by Barb Lentz

 

The five movies Bob provided for me from which to choose were these:

Cross Creek  (1983)

The 400 Blows  (1959)

Island of Lost Souls  (1932)

The Maltese Falcon  (1941)

The Sunshine Boys  (1975)

 

I chose Island of Lost Souls because we had yet to see an older horror movie, and because of the presence of Bela Lugosi (I had previously passed on Dracula in favor of The Naked City).  I didn’t recognize the title, although I was aware of other, more recent, film versions of The Island of Dr. Moreau.  Now I’ve seen the original.

The film is full of foreshadowing, beginning in the boat sequences, from the expressions of disgust by Captain Davies (Stanley Fields) about Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton) to Edward Parker’s (Richard Arlen) defense of fanged M’Ling (Tetsu Komai) when Davies knocks M’Ling to the deck.  Eventually Parker repeats Davies’ rebuke of Moreau, word for word, to his face, and defends Lota (Kathleen Burke) and his fiancé Ruth against the rampaging Beast-Men of the island.  After the first reading of the “Law,” you just know that it’s going to be recited again, with a different outcome.

I also found the female dynamic interesting.  Lota is the only woman on the island, kept in safety in Dr. Moreau’s compound.  Several of the Beast-Men have their eyes on her, but the doctor keeps them at bay by locking up Lota until Parker’s arrival on the island.  Parker’s fiancé, Ruth (Leila Hyams), is a blonde-haired woman in white who instantly entrances the same Beast-Men, and who sparks jealousy in the heart of Lota, who sees her as a romantic rival.  Cruel as he is, Moreau protects Lota from the savage primitives, and Parker and Montgomery (Arthur Hohl) do the same for Ruth, saving the women from “the fate worse than death” at the hands of the brutish beasts.

My top five moments of the movie are:

1.  When Parker bends down to help M’Ling on the boat and observes his furry, pointed ear.  It is the first tangible clue that something is clearly amiss with Dr. Moreau’s strange cargo.

2.  When Captain Davies avenges Parker’s punch by socking him senseless and throwing him overboard, right onto Moreau’s schooner.  The stuntman seems okay but anyone else would probably have been crippled or killed in that fall.

3.  When Lota grabs Parker’s book about radio frequencies and throws it into the water because its knowledge might allow Parker to escape the island.  This is proof that Lota has strong womanly feelings for Parker, and perversely supports Moreau’s contention that animals can be “humanized”.

4.  When Ruth goes to the American consulate in Apia to force Captain Davies to tell them what happened to Parker.  Davies is brusque and rude to her at the pier, but he is much humbler when facing the authority that can revoke his license.  Ruth won’t hear of anything else other than finding a way to rescue her fiancé.

5.  When Moreau and his crackling whip finally fail to subdue the angry Beast-Men after Moreau orders Ouran (Hans Steinke) to kill Captain Donohue (Paul Hurst).  Moreau stupidly assumes that he can flout the same Law that he has taught his subjects, but once Moreau breaks that Law he becomes mortal, and thus vulnerable, to them.  When he tells Ouran to follow and kill Donohue, he essentially signs his own death warrant.

Is Island of Lost Souls a classic?  Yes, I think so.  I was impressed by several aspects of the film, from the way that the Beast-Men looked and moved around (like animals) to the use of shadows and light to obscure certain things and illuminate others.  The sets and makeup are excellent, heightening the exotic locale and unnatural aspects of the Beast-Men.  I didn’t really understand why Moreau was trying to make humans out of animals, but that’s the story.  The movie relates that story simply but effectively.

BRL  28 May 2014.

 

Island of Lost Souls  (December, 1932)  Paramount.

Director:  Erle C. Kenton.  No producer credited.

Written by Waldemar Young and Philip Wylie, based upon the novel by H. G. Wells.

Principal Cast (character, performer):

Dr. Moreau                                                   Charles Laughton

Edward Parker                                               Richard Arlen

Ruth Thomas                                                 Leila Hyams

Sayer of the Law                                            Bela Lugosi

Lota, the Panther Woman                                Kathleen Burke

Montgomery                                                  Arthur Hohl

Captain Davies                                               Stanley Fields

Captain Donohue                                            Paul Hurst

Ouran                                                           Hans Steinke

M’ling                                                           Tetsu Komai

70 minutes.  B&W.  Not Rated.