The Clan of the Cave Bear

An earthquake separates five-year-old Ayla from her mother. Mauled by a cave lion, she is found by Iza, the healer of a Neanderthal clan. Chief Brun doesn't want the girl but gives in because Iza refuses to abandon her. The shaman Creb sees the cave lion's spirit marking her. Ayla thinks differently and breaks the rules, like the ban on women touching weapons. Broud, Brun's son, assaults her again and again, and she gets pregnant. When she uses a sling to kill a wolf and save a child, she is banished. Alone, she gives birth to Durc and returns when her sentence ends. Iza dies, Broud becomes chief and throws Creb out. Ayla beats Broud in a fight, gets Creb back in and leaves to look for the Others, leaving her son with him.

1. Behind the scenesOscar-nominated makeup

   Michael Westmore and Michèle Burke built the Neanderthals, and each application took three and a half hours. The film was up for the Best Makeup Oscar and lost to The Fly.

   source ↗
2. Behind the scenesOne real bear, one fake

   The cave bear is Bart, Hollywood's most famous trained bear. In some scenes he was swapped for an animatronic bear built by Sonny Burman and Steve Johnson.

   source ↗
3. Behind the scenesThe sequel that stayed on paper

   John Sayles also adapted The Valley of Horses, and the plan was to shoot both. The film made about $1.9 million in the US and Canada, and the sequel never happened.

   source ↗
4. Behind the scenesThe series that never aired

   In 2015 Lifetime shot a pilot with Millie Brady as Ayla, written by Linda Woolverton and produced by Ron Howard and Jean M. Auel herself. The network passed before it aired.

   source ↗