearded One has an agenda, and it involves taunting then tempting the Symbol Maker's Son to violate the law.That evening the Elder Keeper of the Law (Charles P. Thompson) announces that before the hunt two symbol makers are the glory and the life. Their power is to insure a good hunt. They have the power to see visions. The Symbol Maker reminds his son that it is against the law to question the signs and gifts of the gods. The son asks his father what the God that Gives Death with its Touch looks like. After the signs are made, the male tribe members venture off to hunt. The Symbol Maker is attacked and injured by a bear. The hunters return to camp carrying the bear, and the Symbol Maker on a stretcher. The Elder Keeper of the Law tends the Symbol Maker's wounds. The Black-Bearded One again tells the Symbol Maker's Son that one brave man could supply enough food for many days. He then limps over to the Tender of Fire. He asks, "What is the punishment for questioning the law?" The reply is that he be shunned for a time, but if evil comes to the village, then death is the prescribed penalty.The Curly-Haired Boy practices his fighting skills with the Fair-Haired Boy (Beach Dickerson) and wins. He hands the spear to the Symbol Maker's Son. The Symbol Maker's Son tells his clan members that the meat won't last long so another hunt must be arranged. He tells them that just beyond the river there is plenty of meat. The tribe members are horrified by the concept of breaking the law and walk away. They remind the Symbol Maker's Son of the dangers. At first light, the Symbol Maker's Son and three young clan members venture to the river, then beyond. They encounter two large lizards and watch them battle each other. The Fair-Haired Boy falls into quicksand, and despite the others' best efforts, he sinks to his death. Two boys return to the village but the Symbol Maker's Son continues the hunt alone. He sees more strange animals. He builds a fire and cooks a small game animal for dinner. A large, hairy, ape-like creature approaches the Symbol Maker's Son and his fire. It has large hemispherical eyes and a trunk like an elephant. The Symbol Maker's Son runs away from the creature, and hits his head on a tree and is knocked unconscious.In the village, the Elder Keeper of the Law announces, "The blood is clean. The Symbol Maker wakes. He asks after his son." The Symbol Maker asks his wife to fetch his son, but she informs him the boy is not in the village, but beyond the river. The Black-Bearded One confronts the Symbol Maker. He warns him that death will be visited upon the tribe. The Symbol Maker vows to go retrieve his sun in three days.The Symbol Maker's Son finally wakes and gets an idea. He fashions a primitive bow and arrow. With it he kills a deer. The Symbol Maker leaves camp. The Symbol Maker's Son carries the deer back to camp. A pack of dogs follows him. They get his deer and attack him. The Symbol Maker sees the attack and assists his son, killing the dog. Symbol Maker and son return to the village. The Black-Bearded One talks to the clan. He demands the Symbol Maker's Son be punished with death. The Symbol Maker, speaking for the defense, reminds the clan that everyone has questioned the law. He stipulates the law was broken, but since no evil has presented itself, he recommends shunning. Over strong objections by the Black-Bearded One, the Elder Keeper of the Law decrees the punishment of shunning. The Black-Bearded One is incensed and tries to take the law into his own hands and attacks the boy. The Elder Keeper of the Law breaks up the fight with a strong word.The Blond Maiden goes for a bath. The Symbol Makers Son entertains her with his pan pipes. She is amused, and contrary to the law, she speaks to him. She reminds him to abide by the law. A man on horseback wanders into the village. The Black-Bearded One wants it killed. The Symbol Makers Son proclaims the creature is just a man on an animal. The Man from the Burning Plains falls off and the horse rides away. The Symbol Makers son tries to protect the bearded stranger, but BB kills the stranger after he utters but one word, Peace.A tribal elder meeting is called. The Symbol Maker speaks of other clans and the need for contact. The Black-Bearded One argues against such contact. In addition he demands the position of Symbol Maker. The Symbol Maker is removed from his position and the Black-Bearded One is made the new symbol maker. A ceremony is held for the Symbol Maker's Son--entrance into manhood. The Symbol Maker's Son agrees to hold to the word and to the law. Part of the ceremony is the revealing of ancient symbols left by the gods. One is a meteor. The Black-Bearded One again antagonizes the Symbol Maker's Son. The Symbol Maker's Son warns the Black-Bearded One to stay in front of him when they go to the cave to make symbols. He foresees one dead by the other's hand. The Symbol Maker's Son and the Blond