Main Cast: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Kathleen Burke
Release Year: 1932
Country: US
Run Time: 71 minutes
Plot
This first film version of H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau stars Charles Laughton as Dr.Moreau, a dedicated but sadly misguided scientist who rules the roost on a remote island. Shipwrecked sailor Edward Parker Richard Arlen finds himself on Moreau's island, agreeing to stick around until another boat can come along and take him home. But that's not quite what Moreau has in mind: he'd rather Parker stay on the island and marry the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke), who curiously possesses the characteristics of the panther. In fact, all the island's natives seem more animal than human, especially the hirsute Bela Lugosi. And why not? They are animals who've been transformed by Moreau into humanlike creatures via surgery. Moreau's plans to mate Parker and Lota are complicated by the arrival of Parker's fiancee Leila Hyams, who has been brought to the island by ship's captain Stanley Fields, one of Moreau's flunkies. When Moreau kills Fields for this insubordination, he makes the mistake of breaking one of the rules he himself has imposed on the island: That no creature shall kill another. Island of Lost Souls does its job of inducing goosebumps so well that one can forgive the cherubic excesses of Charles Laughton in his portrayal of Dr. Moreau. The film would be remade under Wells' original title in 1978, with Burt Lancaster in the Laughton role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Island of Lost Souls is that rarity, a horror film from the 1930s that still seems scary. While it may seem a bit creaky by contemporary standards, the film has retained its raw power to unnerve, thanks largely to Charles Laughton, who brings a vivid, sweaty amorality to his performance that's truly disturbing; lots of mad scientists in the movies have played God, but few made it seem more morally repugnant than Laughton. Make-up man Wally Westmore's creations genuinely resemble a grotesque middle ground between humans and animals; if make-up technique has improved considerably since this film was made, the crudity of the effects actually works in this context, giving Moreau's creations a rough, unpolished quality that suits the story perfectly. And while the film is extremely modest in its onscreen violence, the offscreen mutilations are quite shocking in context; the hideously pained overheard screams of Moreau's "manimals" (and later Moreau himself) are as chillingly effective as a hundred Tom Savini-designed limb-loppings. In its day, The Island of Lost Souls was considered a film that went too far (it was banned in England until the late 1960s), and its rough audacity gives it a power that hasn't dulled all these years later; it's inarguably superior to its latter-day remakes, both titled The Island of Dr. Moreau, after the H.G. Wells novel on which the films were based. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Erle C. Kenton - Director, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Karl Struss - Cinematographer, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Waldemar Young - Screenwriter, Philip Wylie - Screenwriter, H.G. Wells - Short Story Author
Both book and movie were about a remote island that was run by an obsessed scientist who is secretly conducting surgical experiments on animals. The goal of these experiments is to try to transform the animals into human beings. The result of the experiments is a race of half-human, half-animal creatures that lives in the island's jungles, only tentatively under Moreau's control.
When a shipwreck sets ocean traveler Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) adrift, he gets picked up by a freighter that is delivering supplies to an isolated South Seas island owned by Dr. Moreau. The only thing Parker can find out about the doctor is that he likes his privacy.
When Parker and the freighter's captain get into a fight, he ends up stranded on the island. Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton) takes him in and it is then he begins to learn why Moreau is so secretive. At first he hears the strange noises at night suggesting the presence of unseen island natives. Later, when he tries to leave the house where he has been staying, Parker for the first time runs into the animal-men. Saved from them by Moreau and his assistants, Parker observes the island's strange social structure. Moreau cracks a whip and orders an animal-man known as the Sayer of the Law (Bela Lugosi) to repeat the rule against violence. Once that happens, the animal-men return to the jungle.
Moreau and his men return Parker to the main house. Once they are back inside, the doctor explains his experiments. The operations were done on the animals in a place he refers to as "the house of pain". Moreau also introduces Parker to his most successful experiment, a panther that now looks like an attractive human female. The panther-woman called Lota (Kathleen Burke) is in fact so human that Moreau hopes that she and Parker will mate. The unexpected arrival of Parker's fiancee Ruth (Leila Hyams) ends that idea.
Parker realizes that he has to escape the island with his fiancee but is unsure how to do this. His opportunity comes when Moreau is caught in an act of violence by the animal-men and they make the decision to revolt. They pursue Moreau to his own house of pain where he meets a grisly demise—they eviscerate him with his own surgical instruments. Although this is not explicitly shown, Moreau's ghastly screams leave no doubt as to what is happening. Eventually the entire island goes up in flames. Parker and Ruth then make their escape.
UK censorship ban
The film was examined and refused a certificate three times by the British Board of Film Censors, in 1933, 1951 and 1957. While the reason for the initial ban is not clear, it is likely that the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which forbade the portrayal of cruelty to animals in feature films released in Britain, was a significant factor in the BBFC's subsequent rejections. The film was eventually passed with an 'X' certificate on 9 July 1958.[1] Original author H. G. Wells was outspoken in his dislike of the film, feeling the overt horror elements overshadowed the story's deeper philosophies.
Influence
The film has been remade twice. Both the later versions used the title from the H. G. Wells novel. The first remake was released in 1977 and stars Burt Lancaster as the doctor. The second remake was released in 1996 and stars Marlon Brando as Moreau. In the very similar Twilight People (1973), actress Pam Grier plays the role of the panther woman.
Playwright Charles Ludlam used this movie, as well as Wells' novel and the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, when writing his play Bluebeard (1970).
Members of the new wave band Devo were fans of the film. The "What is the law?" sequence formed part of the lyrics to Devo's song "Jocko Homo," with Lugosi's query "Are we not men?" providing the title to their 1978 debut album Question: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!Oingo Boingo is another new wave band who paid tribute to the film with their song "No Spill Blood," which featured the refrain "What is the Law? No spill blood!" and appeared on their 1983 Good for Your Soul album.
References
^ James C. Robertson, The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913-1975, London, Routledge (1989), pp. 55-57.
Sources
Island of Lost Souls VHS tape, Universal Home Video Monsters Classic Collection
IMDb profile: Island of Lost Souls
Classics of the Horror Film: From the Days of the Silent Film to the Exorcist, by Willam K. Everson
