1940's "One Million B. C." was producer Hal Roach's follow up to John Steinbeck's tragedy "Of Mice and Men," an even more challenging film from Hollywood for combining cavemen with dinosaurs despite the fact that they were long extinct before mankind walked the earth. Casting the leads required no real acting experience due to the deliberate absence of intelligible dialogue, though Lon Chaney was retained from the Steinbeck feature to play Akhoba, leader of the Rock people, ruling the clan by brute force and leading the hunt with his huge hounds. Victor Mature does make an impression as Tumak, son of Akhoba, forced to go his own way after losing a dispute with his father, coming upon Carole Landis as lovely Loana (Raquel Welch became an icon in this role for the 1966 remake), a member of the gentle Shell tribe, serving as tutor in the more measured ways of her people for the rough hewn Tumak. The human interest story eventually takes a back seat once the dinosaurs arrive, ordinary lizards and gators made to look more ferocious and pitted against each other on miniature sets (this footage would adorn many a cheap outing for decades to come, from 1950's "Two Lost Worlds" to 1961's "Valley of the Dinosaurs"). The shapely and busty Landis is a revelation in her skimpy one piece outfit, yet it's the veteran Chaney who earns acting honors as the once proud warrior who learns how to adjust to the kindness of a stranger. He even sought to match the exploits of his late father by creating his own makeup design, and photos prove he had the right stuff had not union rules prevailed. Even after the accolades that emerged from his grand portrayal of Lennie in "Of Mice and Men," this would sadly be his only movie role for all of 1940, until he was tabbed by Universal to star in "Man Made Monster," then a much smaller henchman part in MGM's "Billy the Kid."
Review of One Million B.C.
