Dr. Zyklop

With the gradual loss of his sight, Dr Alexander Thorkel calls out to other scientist to come to his deep jungle retreat to assist him. When Drs Bulfinch and Robinson arrive (with Stockton and Baker with them) they are astonished to learn he literally wanted them to confirm a sample with his microscope. Bulfinch is so annoyed that he refuses to leave and the group remain while Thorkel locks himself away in his lab. When Stockton finds some small bones, Bulfinch is excited at the discovery of a new species. However the whole group is even more pleased at the discovery of large quantities of valuable ore and deicide to take it for themselves. Mad with isolation, Thorkel prevents them from leaving and uses his research on his guests.

I'm surprised that so few people appear to have seen this film (judging from the low number of votes for it on this site) because it is a cool piece of Technicolor adventure with some impressive (for the time) effects. The plot is a bit clunky early on as it stutters to the premise we all know is coming when the visitors get shrunk. At this stage it becomes a bit more enjoyable even if it isn't as exciting and spectacular as I wanted it to be. This is perhaps an unfair complaint because of the age of the film and it does provide a small scale (sorry) adventure where the novelty value of the special effects tends to dominate the development of the story.

It is a shame because Dekker gives an intense and interesting performance in the title role. He easily towers over his co-stars (sorry) who are mostly pretty wooden and unconvincing. Halton is OK but Logan makes for a very unconvincing scientist. Her chemistry with Coley is poor as indeed he is as well, although Kilian has a bit of a stiff sway about him. As said before, the effects are the majority of the show and they are impressive.

Overall this is a basic story that goes just where you expect it to but does have entertainment value. The effects are good for the time but, thanks to the heavy Technicolor, still retains a sort of retro cool for modern audiences. The cast aren't that good (although I did enjoy Dekker) because the material isn't there for them, but for what it is it is worth a look.

After killing his assistant Dr. Mendoza (Paul Fix), the insane Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker) summons the biologists Dr. Bulfinch (Charles Halton) and Dr. Mary Robinson (Janice Logan) to meet him in a remote area in the jungle of Peru. They travel with the mineralogist Bill Stockton (Thomas Coley) in mules owned by Steve Baker (Victor Kilian) that insists to go with them. After the long journey, Dr. Thorkel asks them to help him to identify a sample in a microscope and after receiving the answer, he thanks the support of his colleagues and say farewell to them. They decide to stay and find that there is a uranium mine in the spot. Further, they break in Thorkel´s laboratory to snoop into his research. Thorkel lures the group and locks them and his servant Pedro (Frank Yaconelli) in a room with an apparatus developed by him. He activates the device and shrinks the group that flees from him. Now Dr. Thorkel hunts them down.

"Dr. Cyclops" is a 1940 horror film with impressive special effects and sets. The story of a mad scientist that shrinks people when he feels threatened by them is funny. However the screenplay and edition have many flaws, such as the color of the miniature people clothes that change from white to different colors. The famous Dr. Bulfinch and Pedro are murdered by Dr. Thorkel but everybody seems to have forgotten in the end. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Delírio de um Sábio" ("The Delirium of a Wise")

This is one of two movies (the other being The Valley of Gwangi) I'm reviewing this month that has some connection with King Kong. In this case, it's the fact that the co-director of that one, Ernest B. Schoedsack, helmed this one solo. Also, actor Frank Reicher who plays Professor Kendall here was Captain Englehorn in the original 1933 blockbuster. Anyway, this was a pretty entertaining for its time yarn about a mad scientist (Albert Dekker as Dr. Alexander Thorkel) who invites three of his colleagues to look at his work before quickly dismissing them after only a few minutes of their time since he only needed them because of his gradually failing eyesight. Also along for the ride is a mule owner and a servant with a dog. When they discover what Thorkel's done, he tricks them into a room and shrinks them in order to control them...Okay, anyone expecting some logic as to why certain things happen the way they do should probably stay away from this movie as you'll probably get a headache doing so. Just marvel at some of the interesting visual effects (like how Dr. Throkel holds one of the shrunken in his hand), some cool sound effects (like the loud roar of that black cat), and the campy performance of Dekker (as when he actually tells the fate of what happens when the three survivors stay alive while still shrunken for a long time). Despite not much action (at least not until the last 25 minutes) or very compelling acting (though Charles Halton does have his moments as Dr. Rupert Bulfinch when confronting Thorkel especially when he calls him the title name), this was still a reasonably entertaining movie that won't waste the 77 minutes you spend watching this. So on that note, I recommend Dr. Cyclops. P.S. I'd like to recognize uncredited screenwriter Malcolm Stuart Boylan and player Janice Logan as both native born Chicagoans, like I am. And that Halton played Mr. Carter, the bank examiner, in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life.

"Dr. Cyclops" was an unusual horror film for its time. It did not use any major stars and was shot in glorious technicolor (unheard of for a film of this type). The plot is a typical "B" movie plot but the special effects and the color photography are what really sets this film apart.

The story involves "Mad Scientist" Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker) who summons three scientists (Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton) to his remote South American laboratory to seek their advice on his secret project. Along the way they are forced to bring muleskinner (Victor Kilian) along.

It turns out that the evil doctor has discovered the secret of miniaturization. To prevent them from cashing in on his discovery Thorkel shrinks the three scientists, the muleskinner and nosey local Pedro (Frank Yaconelli) to miniscule size. The rest of the film chronicles their efforts to escape.

The real star of the film are its special effects. Accomplished through a combination of split-screen, rear projection, miniatures and over sized props, the effects are quite convincing for the time. One shot I thought was quite well done was a scene where the evil doctor picks up one of his victims in his hand.

Because most of the budget was spent on color and effects, the quality of the acting suffers. Dekker does OK as the title character (a name given him by his victims because of his failing eyesight). The others are just barely adequate. Veteran Paul Fix, who could have raised the acting up a level, appeared briefly in the opening reel as Thorkel's sceptical assistant.

Albert Dekker plays the quietly insane mad scientist who makes one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind- how to shrink people. Unfortunately, a group of busy bodies stumble across his secret and can only see the commercial value of his huge radium deposit. What's a mad scientist to do? Shrink them, of course. Dekker is great as the amoral technocrat who sees his tormenters as nothing more than throw away subjects for his research. Nice, quiet, solid film with an undercurrent of evil personified by the sadistic Cyclops.