Classic Horrors Club

Lane Slate wrote some of the TV movies in this series that I’ve rated highly, such as Isn’t It Shocking? (1973) and The Strange & Deadly Occurrence (1974.) Plus, he wrote a theatrical favorite, The Car (1977.) Richard A. Colla directed one of the best TV movies in this series, The UFO Incident (1975), as well as the original Battlestar Galactica (1978.) Together they made something that’s not easy to do: a decent movie about cavemen.

It’s not that there’s much plot; in fact, there’s hardly any. Perhaps it would be more inclusive to give credit to the cinematographer, Rexford L. Metz, who worked in others capacities on Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Tron (1982), to name only a few. He gives The Tribe (1974) a natural look that, although we know was filmed in California, actually looks like how we imagine the landscape of the time might look.

As a group of Cro-Magnons  move through golden fields, south-by-southwest toward warm weather, the Narrator (Paul Richards) introduces us to the main characters. Mathis (Victor French) is the leader and Jen (Adriana Shaw) is his “woman.” Gorin (Warren Sanders) is a stranger from another tribe who will assume an important role when Mathis is wounded and, based on his own rules, left behind.

When the time comes to move and you cannot move, you’ll be left.

That’s basically it. The climax, if you will, is expected from one of the first pieces of information Gorin shares with his new friends. His tribe was attacked by what the Narrator will tell us was a tribe of Neanderthals. Sure enough, one of them sneaks up behind Jen at a stream and, although he seems fascinated by the female, it indicates a “battle” is coming. That’s if throwing rocks down on your enemy from a hill is considered a “battle.”

One of the problems with prehistoric movies is what to do about the language. Some have used subtitles to mixed success. The Tribe uses good old understandable English. While it’s not historically accurate, it helps understand what’s happening in the movie. However, it’s the Neanderthals that grunt, suggesting they’re less evolved than the Cro-Magnons, which, coincidentally they were.

The Neanderthals are also the only characters that look like cavemen, making them relatively monstrous creatures for the Cro-Magnons to fear. Jack Schlick plays “The Neanderthal.” Come to think of it, I believe he’s the only one we see up close and personal, sporting a decent makeup job. Interestingly, he would also play the prehistoric character, Folg, in the 1981 Ringo Starr comedy, Caveman.

Contributing to an enjoyable viewing 50 years later is the fact that I watched it on a fuzzy YouTube transfer that may have hidden some imperfections. The Tribe is a relaxing movie to watch. Again, not much happens, but the pace and the music by prolific composer David Shire are soothing. In the background there’s always the roar of a fire, the rustle of the wind, or the quiet trudging of the Cro-Magnons through golden fields.