Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls ★★★½ 1932
Horrifying adaptation of H.G. Wells's “The Island of Dr. Moreau” was initially banned in parts of the U.S. because of its disturbing contents. Dr. Moreau (Laughton) is a mad scientist who lives on a remote island and is obsessed with making men out of jungle animals. When shipwreck survivor Edward Parker (Arlen) gets stranded on the island, little does he know that Moreau wants to mate him with Lota (Burke), the Panther Woman, to produce the first humananimal child. As unsettling today as it was in the ‘30s. Lugosi has the notable role of the hybrid “Sayer of the Law” while Burke beat out more than 60,000 young women in a nationwide search to play the Panther Woman, winning the role because of her “feline” look. Remade as “The Island of Dr. Moreau” in both 1977 and 1996. 71m/B VHS, DVD . 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.