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Celluloid Dinosaurs tm
A History of Dinosaur Movies
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Brute Force
(14 November 1913 or 24 April 1914)
aka The Primitive Man (Registered 11/14/1913)
aka In Prehistoric Days (1914) or Prehistoric Days
aka Wars of the Primal Tribes (1914) or Wars of the Primeval Tribes

This scene is from the version entitled The Primitive Man.
It depicts a Papiermachetosaurus or somesuch.
It is a full-sized (about 40 feet long),
mechanical beastie that opens and closes its mouth and wiggles around a bit.

 

Credits	Synopsis  References   Resources
Dinosaurs Large, unknown variety created as a mechanical, full-sized prop. We have named it Papiermachetosaurus rex Cast  (in credits order) Edwin August,  Lionel Barrymore, William J. Butler, Edwin Curglo,  Robert Harron,  Jennie Lee (I),  Wilfred Lucas, Charles Hill Mailes, Mae Marsh, Alfred Paget, George Siegmann, Blanche Sweet Filmmakers Director and Author: D.W. Griffith Camera: G.W. "Billy" Bitzer Production Companies: Biograph Pictures. Distributors Runtime: 33 minutes 3 Reels 1,170 ft  (as noted in LoC paper print collection. 2,000 feet as noted in the World Film Index) Black and White (with Tints?) Country: USA  The IMDB lists The Primitive Man twice. Once for 1914 and the other for 1913 with the following cast and a different production company: Primitive Man (1913) Cast (in credits order)  Robert Harron .... Weakhands  Mae Marsh .... Lillywhite  Wilfred Lucas .... Brute Force Edwin Curglot .... Caveman  Alfred Paget ....  Caveman  William J. Butler ....Caveman  Jennie Lee (I) .... Cavewoman  Rest of cast listed alphabetically  Edwin August  Production Company: Kahan Company.	Synopsis:  (Based upon a viewing of Brute Force) "The plot concerns two tribes of cavemen, one with women and one without. The clan without women attacks the other and steals them away. One woman gets away and yells for her tribesmen who come and fight to get them back. It's all very simplistic and low-budget. Besides a fakey dinosaur there is actually a crocodile that had some kind of horns tied to it's head!" (Courtesy J. Devine, April 2000) Excerpt from Library of Congress Catalog of Paper Negatives The Primitive Man LP1806  11/14/1913 Director and Author: D.W. Griffith Cast: Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Wilfred Lucas, Alfred Paget, Edwin August, Charles Hill Mailes, William J. Butler 1,170 ft  FLA5914-5915 (print)  FRA2786-2787 (neg.) The first of these three reels begins at a formal dress party where the hero (Robert Harron) falls asleep reading a book by Darwin on primitive man. The scene rises out and dissolves back to a field with primitive men living in caves, and the remainder of the first reel parallels " Man's Genesis." [An earlier Griffith film. Editor] The second reel shows "Weakhands" inventing a club. The third reel shows two tribes at war because a shortage of women, vital for the propagation of the species has occurred. This time, "Weakhands" invents a bow and arrow and once more defeats his less intelligent contemporaries.  Wings, forked tails, horns, etc., were added to live animals and reptiles to give them a prehistoric appearance. There is a moving dinosaur, approximately forty feet high, and several insert close-ups. There is also a considerable amount of camera movement. {From the book EARLY MOTION PICTURES: The Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress, by Kemp R. Niver, Library of Congress: Washington, 1985, pp. 260-261] This film is available from LoC for purchase, Contact Public Services to find out how much it would be.  Call 202-707-5840.Information courtesy of George R. Willeman Notes: Clips from this film were, apparently, shown during the 2000 Academy Awards Show. The film was released under several different titles, but we have no information on whether they are identical or have variations. According to William K. Everson, It may have been filmed in Chatsworth Park, CA.
	References IMDB description of Brute Force Man's Genesis listing in IMDB. The World Film Index lists the following info on the Griffith film: main title: Brute Force dir D.W. Griffith  y of prod:1913 leading actor: Lionel Barrymore other actors:Mae Marsh, Wilfred Lucas, Robert Harron, Charles Hill Mailes, Jennie Lee, William J. Butler, Walter E. Robinson film length: 2000 ft other titles:Wars of the Primeval Tribe, The Primitive Man, Prehistoric Days Although the sources may not be correct, a comparison of running times as reported by the LoC and World Film Index indicate that there may be variations in running time. This could be caused by portions of the prints being missing, by alternate versions, or by different assumptions about the frame rate for projection. American Silent Film by William K. Everson. Contains references to The Primitive Man. Early motion pictures : the paper print collection in the Library of Congress This book is out of print 4/2000 The Transformation of Cinema 1907-1915 (History of the American Cinema, Vol 2)  by Eileen Bowser
	Resources: Home Video: This film is not available on home video. It can be purchased on film in 16mm and 35mm from the Library of Congress.  NTSC There is a DVD with some early landmark silent films called  Landmarks of Early Film (1997) Volume One  contains The Girl and Her Trust an early Griffith film and Volume Two may have others.  PAL D. W. Griffith - Father Of Film List Price: £12.99 Our Price: £11.99 You Save: £1.00  Classification: Exempt  Starring: Lindsay Anderson (Pres/Narr), Lillian Gish, et al.  Edition Details:  • PAL format  • Black & White, Colour, PAL  • ASIN: B00004CONN   • Catalogue Number: CAV012 Links

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