Maiden engage in conversation. She suggests a place of their own higher up on the mountain. He tells his woman he still dreams of the forbidden area. He reveals his goal is to seek the God that Gives Death with its Touch. He prepares for the journey. The Blond Maiden goes to see the former Symbol Maker and tells him his son has gone beyond the river. Father intends to go after his son. As he departs, the Black-Bearded one stirs up trouble with the clan. The men of the clan go after father and son. They want to prevent evil from coming to their village.The Black-Bearded One tells the men to cross the river, but the Blond Tribe Member (Ed Nelson) questions the orders. The Black-Bearded One crosses the river and promises that the journey is righteous and that no harm will come to the clan. The men do follow. The dogs catch the scent of the men. The Symbol Maker's Son finds the God he seeks and aims his bow and arrow at the creature. The clan reaches the former Symbol Maker and his son just as the dogs attack. Both the Blond Tribe Member and the Curly-Haired Boy are attacked. The Black-Bearded One climbs to a higher vantage and throws a rock on the hairy creature. Incensed, the Symbol Maker's Son shoots his arrow and kills the Black-Bearded One. The Symbol Maker's Son cautiously approaches the creature and pulls the head off. Underneath is a very old man with white hair and a white beard. He searches the body and finds a book. He opens the book and shows his father pictures: two men shaking hands, pictures of the New York skyline, and the explosion of the atomic bomb. The clan leaves the body and returns to their village. A narrator, the dead creature, tells us, "I and a party of 23 others were on a scientific expedition when the bombs began to fall. The terrible power of nuclear weapons was unleashed all over the world. Retaliation added to retaliation until all traces of man's works had been wiped from the face of the Earth. Of the few living things that escaped the blast, some grew huge beyond all reason and formed as the dinosaurs of pre-history, or took on new shapes all together: Mad in shape and purpose. My comrades and I, half-protected by our radiation suits, found ourselves given an age far beyond the span allowed. Out of all the sprawling millions of the Earth, a handful escaped all harm, through fortune or design. After the holocaust the wisest of them set down a long list of taboos, the laws are in the form of a religion now. It is strange to see them living life of Cro-Magnon man and not knowing why. On occasion we tried to contact them, but they feared us and our radiation killed those who came too close. Now only I'm left and the radiation is worn away these long, long years. Now a new one thinks and wonders about the proof of the law. Perhaps man will dare try again. I am very lonely, very, very tired. This happened a long time ago and as you know men did meet other men. And fire smelted metal, made explosives, the wheel turned machines and made gun barrels. The towers were built and flattened. How many times? Will it happen again? And if it does, will any at all survive the next time? Or will it be the end?" We close with a scene of the clan walking single file out of the canyon and a torch burning in the cave.

Tags: murder

Review:
Okay: low budget, bad acting,  cheesy spliced-in scenes from other "dinosaur" movies.
Conceived in the era of the 1950's nuclear holocaust scare, TEENAGE CAVEMAN is an inspired (albeit low-budget) reflection of this period's fears and a worthy attempt by producer/director Roger Corman to present more serious subject matter in the sci-fi genre.On the plus side is the noteworthy script by R.
Mr. Campbell's association with Roger Corman includes scripts for FIVE GUNS WEST, MACHINE GUN KELLY, THE YOUNG RACERS, MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (in which he re-wrote "Twilight Zone" fantasist Charles Beaumont's submitted script for this film) and THE SECRET INVASION.
Borrowing heavily the plot and ideas from Stephen Vincent Benet's short story, "By the Waters of Babylon," Campbell presents the intelligent, inquisitive and introspective son of the "symbol maker" (earnestly played by a 26 year old Robert Vaughn), who attempts to extend the boundaries of knowledge and existence well beyond the immediate environs.
Glasser is one of the unsung maestros of film scoring in the sci-fi "B" genre (along with his contemporaries such as Ronald Stein, Paul Dunlap, Raoul Krausher, Marlin Skiles and Walter Greene) and many a low-budget feature has benefited considerably from his skilled and gifted contribution.TEENAGE CAVEMAN quietly presents its message to the viewer with sincerity and dignity.
It stands as an honourable effort to enlighten as well as to entertain and exemplifies that in good film-making with the constraints of time and budget, the necessity of more creativity, ingenuity and talent to fill the gap..
