The film was one of the "cavemen comedies", an early film genre which was inspired by the cartoon series Prehistoric Peeps by Edward Tennyson Reed.[1] The film reputedly depicted the first onscreen dinosaurs in film history, portrayed by actors inside pantomime models. The film is unavailable to the modern public, and the claim can not be verified.[1]
The film depicts the dream of a sleeping scientist. He dreams of being lowered into a cave, surrounded by its stalactites. A prehistoricmonster comes to life, and chases him within the cave. The scientist uses his revolver to shoot the monster, but the bullets seem to have no effect on it.[1]
The scientist emerges on the ground above the cave, and the monster continues to chase him. The monster eventually succumbs to its bullet wounds. The scientist is then surrounded by prehistoric women, who live in grass huts. More monsters appear and chase the scientist and the women away.[1]
In the waking world, the scientist's wife discovers him asleep in his own laboratory. He is surrounded by his fossil collection. The wife uses a soda siphon to wake up the scientist.[1]
Analysisedit
In the 1880s, parodies and cartoons of cavemen became popular. In 1893, cartoonist Edward Tennyson Reed launched the cartoon series Prehistoric Peeps in the British humor magazine Punch.[2] One of Reed's best known drawings depicted a caveman tribe playing cricket at Stonehenge, using the monument's stone arches as wickets. The drawing inspired a humorous hoax. The hoaxer carved a mammoth bone into a cricket bat. Then the bat was planted at Piltdown, Sussex, alongside a forged fossil skull. It was implied to be the earliest Englishman, buried with the earliest cricket bat. This joke became known as the Piltdown Man.[2]
The 1905 film was based on Reed's work. It took the form of a live-action silent film comedy. It became the first dinosaur film, and depicted cavemen living alongside dinosaurs. This depiction formed part of an artistic tradition, later represented by the comic stripAlley Oop (1932-) and the television series The Flintstones (1960–1966). This artistic tradition may have influenced the Creationist fantasies of actual prehistoric people living alongside dinosaurs.[2]
Ulrich Merkl (November 25, 2015). "Notes". Dinomania: The Lost Art of Winsor McCay, The Secret Origins of King Kong, and the Urge to Destroy New York. Fantagraphics Books. ISBN978-1-60699-840-3.
Sarmiento, Esteban E.; Mowbray, Kenneth; Sawyer, Gary J. (June 28, 2007). "Appendix 2". The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-two Species of Extinct Humans. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0300100471.
prehistoric, peeps, film, prehistoric, peeps, 1905, british, reeler, film, directed, lewin, fitzhamon, produced, hepworth, manufacturing, company, only, existing, print, been, preserved, british, film, institute, film, cavemen, comedies, early, film, genre, wh. Prehistoric Peeps was a 1905 British one reeler film directed by Lewin Fitzhamon and produced by the Hepworth Manufacturing Company The only existing print has been preserved by the British Film Institute 1 The film was one of the cavemen comedies an early film genre which was inspired by the cartoon series Prehistoric Peeps by Edward Tennyson Reed 1 The film reputedly depicted the first onscreen dinosaurs in film history portrayed by actors inside pantomime models The film is unavailable to the modern public and the claim can not be verified 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Analysis 3 References 3 1 External References 4 External linksPlot editThe film depicts the dream of a sleeping scientist He dreams of being lowered into a cave surrounded by its stalactites A prehistoric monster comes to life and chases him within the cave The scientist uses his revolver to shoot the monster but the bullets seem to have no effect on it 1 The scientist emerges on the ground above the cave and the monster continues to chase him The monster eventually succumbs to its bullet wounds The scientist is then surrounded by prehistoric women who live in grass huts More monsters appear and chase the scientist and the women away 1 In the waking world the scientist s wife discovers him asleep in his own laboratory He is surrounded by his fossil collection The wife uses a soda siphon to wake up the scientist 1 Analysis editIn the 1880s parodies and cartoons of cavemen became popular In 1893 cartoonist Edward Tennyson Reed launched the cartoon series Prehistoric Peeps in the British humor magazine Punch 2 One of Reed s best known drawings depicted a caveman tribe playing cricket at Stonehenge using the monument s stone arches as wickets The drawing inspired a humorous hoax The hoaxer carved a mammoth bone into a cricket bat Then the bat was planted at Piltdown Sussex alongside a forged fossil skull It was implied to be the earliest Englishman buried with the earliest cricket bat This joke became known as the Piltdown Man 2 The 1905 film was based on Reed s work It took the form of a live action silent film comedy It became the first dinosaur film and depicted cavemen living alongside dinosaurs This depiction formed part of an artistic tradition later represented by the comic strip Alley Oop 1932 and the television series The Flintstones 1960 1966 This artistic tradition may have influenced the Creationist fantasies of actual prehistoric people living alongside dinosaurs 2 References edit a b c d e f Merkl 2015 p 278 a b c Sarmiento Mowbray Sawyear 2007 p 247 External References edit Ulrich Merkl November 25 2015 Notes Dinomania The Lost Art of Winsor McCay The Secret Origins of King Kong and the Urge to Destroy New York Fantagraphics Books ISBN 978 1 60699 840 3 Sarmiento Esteban E Mowbray Kenneth Sawyer Gary J June 28 2007 Appendix 2 The Last Human A Guide to Twenty two Species of Extinct Humans Yale University Press ISBN 978 0300100471 External links editPrehistoric Peeps at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prehistoric Peeps film amp oldid 1213597609, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
