Docteur Cyclope

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.

"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.

It never fails to amaze me when people make short, thoughtless comparisons between the films of yesterday and the films of today. Good films transcend time, regardless of what technical achievements have since been invented, and Dr. Cyclops is just that...a good film. Sure it has outmoded special effects, but those special effects were once highly praised for their uniqueness and creativity. Those special effects were a springboard to other achievements in that technical area. Let's give credit where credit is due and praise this film not for having outmoded effects BUT for having special effects which revolutionized film effects. Enough sermonizing...I know how little good it does. This film tells the story of a mad, a very mad scientist that has discovered the ability to miniaturize things, animals, and even people. Albert Dekker plays easily his finest role as the demented Dr. Cyclops with a real bad sight problem. Dekker's performance is not like your typical raving madman(aka a Lugosi or even early Karloff performance) but more of a subdued evil and obsessive nature. The other actors are adequate and the special effects are wonderful. The film has a good story and I loved the obvious allusion to the mythological Polyphemus, a giant with all the advantages taken "down" by a small, yet brilliant man. This is a thoughtful, interesting, and fun film. Definitely keep more than one eye open when viewing this film!

This is a peculiar film to have come out of any studio in 1940, much less the stylish Paramount. Since the same year saw the equally bizarre Hal Roach production, One Million, B.C., it might not be unreasonable to assume that there was either something in the water that made them do it or else the studio chiefs were smoking weed that year. Produced and directed by the King Kong team of Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, Dr. Cyclops is a far cry from their earlier, vastly superior work, yet it's still worth seeing. The jungle, probably a backlot job, is marvelously rendered, and the Technicolor photography is as beautiful as any I've seen. There's a vividness to the color that makes it jump out at you that's almost psychedelic.

This is basically a mad scientist tale with a gimmick, which is the eponymous doctor's ability to shrink people to the size of elves. Much of the action revolves around the little people's attempts to elude the mad doctor and escape from his jungle laboratory. The movie feels more like a product of the fifties than the early forties, as this theme would be returned to again in later science fiction. It's also a tough movie to categorize, as it's not quite horror or pure sci-fi. Like Kong Kong, it's an action movie and technical tour de force that takes quite a few liberties with nature.

As an oddball experiment the movie works, up to a point, though it could have used more humor and irony; and the pace is less than thrilling. It's hard to pull this sort off of story on a good day, as the improbable material needs all the help it can get. Alas, aside from the stunning color and imaginative sets, it doesn't get much here. Most of the actors in the film are unknowns and would remain unknown, though prissy character actor Charles Halton has a decent role as one of the "shrunken", which he plays well. The most impressive performer is also the lead player, Albert Dekker, whose life and movie career were almost as strange as this film. He is both believable and intimidating as the mad doctor, and gives the movie a touch of class.

ALBERT DEKKER is the crazed DR. CYCLOPS who wants to protect his radium discovery by miniaturizing scientists who want to take advantage of his pet project. What's odd is that material that would ordinarily be found in a B-film, with a cast of unknowns aside from Dekker, was turned into a Technicolor A feature by Paramount, with its marvelous special effects (quaint by today's standards) even nominated for Best Special Effects.

Escape from Dr. Cyclops becomes the theme of the film once he has successfully miniaturized the frightened team of scientists. ALBERT DEKKER is fine in the title role.

And, thankfully, as weird as it sounds on paper, it turns out to be not only original, but an entertaining little film that enables any lover of sci-fi to enjoy its tale of a desperate attempt at escape in the Peruvian jungle as they try to elude the clutches of Dr. Cyclops.

Fun to watch--and fun to marvel at--considering it was done in the early '40s without the aid of today's over-used CGI.