Dr. Cyclops (1940)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There is no method to the madness of reclusive scientist Albert Dekker, a man so determined to fight against the laws of God that he drive himself mad in the process, giving truth to the old saying that whom God intends to destroy he drives mad first. While Decker does not play an actual character named Cyclops, he will ultimately be exactly like the legendary creature of Greek myth. This colorful Paramount science fiction/horror movie is one of the gems of the silver screen that has simply not gotten its due except from a cult following rather than becoming an all-time classic on the lines of the Universal horror movies of the 1930s. However Dekker is up there with Karloff and Lugosi in the characterization of evil he plays here, and unlike Lugosi's Dracula, he is very much alive and unlike the undead Karloff in "Frankenstein", there is no sympathy at all for the creature that he becomes. The reclusive Dekker wants to continue his evil experiments in private, killing one rival, and turning a group of people trying to stop him by simply shrinking them to doll size versions of themselves, placing them in a world of terror that we as full grown men and women do not understand. However, in the world of the film of Dr. Cyclops, the audience is put into their shoes, seeing what would happen, if all of a sudden we were 1/10 of our size, or as it often seems 1/50 of Cyclops' size. With Dekker sleeping nearby, the little people escape his clutches, manage to avoid a ferocious cat, and end up outside where the most vicious thunderstorm hits all at once, showing the audience the fear of full grown animals who even in their own element are petrified. Shots of two spider monkeys consoling each other in a tree, lions, bears, various birds, and other wildlife critters, is intertwined with the footage of the miniature victims of Dekker's evil plans to find shelter. The doctor himself takes great glee in teasing these men and women over their predicament, informing one of the victims that they are about to be attacked by a giant rooster. The special effects are outstanding, and the cleverness of these little people is as equal as in the evil of Dekker's mad scientist. The tension arises in how these creatures will deal with their plight, and how they will ultimately stop Dekker from continuing his mad reign of terror. Filmed in beautiful color, Dr. Cyclops is one of the gems of its era, and is a must for all fans of science fiction and horror.There's also the presence of an adorable loyal dog who looks at his master in bewilderment as he sees him as a tiny version of himself, too confused to acknowledge him but still trained in loyalty to see him as anything else but who the dog knows him to be. The fate of this one particular character is quite tragic, and the impact of what. Of what the Cyclops does will immediately affect you.Unlike the earlier "The Devil Doll" which had little creatures being used by Lionel Barrymore to cause paralysis to their victims, and the later "Incredible Shrinking Man". Dr Cyclops uses a great deal of imagination in addition to intelligence to create a story that while fantastic and beyond belief, is a reminder that human beings should there not head down this path of knowledge, and find out secrets which God intends we do not find out. I am glad that this is never been remade, because no film creator could ever hope to reproduce the impact that this film has had, and it remains a true sleeper of the science fiction and horror genre.

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" is masterful science-fiction from the golden era of cinema, containing all the prime ingredients in order to be ranked amongst the genre's most timeless classics. The script is excellent, there are at least two highly memorable acting performances (Albert Dekker and Charles Halton), the use of (Techni)color still stands as groundbreaking and the special effects are – at least 'were' for that time – phenomenal and faultless to the smallest detail. Youthful horror and Sci-Fi fans, exclusively swearing by the use of computer-animated techniques, can't possibly imagine how much time, effort and sincere devotion it must have cost here to scale down the sets or to endlessly edit all the matte works together. The effects in "Dr. Cyclops" are so terrific and so ahead of times they actually form a worthy equivalent for the visual art in "The Incredible Shrinking Man", which got released more than 15 years later and had a larger budget to work with. Doctor Thorkel is a brilliant albeit slightly eccentric scientist investigating the possibilities of freshly exploited radium in the middle of the Amazonian jungle. He develops a way to miniaturize living tissue, but he requires the help of three fellow scientists because his declining eyesight causes miscalculations. The scientists naturally refuse to leave without knowing the essence of Thorkel's research and, paranoid over the idea they'll steal his lifework, he shrinks them to a mere twelve inches. With Thorkel going increasingly berserk, the group has the choice between either facing their mad opponent or flee into the immense and dangerous jungle. The script features a couple of slower parts but, generally speaking, "Dr. Cyclops" is a vastly compelling and intellectually challenging film. The references towards the Greek mythology in the title and, more elaborated, in the script are fantastic, and Albert Dekker's performance is a stellar tour-de-force. His diabolical role also compensates for the weak and hammy supportive players.

This is an awfully entertaining and unique film, though it does seem a bit reminiscent of THE DEVIL DOLL. Both are wonderful films about slightly mad people who have a secret for shrinking people and both excel due to exceptional special effects. However, this movie is one where the mad doctor doesn't actually intend to shrink a group of outsiders--at least not initially. A small group of people trek through the Andes to a very remote region to meet a brilliant scientist who is doing experiments with radium. However, even though they were invited, the doctor soon tells them to get lost!!! The people went through a lot to get there and are understandably irked at the doc. So, because the people refuse to leave and the doc is at heart a real jerk, he decides to use his evil shrink ray to make them all itsy-bitsy (about a pound or so each)! Now so far, the film is pretty interesting and could have degenerated into a lousy B-movie (like in ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE). However, decent writing really saved the film. Instead of the little people just running away or trying to save themselves (which they initially do), they decide to stay and fight! This really helped the film and made the shrunken people more 3-dimensional and people you could care about and root for in the film. And all this is done using what were, for the time, exceptional special effects. About the only problem, and boy is it minor, is that at one point an American Aligator attacks the little folks. Sure, they aren't native to South America, but this is such a tiny quibble, who cares?? An entertaining film for kids and adults like me who just haven't chosen to grow up!!