Teenage Caveman is an enjoyable Prehistoric adventure from Roger Corman and I taped this when BBC2 screened it during the early hours some years ago.A young caveman goes against warnings and decides to explore the land beyond the river where his tribe live.
There are plenty of dangers our there, including stock footage dinosaurs from One Million BC and Unknown Island, a pack of wild dogs and, best of all, a very strange looking "monster" that turns out to be a man in a radiation suit.
We then learn that after a nuclear war, this part of the World went back to Prehistoric times.Being made in the Atomic Age, this movie show was yet another theory what people thought could have happened in the event of any nuclear war.
At the end, we also get to briefly see clips from other AIP movies including The She Creature.The cast includes a young Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE, The Magnificent Severn, Hustle) and sci-fi B movie regulars Jonathan Haze (Little Shop of Horrors, It Conquered the World), Ed Nelson (The Brain Eaters) and Robert Shayne (The Neanderthal Man, The Giant Claw).Teenage Caveman is a good way to spend just over an hour one afternoon or evening.
Although its obviously low budget and cheesy special effects prevent this early Roger Corman film from a higher rating, Teenage Cave Man actually turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would.
It shows that in every generation teens rebel, even back in prehistory.Robert Vaughn who later turned in performances as rather sophisticated people be they good guys or bad guys, is a rather erudite teen Cro Magnon who does not think the tribal religion has all the answers.
His tribe is restricted in its turf by the Word which gives them only certain parameters to live.Frank DeKova is our villain, a hidebound sort of caveman, a fundamentalist in his beliefs who says death should happen to those who wander out of the tribal area.
And the film has a surprise ending, very similar to Planet Of The Apes which many critics have compared Teenage Cave Man with.Or for me this could easily have been a good Twilight Zone episode, as directed by Roger Corman..
It stars THE MAN FROM UNCLE's Robert Vaughn as a 26-year-old "boy" who defies his tribe's law by daring to venture forth "beyond the river" to the other side, where he is met by quicksand and a few silly creatures.
The acting is atrocious, the effects are dire, and as for the dialogue...Let's just say that this must be watched, just so you know how not to make a caveman film..
Corman shows promise in this early directoral effort, and the story does have a neat twist at the end (if you make it that far), All that said, the slow, dragging plot and the non-existent production values make it a chore to watch.
Is actually somewhat better than most B-movies(and most Roger Corman movies, not that there really is a difference), mainly due to parts of the plot.
That said, by any other standard, it is still a pretty clumsy looking film with a number of silly scenes, which earned it a place on MST3K.
The film dragged on and on, its action scenes were lazy, and the writing was pretty bad.
And don't worry, they speak perfectly good English without a bunch of distracting grunts & pronoun misuse.Robert Vaughn plays the teen coming of age in the film on his way to becoming a man...
'Teenage Cave Man' is officially declared as 'one of the worst movies ever made'.
Even Roger Corman himself has famously said, "I never directed a film called Teenage Cave Man".
And Teenage Cave Man Robert Vaughn himself stated that he considers it worst film ever made.
The themes Corman played with 'Teenage Cave Man' are actually pretty intriguing (following some abstract rule with no explanation, standing by the dogmas, hunger for power, should father be punished for the crimes of his son - yes, it sounds like quite messy soap opera, but like I said - well developed screenplay).
In 2002, Larry Clarke directed a film with same title and loosely based its premise on Corman's film, but never fully used the potential of the material in hand, but the original 'Teenage Cave Man' is worthy enough to give it a shot.
Roger Corman has directed over fifty films (and at age ninety is still active as of this writing as a producer,) some of them, recognized classics of the B-movie genre, such as The Little Shop of Horrors, Bloody Mama, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and the series of Poe-inspired horror movies featuring Vincent Price, but many others so quickly and cheaply made that they are esteemed as classics of the "so-bad-it's good" genre.This film is firmly in the latter category.
Teenage Caveman, obviously made to take advantage of the 1950s brief fad for "I was a teen-age ..." films, is notable mostly for starring Robert Vaughn in what he said was the worst film he ever made.
Production values are minimal -- I've seen worse, but not often -- the cast members look more like they belong in a 1950s TV ad for vacuum cleaners than in the Upper Paleolithic, and the acting, if it is no worse than you would expect in a high school play, is not any better.
The way the cave people talk is extremely lame.They can't figure out the concept of naming people but can call people things like "the fair haired boy".Of course,the teenagers look to be about 40.There obviously weren't any real teenagers in the 50s.
