Island of Lost Souls
Short description
Island of Lost Souls is a 1932 American adventure horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton, based on H.G. Wells's novel about a scientist whose experiments cross the boundary between animal and human. On a remote Pacific island, the unbalanced Dr. Moreau pursues his goal of remaking beasts into people, presiding over a population of hybrid creatures who live under strict rules he has imposed. When a shipwrecked outsider named Edward Parker arrives, he becomes a witness to the doctor's work and to the harsh discipline used against those who disobey.
Charles Laughton plays Moreau, with Richard Arlen as Parker, Leila Hyams as Ruth Thomas, Bela Lugosi as the Sayer of the Law, Kathleen Burke as Lota the Panther Woman, and Arthur Hohl as Montgomery. Waldemar Young and Philip Wylie wrote the screenplay, and Kenton produced as well as directed. The film runs seventy-one minutes. It is the earliest of the three titles listed for Kenton, preceding The Ghost of Frankenstein and House of Dracula.
Ratings place the film well regarded in its own right. On IMDb it holds 7.3 from about 12,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.9 from roughly 274 votes. A critics' rating of 8.6 from forty-one reviews sits above both audience scores, suggesting stronger admiration from reviewers than from general viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- 60,000 girls auditioned for the role of Lola. Following a nationwide competition organized by Paramount Pictures, the role went to Kathleen Burke (1913-1980).
- Writer Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), author of the novel “The Island of Doctor Moreau” (1896), which served as the literary basis for the film, did not like the film. He felt that the emphasis on horror completely overshadowed the philosophical themes of his work.
- The British Board of Film Classification did not approve the film in 1933, so the film remained banned in the United Kingdom until 1958, when it was released with an X rating, although some scenes had to be cut. The Board, in particular, objected to references to vivisection and “the dismemberment of a living person,” as well as to Doctor Moreau’s line, “Do you know what it’s like to feel like God?” The complete version of the film was released on DVD in 2011 with a PG rating (contains scenes not suitable for children).
- When creating the language of the mutants, sound engineer Loring L. Rider recorded a mix of sounds made by animals and speech in foreign languages, and then played the resulting mix backwards at different speeds. The sound he produced was nauseating, causing some viewers in theaters to vomit.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
