''Man's Genesis'' is a short 1912 silent American film starring

Robert Harron Robert Emmett Harron (April 12, 1893 – September 5, 1920) was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed film ...

and

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

. It was directed by

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

for the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...

and survives from an era from which many films are now

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. The movie's plot involves a grandfather recounting a story about cavemen fighting over a woman to his squabbling grandchildren. The work was described as being the first " primitive man" film ever made and, at the time, as the "greatest photoplay of its kind ever made". It is credited as being responsible for creating the

pre-historic Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

film boom that occurred in the following years. The film was re-issued alongside other Biograph films on July 23, 1915.

Cast

as Lilywhite *

as Weakhands *

W. Chrystie Miller William Chrystie Miller (August 10, 1843 – September 23, 1922) was an American silent film actor. He appeared in 139 films between 1908 and 1914. Miller frequently appeared in films directed by D.W. Griffith and was known to film audience ...

as Grandfather *

Wilfred Lucas Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...

as Bruteforce *

Charles Hill Mailes Charles Hill Mailes (25 May 1870 – 17 February 1937) was a Canadian actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1870, Mailes appeared in 290 films between 1909 and 1935. He married the actress Claire McDowell ...

Plot

The film begins with two children in a disagreement that they decide to fix by physically harming each other. The fight is stopped by their grandfather and, as a method to teach them that physical violence is wrong, he tells them a story about Early Man and the conflicts and murders that occurred when strong young cavemen became involved in fistfights. The character Weakhands is, in accordance with his name, unable to win any fights involving his fists and thus is not popular and is unable to win any of the

suitor Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...

battles. The cavewoman he is attracted to, Lilywhite, is required to go and find a husband after the death of her mother and she finds herself in love with Weakhands because of his nice and gentle nature. However Bruteforce, a violent bully of the tribe, fights off Weakhands and kidnaps Lilywhite to be his wife. After repeated attempts and failures by Weakhands to rescue her, he accidentally comes across the idea of combining a stick and stone into a club-like weapon, thus creating the first true weapon ever made. With this weapon, he is able to defeat Bruteforce and the other men of the tribe and regain Lilywhite as his wife.

Critical reception

A review in ''

The Nebraska State Journal The ''Lincoln Journal Star'' is an American daily newspaper that serves Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capital and home of the University of Nebraska. It is the most widely read newspaper in Lincoln and has the second-largest circulation in N ...

'' described the film as "marvelous" for being able to combine the themes of "love and hate" and the conflict between weakness and intelligence against brutish strength. It also criticized the "lamentable lack of vision and imagination" of other filmmakers, in a comparison between their works and ''Man's Genesis''. '' The Fresno Morning Republican'' called the film a "powerful conception - a real Darwinian thought" and said that it was "marvelously executed". Detailed as "splendidly portrayed" in the '' Harrisburg Daily Independent'', the film was considered to be a "distinct departure" from the other usual films produced in the era, and the newspaper said that it dealt with a "theory of grave importance", Darwin's

theory of evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation t ...

. Including a description of the plot, ''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'' concluded that the film "enthralls" and that the "illusion is complete" in presenting a realistic world of Early Man. In a review on the 1915 re-issue in ''The Moving Picture World'', the educational content of the film and the use of accurate

location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

were praised, with the conclusion that the film had a "tone of individuality which stamps it as a credit to any program".

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was born ...

in his 1915 book ''The Art of the Moving Picture'' said the film was a "Griffith masterpiece" and considered how the American fascination with automobile tinkering and other mechanical activities reflects on the film's initial creation of tools. Large amounts of commentary were made, both positive and negative, after a showing of the film in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

on August 29, 1912, with some audience members criticizing the idea that humans came from ape-like origins as shown in the film.

References

External links

The film on Dailymotion
{{D. W. Griffith Films directed by D. W. Griffith 1912 short films 1910s action drama films American black-and-white films American silent short films Films about cavemen 1910s American films Silent American drama films

Cast

Plot

Critical reception

See also

References

External links