This movie, done by Roger Corman, and marketed strictly to the drive-in set of the fifties, is pretty bad, and I am very patient with the B-movies of this time.
As a Roger Corman fan this one was a must see.Robert Vaughn who was later to star on TVs man from u.n.c.l.e.plays the title role of a rebellious youth who dares questions the laws of the tribe.there's plenty of stock footage from; one million bc(1940)with the big lizards with fins glued on their backs.but there's a surprise ending.the more recent movie; the village(2004)seems to borrow from this.teenage caveman was originally titled;prehistoric world,but American international wanted to cash in on their other 2 movies teenage werewolf and teenage franken- stein which were both hits.f-troop star frank DeKova also stars.this is on a double feature DVD with viking women and the sea serpent,another corman flick.Roger Corman had a way of making entertaining movies on low budgets.I'm giving it 6 out of 10..
I thought this film was actually pretty good.
I actually liked the plot and I think that most of the filmÕs flaws were caused by low budget, and hence problems with the cost of reshooting scenes or being able to get better caveman costumes.
Sure it's bad but it's an early Roger Corman film!.
Robert Vaughn (hair perfectly styled and all) plays a teenage caveman (duh) who questions why his tribe can't go in a certain part of the wilderness.
Fun. Teenage Caveman (1958) ** (out of 4) Roger Corman/AIP cheapie about a young caveman (Robert Vaughn) who travels across the evil even after being warned that evil will fall upon him.
This ultra low budget film, like the above one, is cheaply made but it provides enough entertainment in its short 66-minute running time.
(sound of snapping fingers)Starring a young Robert Vaughn as a cave man, every hair slicked down and combed into place, looking like the "Man From UNCLE" in a fur dress and booties.
Also features one of the worst monsters ever seen on screen.Go see the original "Little Shop of Horrors" again to prove that a movie made in two days can actually be good!.
Kind of like that other film that MST3K did, I think the name was Teenagers From Space, the one with the killer lobster.
The closest thing to a teenager in this one is the young maiden and Robert Vaughn who is the title character, but he was like 25 when this was made and not a young looking 25 either.
He is quite stubborn in his ways and will stop at nothing to learn the truth.This film, made for a pretty good episode of MST3K.
Many of the riffs were directed at Robert Vaughn's age as he clearly is no teen, and also to the many uses of footage from other films in certain areas.
The most notable thing about the film is that it does have a young Robert Vaughn as its star, after that it has a bit of a twist at the end that is kind of like one found in an M.
The commentary is hilarious but the story also manages to be somewhat intriguing.There are what seem to be obvious flaws in the plot and even the wardrobe and outfitting of the cavemen that make the whole film seem silly until you get a surprise ending that you wouldn't be able to predict.
The acting is bad and the cavemen are far too clad, but you don't seem to care entirely I wouldn't recommend actually trying to watch this on it's own, you need MST to make it enjoyable but at least it was a serious film which didn't entirely fail to entertain you and get it's point across.As a side note, I saw quite a few ideas here that have been used by Jean M Auel in her Clan of the Cave Bear portrayal of the Clan, even down to the name of the people.
The much older b/w flick "Teenage Caveman" was a real surprise therefore, remarkably ambitious for a B movie.
Young Robert Vaughn, a few years before "The Magnificent Seven", stars as a caveman who is challenging the elders of the tribe by trespassing the forbidden lands beyond the river.
(oh, it's hard sometimes to write a spoiler-free review and don't tell too much!) "Teenage Caveman" has an unusual philosophical edge to it, asking questions like "why are we here" and "what is beyond our world", and it makes clear that curiosity and restlessness are the driving forces for mankind's progress.
"Teenage Cavemen" was obviously intended to be a cheapo "exploitation" film (in the manner of "I was A Teenage Werewolf" and "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein") and indeed, its origins as a Corman "3 Day Wonder" are obvious - it's so shabbily made and so obviously hacked out that it barely holds together as a movie at all.
But still, there is just a bit of an edge to this one, a little more depth and interest.I've always liked Robert ("Man From UNCLE") Vaughn.
***SPOILER FOLLOWS*** By this I mean that the post-apocalyptic denouement actually does play fair with the viewer within the limits of the film, and the ending does give me a little shudder, even now.Like most Corman movies, this one is mostly of historical interest, but it does pack a bit more punch than most of his output, even if only by accident..
