Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Married Baby
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
TheLittleSongbird
Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors. Everybody has to have at least one misfire in their careers, even the best directors and actors have not so good films or films they regret. From his early still evolving period before he properly found his stride and fairly fresh from his vaudeville background, like 'His Favourite Pastime', 'A Busy Day' and 'The Property Man', 'His Prehistoric Past' shows that Chaplin is not immune from this. It is a lesser effort of his, and notable only really for being his last production for Keystone.By all means 'His Prehistoric Past' has a few good points. While a little primitive and not exactly audacious, the production values are far from cheap.There are also a few amusing moments, a little zest on occasions and Charlie does his best with the uninspired material he has and doesn't go through the motions like he did in 'A Busy Man'.Where 'His Prehistoric Past' falls down is that mostly it's not particularly funny. The timing feels limp and there is very little, if any, freshness or originality. There is an over-reliance on slap-stick and it is very broad and very repetitive. There is not much charm here and there is not much to be emotionally invested by. The story is flimsy, so much so things feel over-stretched, there are not many Chaplin short films where a short length feels very dull but 'His Prehistoric Past' is one of them.Charlie does his best certainly and looks engaged, but not much more than that due to his material being pretty uninspired. The cast are not much to write home about.In conclusion, an early career misfire. 4/10 Bethany Cox
CitizenCaine
Considering the fact that this was Chaplin's last film for Keystone, I wonder if there's any significance in the title and plot regarding how Chaplin really felt about Keystone. It's no secret Chaplin felt constrained by the slapdash slapstick and improvisation of Keystone comedies. Is it possible Chaplin was referring to Keystone in the title: His Prehistoric Past? Chaplin plays a caveman with Mack Swain who is the leader of the cavemen apparently. Chaplin and Swain get into it about Sum-babee, one of Swain's 1000 wives! Chaplin saves her from drowning, and Swain becomes jealous. The final scene seems to comment on the dreamlike year Chaplin had in 1914 making over thirty films for Keystone and becoming famous. Chaplin edited, wrote,and directed the film, which once again shies away from the familiar Slapstick of Keystone for the most part. *1/2 of 4 stars.
Snow Leopard
As many films as Charlie Chaplin made, some of them were bound to be below his usual standard. "His Prehistoric Past" is a short comedy that is not very funny, nor does it contain the touches of humanity that Chaplin's best films have.The idea here is that Charlie joins a caveman tribe. The humor is supposed to come from the cavemen's clubs, the caveman king having a harem, and so forth, but none of it is very entertaining.Anything that Chaplin did probably holds some interest to his fans, but almost any of his other films is much better than this one.
packofk9s
His Prehistoric Past was one of Chaplin's earliest movies and easily one of his least funny. It is without the social messages that his later films (even the short silent-films) contained, and is also without any truly funny scenes. Chaplin neither directed nor produced this movie, and it is doubtful that even he found it at any point funny.Charlie Chaplin left to his own creative devices was a genius - plain and simple. HPH is not his project, however, and consequently is a very poor example of a Chaplin flick.Do yourself a favor, rent a different Chaplin film (almost any will make your sides hurt from laughing and brain giddy from greater social awareness), but don't waste your time or money on His Prehistoric Past.
