H.G. Wells is such a remarkable writer. His books are entertaining and thought
provoking about the risks of science, mankind, the future (and to our benefit
rather short reads). The film adaptations that I have seen never quite capture
the manic intensity in some of his scenes. The Invisible Man as he desperately
tries to escape, the shock of realizing the Morlocks eat the natives for
nourishment in The Time Machine, the hopelessness of living in The War of
the Worlds and in this one The Island of Dr. Moreau when the man-beasts go
mad. This captures that moment fairly well - a little less savage and much
shorter but they have the spirit of it. There have been a few high profile
adaptations of the book which I have not seen and a few silent foreign versions
but this is the first talkie of it and it is damn good. The make-up that
creates the man-beasts is wonderful - something between both species -
faces distorted and frightening - the looks depending on what the species
was before Dr. Moreau worked his magic. Charles Laughton does insane better
than anyone - he never overplays it - but the looks that cross his face with
its peculiar facial hair for only a second are just perfect - sly, cruel,
mischievous, charming, childlike - but always on the edge of madness in the
gleam of his eyes. And of course the Panther Woman steals the show.
There are no women in the book but like the 39 Steps they feel the need to
introduce two of them into the story. And it works. Edward (Richard Arlen)
is on a bad streak of luck. His ship goes down but after a few days on a
lifeboat he is rescued. He finds himself with Montgomery (Arthur Hohl) who
is transporting various animals to a small remote island. Edward gets into
a fight with the captain and kicked off the boat when Montgomery lands. As
they make their way to the home of Moreau he can't help but notice odd looking
creatures standing on their feet in the jungle spying on him and making guttural
sounds. Moreau is very hospitable and introduces him to Lola (Kathleen Burke)
with her exotic sleek looks and halting English.
Edward soon realizes what Moreau is up to - turning animals into something
close to human in what he calls The House of Pain - with the ability to think
and speak. He is their God and sets down the Law with his whip. The main
law being We are Men and Men do not Shed blood. They chant this in their
meetings led by the Sayer of the Law - a barely recognizable Bela Lugosi
with his thick facial hair. Edward has a girl waiting for him at home but
Lola enchants him as she gives her affections and effortlessly falls into
his arms. He kisses her and then he sees her hands. The film only runs 70
minutes and is a blast. Especially when the man-beasts decide they don't
like the Law so much. It was a bit shocking for its time and was banned in
many places. In 14 states it was banned for Moreau's theory of evolution
and calling himself a God. It was banned in England for its cruelty to animals
(which is weird since they are all played by humans). Wells apparently hated
it and was happy to see England ban it. Probably due to the women but his
book has a very depressing aftermath - Edward does not go home to a woman
but to alienation and loneliness.
Its main weakness is a lackluster performance from Richard Arlen as Edward.
Of course, next to Laughton everyone seemed that way and he liked it that
way - a man of enormous ego and fragility. An interesting story on how Arlen
got into show business. He was a messenger and when delivering something
to Paramount he crashed and broke his leg. He literally broke into show business
because as he was laid up they noticed that he was quite good looking and
after a few small roles he co-starred in Wings in 1927 and it was a huge
hit. But that was pretty much the high point of his career. I have no idea
why Lugosi took this role - it is fairly small though he has a few choice
moments towards the end. And Laughton was burnishing his credentials into
becoming one of the great actors of the age. Before this he played Emperor
Nero in The Sign of the Cross which must have been good practice for this
film.