Viewed entirely on its own merits, this little film has a lot to offer, even beyond some of the obvious camp humor.There is some intriguing sci-fi here, most of which I won't give away for fear of *****SPOILERS***** giving away too much, but some of which definately predate and prefigure "Planet of the Apes" as Corman himself points out in his autobio.
Teenage cavemen fight to find their next meet, as do the 20 something year old actors who play them..
It's obvious from the start that the actors playing the youthful spear throwing cavemen are far past voting age, and in this clean shaven ancient world that there's a barber shop in one of those caves.
So for me, it becomes a guilty pleasure that I won't soon forget with an epilogue that has to be seen to be believed and must have been added on when they realized that without it, there would be no way the young hunks in this film would be believable as "teenage cave men"..
Early Roger Corman movies can be very good ("The Little Shop of Horrors", "Not of This Earth"), very bad ("The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent"), or somewhere in between ("It Conquered the World", Attack of the Crab Monsters").
"Teenage Cave Man" falls somewhere in the middle, with an impoverished budget but a good cast and intelligent story.A restless teenage cave man (Robert Vaughn) has an urge to travel to the forbidden land "beyond the river", where a fabled monster can kill with just a touch.
The beast is nothing but an old man in a radiation suit who represents the last survivor of a long-ago nuclear war.Beach Dickerson used to tell hilarious stories about this movie, including a description of his four roles (he dies in three of them, and attends his own funeral).
***SPOILERS*** Roger Corman film about prehistoric man and what obstacles he faced back in prehistoric times and how he eventually overcame them.It took the rebellious and searching for the truth symbol makers-Leslie Bradley-son played by the young and energetic Robert Vaughan to finally find what it's really all about in what's beyond the great river where the monster who kills with one touch rules.
Denied to go beyond the great river by caveman leader the black bearded one, Frank DeKova, the intuitive son of the symbol maker together with his fellow teenage cavemen travel there anyway with one of the the cave people the blond boy who can't float, Beach Dickerson, ending up dead by drowning in a nearby stream.
After his dad, the symbol man, convinced the black-bearded one to give his son a second chance he despite risking his life for a second time goes beyond the land of the great river to find out what all these BS stories about the monster who kills with one touch is all about.
Imaginative and interesting low budget film better than you'd expect.
It made me want to see the whole movie, and though it does show its budgetary shortcomings, this picture is actually quite well made, and is definitely worth seeing once.Leslie Bradley is excellent as the Symbol Maker, the father of the young hero, and Frank De Kova is very good as the jealous older warrior trying to get his younger rival in trouble all the time.It's true that there is a temptation to laugh now and then, as one recognizes members of Roger Corman's stock company in cave people outfits, or some obvious stock footage is used from other movies, but the overall effect is surprisingly good.
The film may look kind of rushed and amateurish, but the actors play their roles with sincerity, and the whole story has an oddly convincing feel about it.I recommend this for viewers who enjoy cave people movies and imaginative story telling on a limited budget..
This is a strange caveman movie, as the men are mostly clean-shaven or sport very well-trimmed beards and look nothing like we'd assume cave people would look like.
The worst example is young Robert Vaughn, who looks almost exactly like Napoleon Solo from his "Man from UNCLE" show!
Even though most of them return and the forbidden land isn't bad, Frank DeKova demands that Vaughn be killed because "it is the law".
For example, a scene from an earlier crappy film, KING DINOSAUR , is spliced into TEENAGE CAVE MAN.
Corman and crew deserve credit for beating Planet of the Apes and other better made films to this thought provoking conclusion.
Watch out for Robert Vaughn as a teenage (though he was 26 at the time) caveman.Worth the watch..
*Spoiler/plot- Teenage Caveman, 1956, A young man fights tribal laws and goes beyond the sacred river in search of his tribe's future, more animals for food, and 'the God whose touch kills'.
Early role for Robert Vaughn(Man from UNCLE) Beach Dickerson was a familiar face and name in many Corman's films.
GOOFS: Cavemen have 'farmer tans' lines and some are clean with hair combed.*Emotion- Essentially a coming of age film about a young man trying to find his place in his society.
The final plot points contain a nice surprise twist ending dealing with modern society and 'the God whose touch kills'.
It's thought provoking, interesting and deep for normal B-movie films.