Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Director:

Erle C. Kenton

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel)
Waldemar Young (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

December 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Romance

Tagline:

TERROR! Stalked the Brush-Choked Island...Where Men Who Were Animals Sought the Girl Who Was All-Human!

Plot:

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

Plot Keywords:

Experiment | Island | Half Human | Escape | Doctor

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Dr. Moreau
Richard Arlen	...	Edward Parker
Leila Hyams	...	Ruth Thomas
Bela Lugosi	...	Sayer of the Law
Kathleen Burke	...	Lota the Panther Woman
Arthur Hohl	...	Mr. Montgomery
Stanley Fields	...	Captain Davies
Paul Hurst	...	Captain Donahue
Hans Steinke	...	Ouran
Tetsu Komai	...	M'ling
George Irving	...	American Consul

Also Known As:

The Island of Dr. Moreau (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1996) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The filmmakers wanted an unknown actress to play Lota, the Panther Woman. Kathleen Burke, their selection, was working as a dentist's assistant at the time. It was her first film role ever.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: As the beast-men attack Moreau's lab one of them brushes against a flaming torch and sets his furry head alight.

Quotes:

Dr. Moreau: Mr. Parker, do you know what it means to feel like God?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Night Gallery: The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes/Miss Lovecraft Sent Me/The Hand of Borgus Weems/Phantom of What Opera? (#2.1)" (1971)

Waking Nightmare

Universal dominated the horror market of the 1930s, but every once in a while the other studios would produce a classic of their own. `Island of Lost Souls,' produced by Paramount, is one such film. It's tight, fast, and haunting.

The most striking thing about `Island' is its claustrophobic, nightmarish atmosphere. Some people criticize the hero, Edward Parker (Richard Arlen), as bland and colorless, but I think this works in the film's favor. Since he has no personality of his own, he can be more of an Everyman; he also has no strength to draw upon and is therefore powerless against the horrors around him. He sees the perverse monstrosities Moreau has created on his island, finds himself attracted to and then repulsed by the cat-woman Lota, and then struggles to free himself from Moreau's manipulative control. It's like those nightmares where you try to run away from something terrible but your feet won't move.

Charles Laughton steals the show as Dr. Moreau; his disarming, cherubic exterior somehow enhances his aura of menace. He may not look as blatantly evil as Bela Lugosi, but after a few minutes you just know there's something terribly wrong with this man. The irony is, the creatures Moreau creates are far more humane than he is. The creatures themselves live in a tight society, bound by the laws Moreau has given them; instead of dwelling on their physical awfulness, the film imparts them with a curious dignity and innocence. When the inevitable rebellion comes, I found myself cheering the creatures on, much like I felt my heart go out to the Frankenstein Monster or King Kong.

`Island' is one of those movies you need to watch on a humid summer night, when your clothes cling to your skin and every breath feels like it's coming through a wet towel. Feel the suspense and the terror seep into you, and then try to tell me the old horror movies weren't infinitely better than what passes for horror nowadays.