Q&A with Gary Smith, author of Cavemen vs. Dinosaurs
Q: Why do you think the public has been fascinated with the idea of cavemen and dinosaurs from the very beginning of film to the present day?
A: Men fighting monsters has always been fascinating in any era. Think of St. George and the Dragon. Since dinosaurs were real and not mythical beasts, it adds an additional cache to the idea.
Q: When did you begin your love for this type of film?
A: That would go back to when I was six years old and my mother took me to see the 1956 reissue of King Kong. I was already a dinosaur fan (I used to get them in cereal boxes). I was completely amazed by King Kong and that was the beginning of my love of fantastic cinema. Two years later I saw my first Hammer Films, a double bill of Horror of Dracula and Revenge of Frankenstein. I was completely taken with them and became a life-long Hammer fan thereafter.
Q: Do the cavewomen in this genre represent proto-feminism or a more “traditional” role for women?
A: In almost every case they are the “damsel in distress” although Raquel Welch in the remake is definitely a stronger person than Carole Landis was in the original. For the most part it was a good excuse to show women in skimpy clothing.
Q: Can you trace the development of effects used in these movies?
A: Actually they sort of “devolved” for a while. Willis O’Brien’s stop motion dinosaurs in The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933) gave way to the enlarged lizards of the 1940 One Million B.C. It wasn’t until the 1950s that stop motion went into popular use again. Now the effects are CGI and, although they are incredibly realistic, the sense of “magic” is lacking.
Q: How about listing the actors/actresses that made their name appearing in the genre?
A; Victor Mature became a bonafide star after appearing in the 1940 One Million B.C. Carole Landis also became a star after appearing in the original. But she wasn’t an overnight sensation. She had a rather long climb to stardom at 20th Century-Fox. I think Raquel Welch is the only actress who became an honest to goodness icon after appearing in one of these films. And she became a big star with a lengthy career. Hammer tried to repeat this with many other glamorous leading ladies but none of them had the staying power or international fame of Raquel. She was one in a million (pun intended).
Q: After Jurassic Park where do you see the genre heading?
A: There will always be some sort of dinosaur movie in the works. The latest Jurassic World movie is just the beginning of a whole new chapter for those films. And the new crop of Godzilla/Kong movies will go on and on.
Q: Which one of the films in your book is your favorite?
A: That should be obvious. I love One Million Years B.C. and have seen it more times than I can count. I never get tired of it.
Q: Name the silliest movie in the genre and tell us why you think so.
A: Of course Caveman with Ringo Starr is supposed to be silly but the “serious” title that comes to mind as the silliest is Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women with Mamie Van Doren. Just the sight of Mamie and her girls in their white hip-hugger pants and sea shell brassieres is enough to put it at the top of the list.