The Beatles' Ringo Starr is Atouk, the caveman of the title. As the leader of a rag-tag group of cavemen considered inferior by a larger group of cavemen, Atouk has his work cut out for him when he sets his sights on the beautiful Lana (Barbara Bach). Trouble is, Lana belongs to Tonda (John Matuszak) the leader of the superior cavemen. Undeterred, Atouk sets out to win Lana's hand while being pursued by the caveman-crazy Tala (Shelley Long) and fending off some very hungry dinosaurs. Caveman is the feature directing debut of Carl Gottlieb (screenwriter Jaws, Jaws II and the Jerk).