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CREEPY CLASSICS presents... |
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Creepy Classics Spotlight Movie Last Weekend - ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932) Every week, readers here are selecting a movie to view...then we all try to watch it together utilizing our DVD/video library. This past Saturday night, many of us watched ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932). This was suggested by Kirk Smith, Manito, IL. Details about movie nights to come are HERE. Please include your name and location after your comments, so we can see how we're all joining together from diffeent locals around the globe! Let's all Synch-Up Saturday nights at 7:30PM, or catch this week's movie sometime over the weekend!
Hello Everybody, I JUST finished watching "Island Of Lost Souls" this past SUNDAY afternoon on VHS video upstairs in my bedroom on my super 34" Proscan TV AND after viewing this intense, controversial (for it`s time) and suspenseful 1932 Paramount Pictures release for the 2nd time ever! - I come away with thoughts of what famed author (of the novel) H.G. Wells really wants us to think about after watching this splendid film adaptation of his timeless story...Using the wonderful cinematic talents of director Erle C. Kenton ("The Ghost Of Frankenstein" "House Of Frankenstein" "House Of Dracula") director of photography Karl Struss ("Rocketship X-M" "The Alligator People" "The Fly") scriptwriters Philip Wylie and Waldemar Young AND finally- makeup man Wally Westmore and his talented crew!
All these years later, this film STILL stands up great and is one of the better horror films of the 1930`s! (So much so, that because of it`s cultural impact it has seen several remakes- including "Terror Is A Man" (1959) "The Twilight People" (1972) "The Island Of Dr.Moreau" (1977) and "The Island Of Dr.Moreau" (1996) Of course, extolling about the virtues of this classic would not be complete without mentioning our super cast: First and Foremost- there is the GREAT performance of Charles Laughton to consider and appreciate! He plays our resident "MAD" doctor with a combination of feral, arrogant glee and brutal rage. One of the best performances of a human villian ever put on the silver screen! (Some of his lines are incredibally memorable and quite sadistic in their overtones)
-Dan Brenneis- Strongsville, Ohio- Monster Bash Staff Member And LifeTime FilmFan Extroadinairre.
Ron, 2. At first glance, Charles Laughton looks like a devil. When Richard Arlen first comes on his island, Charles Laughton is very civil to him. Even when explaining to Richard Arlen of his experiments, he is civil. Those scenes of civility coupled with Laughton's devil-like countenance contributed greatly to the creepy shroud hanging over the film. 3. Not only did Kathleen Burke look beautiful in this film, she also managed to turn in a very good performance. She not only looked like a cat( specifically a panther), she also moved and acted like one. 4. Even though there was no music in the film, there were, in fact, incredible sound effects. Throughout the entire film you heard various grunts, groans, and growls coming from the jungle. Occasionally, screams could be heard coming from the House of Pain. With the House of Pain, a radio mentality was used. What was happening on the operating table was left to the mind of the viewer. 5. Bela Lugosi had a great part as the Sayer of The Law. He is the end result of one of Charles Laughton's experiments. I'm 6. To me, the scariest scene in the film was when Bela Lugosi discovered that Charles Laughton's law had a huge loophole. He 7. Side note- While looking up this film on IMDB( Internet Movie Database), I checked the credits. In listing who played the "Scary" is a word that's thrown around a lot to describe horror movies that just aren't that scary. Island Of Lost Souls is a film that earns the moniker "scary" and wears it like a badge of honor. Kirk Smith
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In my opinion, when you break down this story to it`s most important message- You come to the revelation of what HUMAN NATURE is all about AND watching the events of this movie unfold before your eyes, it makes us all take into account our OWN personal responsibility of how we decide to treat our fellow man...AND ANIMALS, TOO! When this movie came out, the subject matter shocked audiences and film critics so severely, that it was banned from being shown for many years thereafter....(Including in England {Well`s birthplace and home} and in many places in the U.S. as well. 
Bela Lugosi`s performance as "The Sayer Of The Law" is a real stand-out amongst the many "MANIMALS" who populate this cinematic treasure. His classic lines ending with "Are We Not Men?" is one that cannot soon be forgotten in the minds of horror fans throught the world.....And the makeups on Bela and his hairy comrades are first-rate and very convincing! (Adding to the horror of the proceedings...) Lastly, the rest of the supporting cast do a nice job here as well- including Richard Arlen (as Edward Parker-our hero) Leila Hyams as the beautiful and caring Ruth Walker (Edward`s love) Arthur Hohl as the regretful Montgomery (Moreau`s assistant) Paul Hurst as the helpful, but doomed Donahue, Stanley Fields as the grumpy and arrogant Captain Davies AND last, but not LEAST, the very interesting Kathleen Burke ("Murders In The Zoo") as "Lota" the Panther Woman!! ---GREAT MOVIE WITH A TRULY CHILLING CLIMAX! ---My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
1. The first striking feature of Island Of Lost Souls is the lack of music. It's striking because it's grisly storyline gives the viewer
no musical cues to set up scary scenes. The viewer, along with the lead hero, is left stranded for seventy minutes.
