The Island Of Dr Moreau is one of my favourite books. Written by H.G Wells in 1896, it is a chilling and thought-provoking tale about a shipwrecked sailor who ends up on a remote island full of weird animals created by a vivisectionist. The book was first filmed in 1933 as the excellent Island Of lost Souls. This 1977 remake (which is the first version to actually use the original title) is not as good as the 1933 one, but it still has moments of interest. It also remains moderately faithful to the source novel. The performances are quite strong and the film raises some disturbing questions, which in my view is something that any science fiction movie worth its salt should aim to do.
Following the loss of the ship Lady Vain, English sailor Andrew Braddock (the oft-underrated Michael York) washes up on an island where he is found by a man named Montgomery (Nigel Davenport). Montgomery takes Braddock to recover at a nearby jungle compound run by reclusive scientist Dr Moreau (Burt Lancaster). Moreau has moved to this lost retreat after his theories and experiments invited great controversy and criticism in the “real” world. Pretty soon, Braddock begins to realise that the doctor may well be up to his old experiments in the secluded privacy of his remote island mansion. Animal-like servants work for the doctor; strange half-animal, half-man creatures populate the neighbouring jungle; and, upon snooping around Moreau’s laboratory, Braddock learns that the doctor is presently operating on a bear in an effort to transform it into a man. It seems that Moreau is determined to develop a technique for turning beasts into people, and has already created many beast-men who now live outside the compound under strict laws and rules dictated by Moreau himself. Braddock’s arrival gives Moreau the chance to try a new experiment that he has been contemplating for quite some time…. the act of transforming a man into an animal.
Lancaster is very good as Moreau, playing the role more restrained than Charles Laughton in the 1933 version. Laughton was the archetypal mad scientist, but Lancaster interprets the part more as a misguided man who allows his experiments to get out of hand simply because his enthusiasm and determination blind him to the potential hazards. Although released in 1977, the film ought to have been shot in black and white. The beach, the jungle and the mansion look far too pleasant and paradise-like, and this detracts from the film’s sinister intentions. Black and white photography would have added considerably to the film’s menacing atmosphere (which is desired but not achieved by director Don Taylor). Also, Barbara Carrera plays a female in Moreau’s compound – possibly the most successful of his “creations”, if you notice some of the unverified clues in the script – but her role is disappointingly wasted (partly due to the ambiguity about whether she is a normal woman or a creation). The Island Of Dr Moreau is worth a look – it beats the hell out of the dire 1996 remake – but is still several levels down from The Island Of Lost Souls.
