Dr. Cyclops
                                                                                        
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Year: 1940
Rating: 7.0
My guess is that if you saw this film with no information on it, you would think it was produced in the sci-fi craze of the mid-1950s or even early 60s. But it was made in 1940 and was shot in three-strip Technicolor which looks gorgeous for what had to be a B film coming in at 77-minutes with a cast of mainly unknowns. Not sure what Paramount was trying to do with this film. Experiment? The special effects are very good for the time of miniaturizing people in sets where everything else appears gigantic. The villain is astonishingly evil to a point that was shocking for the time.  One of the producers is Merian C. Cooper who had King Kong on his resume and the director is Ernest B. Schoedsack who was either director, cameraman or cinematographer on some classic films - King Kong, The Most Dangerous Game, The Four Feathers, Mighty Joe Young, Son of Kong. This is a very cool film even though the script is fairly weak with clumsy dialogue and no emotional sting. None of the characters are drawn out at all and the actors are unknown for good reasons with the exception of Dr. Cyclops. Though admittedly acting as a seven-inch human could not have been easy. But the plot and special effects are very effective.



Dr. Bulfinch (Charles Halton - you would recognize him if you saw him but not remember in what film) gets an invitation from the man who is considered the top biologist in the world. Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker) has invited him and his female assistant Dr. Mary Robinson (Janice Logan) to join him in the Amazon where he is conducting experiments. Weird and crazy ones which his partner objects to, only to be ruthlessly murdered. On the way they pick up a mineralogist (Thomas Coley) and the man (Victor Kilian) who has rented them the mules.  Once they arrive at Thorkel's abode, he asks them to look through a microscope and give their opinion. He says his eyesight is fading and has a thick pair of googles on, making him creepy and monstrous. They do so and he tells them that they can now leave. Not only can, they must. Having traveled a few thousand miles, Bulfinch is infuriated and refuses. Turns out to be a bad mistake.



Thorkel is bonkers - a mad scientist and psychopath of the first order. He is working on miniaturizing live creatures - a horse and other animals. He traps them in a room and does the same to them. All dressed now in handkerchiefs. The latest styles for men and women. It becomes a fine adventure tale as they escape into the jungle - avoiding roosters, dogs, cats and a crocodile. Thorkel decides he has to kill them before they grow back up and they realize they have to kill him. Having the large sets around them - chairs, desks, rocks - and such is well-done and the scenes where they have both Thorkel and them in the same shot are a bit off but look fine. The color throughout is eye-capturing and the little people trying to fight back is clever and suspenseful.