Dr. Cyclops (1940)

A mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writer:

Tom Kilpatrick (original screenplay)

Stars:

Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Albert Dekker	...	Dr. Alexander Thorkel
Thomas Coley	...	Bill Stockton
Janice Logan	...	Dr. Mary Robinson
Charles Halton	...	Dr. Rupert Bulfinch
Victor Kilian	...	Steve Baker
Frank Yaconelli	...	Pedro
Paul Fix	...	Dr. Mendoza
Frank Reicher	...	Professor Kendall

Storyline

Four explorers are summoned to Peru by the brilliant physicist Dr Thorkel. They discover a rich source of radium and a half-mad Thorkel who shrinks them down to one-fifth their normal size when they threaten to stop his unorthodox experimentation.

---

Plot Keywords:

scientist | radium | laboratory | megalomania | mule | 

---

Taglines:

The picture that was made behind locked doors!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Horror

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doctor Cyclops

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Dr. Cyclops" was Albert Dekker's signature part, and virtually all of his obituaries mentioned the film.

---

Quotes

Dr. Rupert Bulfinch: What will you do?
Dr. Alexander Thorkel: As you and your fellows develop toward normal size, you will interfere with my work, and that is something I cannot permit.

---

Crazy Credits

The Paramount logo has a flashing green mist over it just before the main titles (which also have it).

---

Connections

Featured in Monster Mania (1997)

User Reviews

Keep an eye out for this one.

Partially sighted molecular biologist Dr. Alexander Thorkel (Albert Dekker) invites a team of fellow scientists to help him with his work at his laboratory deep in the Amazon jungle; within hours of their arrival, the problem that Thorkel has been struggling with has been resolved, and the surprised boffins are immediately given their marching orders, none the wiser about the precise nature of their ungrateful host's experiments.

Eager to learn more, the curious group sneaks into Thorkel's room to take a peek at his notes, but discover more than they bargained for when they become the guinea pigs in the secretive genius's next experiment: bundled into a room, they are exposed to a heavy dose of radiation that reduces them to a fraction of their original size.

Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, one of the team responsible for bringing King Kong to the screen in 1933, Dr. Cyclops is a fairly routine mad-scientist sci-fi/horror potboiler, but one that benefits immensely from a incredible array of groundbreaking special effects and sumptuous Technicolor photography. Technically, this film is way ahead of its time, looking more like a product of the mid 1950s than the early 40s, and for this reason alone it should be a priority for all fans of fantastic cinema.

Utilising a combination of careful camera placement (low shots to make Thorkel appear huge; high shots to make his victims appear small), detailed over-sized sets and props, rear projection, split screen and mattes, Schoedsack and his effects team create scene after scene of memorable movie magic. Take into account that this movie is now over 70 years old and it cannot fail to impress.

On the downside, the score is extremely heavy handed and some of the performances are less than stellar (Dekker is excellent, but the exaggerated mannerisms adopted by the pint-sized profs are embarrassingly trite). Thankfully, these are minor quibbles when measured against the film's massive technical accomplishments and the film remains a consistently entertaining experience nonetheless.

7.5 out 10, rounded up to 8 for the sight of yummy egghead Dr. Mary Robinson (Janice Logan) in her sexy makeshift toga: she might be reduced to a foot in height, but she's certainly no shrinking violet.