Island of Lost Souls Movie Review

A horrifying, highly effective adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau, initially banned in parts of the U.S. because of its disturbing content. Charles Laughton is a mad scientist on a remote tropical island, obsessed with making men out of jungle animals through extensive, painful surgery. The jungle is full of Laughton's half-finished experiments, all of whom are kept in line by a rigid code of behavior (“the Law”) and threats of a return to the laboratory where they were created (the aptly named “House of Pain”). When a shipwreck survivor is stranded on the island, Laughton plots to mate him with Lota, a young woman who was originally a panther. The film is as unsettling today as it was in the ‘30s. Kathleen Burke beat out more than 60,000 young women in a nationwide search to play Lota the Panther Woman; she won the role with her “feline” looks. Bela Lugosi has a small but unforgettable role as the Sayer of the Law. Remade in 1977 as The Island of Dr. Moreau; plans for another big-budget remake are in the works for 1996.

1932 71m/B Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Kathleen Burke, Stanley Fields, Robert F. (Bob) Kortman, Arthur Hohl; Cameos: Alan Ladd, Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe; D: Erle C. Kenton; W: Philip Wylie, Waldemar Young; C: Karl Struss. VHS MCA, FCT, BTV