Island of Lost Souls [Criterion Collection]

Director: Erle C. Kenton Erle C. Kenton

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2011
UPC:	0715515088114
Original Release:	1932
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:10:00
Sales rank:	13,234

Special Features

Audio commentary featuring film historian Gregory Mank; ; New conversation between filmmaker John Landis, Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker, and genre expert Bob Burns; ; New interviews with horror film historian David J. Skal; filmmaker Richard Stanley, the original Director of the ill-fated 1996 adaptation; and Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh of the band Devo; ; Short 1976 film by Devo, featuring the songs "Secret Agent Man" and "Jocko Homo" ; Stills gallery; Theatrical trailer; ; Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by Writer Christine Smallwood

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

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	Montgomery
Stanley Fields	Capt. Davies
Bob Kortman	Hogan
Tetsu Komai	M'Ling
Hans Steinke	Ouran
Harry Ekezian	Gola
Rosemary Grimes	Samoan Girl
Paul Hurst	Donahue
George Irving	American Consul
Alan Ladd	Ape Man
Joe Bonomo	Ape Man
Randolph Scott	Ape Man
John George	Ape Man
Buster Crabbe	Ape Man
Duke York	Ape Man
Constantine Romanoff	Beast
Jack Burdette	Actor
Robert Milasch	Actor,Actor
Robert Kerr	Actor
Evangelus Berbas	Actor
Jack Walters	Actor
Panther Woman	Actor

Technical Credits

Waldemar Young

Philip Wylie

Gordon Jennings	Special Effects
Erle C. Kenton	Director
Waldemar Young	Screenwriter
Philip Wylie	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Island of the Lost Souls
1. The Rescue [6:51]
2. The SS Covena [6:26]
3. The Doctor's Boat [2:13]
4. The Island [3:01]
5. The Panther Woman [5:31]
6. The House of Pain [2:15]
7. The Sayer of the Law [3:35]
8. The Doctor Explains [5:53]
9. The Seduction [6:32]
10. The Beast Flesh Creeps Back [4:09]
11. The Man and the Woman [5:11]
12. The Natives Are Restless [7:23]
13. The Law Is Broken [5:02]
14. The Beasts Rebel [6:36]
1. Pre-Code Censorship [6:51]
2. Rough Waters [6:26]
3. Santa Catalina Island [2:13]
4. "Dr. Moreau, I Presume?" [3:01]
5. The Panther Woman Contest [5:31]
6. Jaguar and Panther [2:15]
7. Lugosi [3:35]
8. The Beast-men [5:53]
9. "A Rich Man's Freaks" [6:32]
10. "I Was Dreaming of Hair" [4:09]
11. The German Oak vs. Ali Baba [5:11]
12. Other Versions [7:23]
13. Mad Menagerie [5:02]
14. Against Nature [6:36]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Island of the Lost Souls
   Play The Movie
   Chapters
      The Color Bars
   Commentary
      Commentary: On/Off
      Index
         Color Bars
   The Strange Case of Dr. Moreau
      Landis, Baker, and Burns
         Play
      David J. Skal
         Play
      Richard Stanley
         Play
      Casale and Mothersbaugh
         Interview
         Short Film
      Stills Gallery
      Trailer

Editorial Reviews

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.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming