1940
An American adventure directed by Hal Roach, starring Victor Mature, Carole Landis and Lon Chaney Jr.
1966
A British adventure directed by Don Chaffey, starring Raquel Welch and Robert Brown.
An exiled caveman from one tribe meets a woman from another tribe and they bring the tribes together.
These were as similar as they were different. The newer one looked better in every way. 1940 had clean shaven cavemen and 1966 had all bearded. The special effects looked better and more convincing in 1966, but anyone who knows about the techniques used will appreciate the cleverness of 1940 much more. I was really impressed by the level of compositing and shot framing to make the monsters large. The plots are mostly similar and scene by scene, but there are some major differences like the ending. I don't want to over-analyze here, but I'm sure someone has done so elsewhere. I think they are equal, but would never watch them back-to-back again. I rate them adequate. If you're into primitive special effects, check it out.
An American musical comedy directed and produced by Hal Roach, starring Carole Landis, John Hubbard, Patsy Kelly and Shemp Howard.
A millionaire who is about to be married fakes mental illness out of fear of marriage and hears his soon to be bride conspiring with her family on what to do with his money. They have him committed even though he is sane when he tells them he was faking and heard what they said. Together with the help of an older man with a wacky camera, he escapes the mental institution and ends up joining a circus/carnival. The millionaire falls in love with the woman running the circus.
This was actually good! The plot kept me interested, but the unique and memorable characters made it worth watching. Although stereotypical, the characters showed some depth and were developed to some degree. The older man with the camera and the woman who is mistaken for an Indian were my favorites. The style was very much '40s, but the humor was actually funny (very rare!). The audio and video quality were adequate to communicate what was going on and there were some special effects done with camera speed. Pacing was just fast enough to keep the plot moving, but not so quick as to deny enjoyment of individual scenes. Continuity and editing were both very good. I'm rating this good and would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate how well made it is.
