Format: DVD from DeKalb Public Library on laptop.
There are some classic stories that continue to be made and remade over and over again. Consider, for instance, just how many versions there are of Dracula or Hamlet. One of the stories that seems to show up every now and then, is The Island of Dr. Moreau. The earliest version (I think) is Island of Lost Souls from 1932. There are some real joys in this version, although it does have a drawback or two. But it’s worth noting that this is a more entertaining version than the Val Kilmer/Brando version from the 1990s and has the distinct benefit of both Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi.
Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) has been shipwrecked and is picked out of the water by a cargo ship that is on its way to deliver animals to an unnamed island in the middle of nowhere. The captain (Stanley Fields) is a drunk and mistreats M’ling (Tetsu Komai), the servant of a passenger named Montgomery (Arthur Hohl). When Edward reacts badly to this, the captain forces him off the boat when he delivers his cargo to the uncharted island.
