User Reviews

There are two tribes at war with each other. One tribe is womanless and is probably doomed. There is research that the Neanderthal's were so cruel to their women, the the women died off, ending any future for the tribes. In this one we have basically a single battle scene where the women are objects to be kidnapped. The one tribe is dominant because they have more stone tomahawks than the other guys, but soon the latter tribe invents bows and arrows and is able to strike from a distance. There are some really hokey dinosaurs thrown into the mix. But overall, this is quite a treat.

Ally Oop-style cave men battle over women, leading to a prehistoric arms race and the triumph of brains over brawn. Brute Force (a.k.a. Primitive Man) is a simplistic short directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith. There is not much to the film: it consists mostly of a never-ending brawl between the 'with-women tribe' and the 'without-women tribe' but it may be best known for the first 'live action' dinosaur put on screen. The cast includes a number of actors featured in Griffith's silent epics (e.g. Birth of a Nation, Intolerance) as well as Harry Carey, Lionel Barrymore, and Elmo Lincoln (the first celluloid 'Tarzan'). I watched a washed-out 20 minute version on You-tube and the film likely deserves a better presentation. Amazingly, only ten years passed between this primitive vision of antediluvian Earth and Willis O'Brien's masterful dinosaurs in "The Lost World". A must see for cinephiles, but likely a pass for most others (and so problematic to rate).

Brute Force (1914)

**** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith's sequel to Man's Genesis has Weakhands (Robert Harron) and Lillywhite (Mae Marsh) living with a new family but the womanless tribe led by Bruteforce (Wilfred Lucas) attacks them and kidnaps all the woman. Since Bruteforce was able to beat the tribe with sticks and rocks, Weakhands must come up with a new invention to get revenge. He then comes up with a bow and arrow. This is another highly entertaining two-reeler from Griffith who pulls out all the stops and makes a really strong film, although the opening and closing sequences set in current times was pretty useless. Once again the cavemen look great with their make up and costumes. Another added bonus is that there's a terrific fight between the two sides, which goes on for quite a while. The action is very much real as Griffith paid the extras a few more dollars if they were willing to get hit upside the head. The one silly segment is Griffith showing some dinosaurs, which are obviously fake. I could tell one was an alligator dressed up as a dino but there's also a real dino skeleton used, which Griffith was able to borrow from a museum. Future Tarzan Elmo Lincoln plays one of the cavemen and Lionel Barrymore is also on hand but I wasn't able to spot him. AKA Primitive Man and In Prehistoric Days.

This primitive picture in two parts illustrates that the struggle between brute force and brains has always resulted in victory for brains. The young man dreams he is the primitive leader of the stone club men. His tribe eventually faces annihilation at the hands of the low cave men who have found the secret of his power, the stone club. Then the inventive brain is stimulated and gives birth to a new idea. - The Moving Picture World, May 9, 1914