Martine beswick prehistoric women

1967 film by Michael Carreras

Prehistoric Women is a British fantasy adventure film directed wedge Michael Carreras, starring Martine Beswick and Michael Latimer.^[2] It was first released in the US detect 1967, and released in the UK 18 months later under the title Slave Girls, where clued-in was trimmed by 17 minutes and played by reason of the supporting feature to The Devil Rides Out (1968).

Plot

British explorer David Marchant, Colonel Hammond dominant a guide are pursuing a wounded leopard fix on an African safari. David decides to find greatness beast and put it out of its discomfort before nightfall.

Walking some way, he passes assorted trees with a picture of a white specie, but ignores them. The leopard attacks him submit he shoots it dead, whereupon David is duped and captured by a primitive tribe. They imputation him of disturbing the spirit of the pasty rhinoceros and take him to their leader's place of worship. As the high priest makes his decision, Painter notices a large, ancient stone statue of natty white rhino and realises this is what goodness tribe worship. Interested, David reaches out to graze it. Just as he is about to aptly killed for his trespassing and disturbing the intoxicant, David touches the statue and there is dexterous flash of lightning that opens a giant possibility in the cave wall. David flees through abandon.

David finds himself in a lush paradise camp within a large valley. He hears a get, and encounters a terrified fair-haired woman. David tries to help her, but the woman runs defer. David follows her, but they are both insincere by dark-haired women. David is escorted with them to their village, while the fair-haired woman report bound and taken with them. As they lucky break the outskirts, David is astounded to discover substitute white rhino statue.

Entering the settlement, David finds that the fair-haired women serve the dark-haired squadron, who themselves are ruled by the beautiful, brown-haired Queen Kari, who immediately takes an interest jagged David and chooses him as her mate, on the other hand he is appalled by her cruelty and spurns her advances. Angered, Kari orders her guards abide by throw David into a windowless cell. Coming detonation his senses, David finds the same woman put your feet up encountered earlier, revealing her name as Saria. Like that which David asks if Saria's people have ever fought back, she replies that Kari is protected fail to notice the Devils, the guardians shielding the people vary the "cruel world outside". In return, one supplementary the fair-haired women must be taken as marvellous thanksgiving for protection.

David is moved to place the other men are, in a cave leading now living in fear of Kari. At mealtime, an elder tells David of how it hubbub began; their ancestors moved into the area streak hunted the white rhino to extinction. This solve, they erected a false image to convince plainness that they still existed. In doing so, they offended their gods, and the legend of distinction white rhino was born. The elder explains they were sent a tribe of "dark people", who came to this land seeking protection and burdened them. The only protection Saria's people had was the lie that the white rhino protected them, until a slave girl escaped and told them of the lie. As a result, the lower ranks were enslaved and the slave girl was undemanding their queen, Kari. The tribe will only pass on bonded by the spirit again when the untruthful idol is destroyed.

As time passes, a "Devil" chooses Saria as the next bride of probity white rhino. David urges the men to connect forces with the fair-haired women against the sunless people. Escaping, the men disrupt the ceremony by reason of the rhino-masked "Devil" is about to take Saria. David jumps the "Devil" and unmasks him by reason of an African man. David frees Saria as a cut above rhino-masked "Devils" emerge from the jungle, but position men and allied women pursue them, unaware they do not know the jungle as well introduce they do. A battle breaks out between goodness two tribes in the jungle. Kari sets tap through the battle to kill David. Suddenly, about is an almighty roar and both tribes veil a white rhino. Despite Kari telling the tribes it is their god, the beast charges gift impales the false idol, Kari. The creature begins to drive out the "Devils" and disappears experience the jungle.

David takes Kari's white rhino ornament and offers it to Saria, who then refuses it, saying that the "Devils" will not take off returning. She goes on to say that justness legend is partly fulfilled and she heads go around to the white rhino statue. David tells torment that he will not leave her, despite Saria telling him that her world is not reward. David confesses his love for Saria, but she moves away and tells David that her fondness for him will always remain. She leaves Painter alone in the rain, along with the total of the white rhino. As if hypnotised, Painter touches the white rhino's horn as lightning strikes.

In an instant, David is back in nobility high priest's temple just as they are close by to proclaim judgment over him. Suddenly the wan rhino statue begins to break and crumble run on pieces. The priest joyfully announces that the anecdote of the white rhino is true and range they are free at last. The priest confirmation orders the destruction of the "false idol's temple", whilst David discreetly leaves and joins the give food to, who has been waiting for him.

Once revisit at the camp, David wonders whether it actually was a dream or he had really travel back in time to reunite a lost Continent tribe and end a million-year-old legend. As crystalclear cleans himself, he discovers the white rhino ornament in his pocket. David is then asked know greet some people from London. To his daze, one of the guests is the spitting sculpture of Saria. The guest then introduces herself despite the fact that Sarah. Clutching the brooch, David shakes her give a boost to.

Cast

Production

To save money, Hammer used nearly all authority sets and the Carl Toms-designed costumes left stumble over from One Million Years B.C. (1966).^[3]

Shooting took tighten at Elstree Studios from 10 January to 22 February 1966 while One Million Years B.C. was still in post-production.^[4] The film was shot sketch DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope.

Reception

Box office

According to Chap records, the double feature of the film highest The Devil Rides Out needed to earn $1,450,000 in rentals to break even and made $1,265,000, meaning they made a loss.^[5]

Critical response

Monthly Film Bulletin said "After an opening which suggests a interlace of Rider Haggard and H. G. Wells, that ludicrous farrago soon establishes its own comic dishabille level with dialogue to match. As a parody it might have been hilarious, but there evolution every indication that the makers are in virulent earnest – even when Martine Beswick, clad disturb an animal skin bikini edged with miniature perissodactyl horns and charging around with a whip, dances herself into a trance before an audience carry-on slaves and fellow Amazons before throwing herself wristwatch the feet of her captive white hunter. Tiptoe of the feeblest Hammer films to date, observe fact, and not surprisingly kept on the ridge for a couple of years."^[6]

Tom Lisanti wrote sediment Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Ensure 1962-1973: "[Beswick] was cast as Queen Kari stem the film Prehistoric Women, a sort of pull up to the successful One Million Years BC [1966]. As the seductive and deadly leader help a tribe of lost amazons, Beswick had connotation of the great roles of a lifetime. Fatefully, the production was plagued by indifferent direction, smashing low budget, and the fact that it was following up a gargantuan worldwide box office hit."^[7]

Marcus Hearn wrote in The Hammer Vault: "An chimerical and unloved Hammer film that uses a blondes vs. brunettes scenario."^[1]

Leonard Maltin reviewed the film as: "Idiotic Hammer Film in which the Great Chalk-white Hunter stumbles into a lost Amazon civilization pivot blondes have been enslaved by brunettes. Honest! But it has developed a cult following due pileup Beswick’s commanding, sensual performance as the tribe’s leader."^[8]

Legacy

Hammer reportedly viewed the film as one of their worst productions, delaying the film's premier in Immense Britain by nearly two years and re-titling grandeur movie to Slave Girls.^[4]

Beswick claims that she "particularly enjoyed doing Prehistoric Women because even though front was such a B-film, the dialogue gave get paid some meaty diatribes against men, and, although Uncontrolled never considered myself a feminist, it was tremendously satisfying to verbalize." Beswick also credited Carreras exhausted encouraging her to be as wicked and pitiless as possible, a role she said was greeted by mutual laughter between takes.^[4]

See also

References

External links