The plot is a typical b movie plot but the special effects and the color photography are what really sets this film apart. Schoedsack, and starring thomas coley, victor kilian, janice logan, charles halton, frank yaconelli, and albert dekker. In accordance with the directives of government and health authorities, we have temporarily suspended operations. His first victims include mining engineers bill stockton thomas coley and steve baker victor kilian and biologists mary. Cyclops is a 1940 american technicolor science fiction horror film from paramount pictures, produced by dale van every and merian c. Cyclops was based on a short story by science fiction writer henry kuttner. Now you can call me cyclops, because i have one good eye. The cooperschoedsack team had been responsible for one of the greatest fantasy films of all time, king kong 1933, as well as other movies in the adventure and horror genres, such as the most dangerous game 1932, the monkeys paw 1933, the son of. Alberts last role was the detective pat harrigan in the wild bunch. Universal dvds the classic scifi ultimate collection vol. Schoedsack, albert dekker, thomas coley, janice logan, adventure, scifi, horror may 3, 2017 four explorers are summoned to peru by. Van dekker was best known for his roles in the films dr. This wasnt the first movie to deal with the miniaturization of human beings the bride of frankenstein and the devil doll addressed the issue earlier, but it was the first to devote its visual effects to depicting the dangers of being tiny in a fullscale world. Cyclops 1940 starring albert dekker immortal ephemera.
Thorkel albert dekker, whose untimely death in 1968 is a story itself. Lot x5 monster movies horror 8mm dr cyclops bride of frankenstein castle films. Cyclops is a 1940 paramount science fiction film, directed by ernest b. Cyclops paramount 1940 tonight we have an early monster movie filmed in technicolor and stars that very kinky stage, film and tv actor, mr. Thorkel is a brilliant biologist who starts going mad while in the jungle of peru and decides to shrink all the animals and his explorer friends down to a few inches tall. Alexander thorkel albert dekker is the worlds greatest living authority on organic molecular structure. Thorkel albert dekker has developed a way to shrink people to a minuscule size and sets about inflicting his.
With his eyesight failing, he invites 3 fellow scientists to help with his work in the jungle, but once the work is completed they refuse his requests for them. Cyclops was directed by ernest schoedsack, of king kong fame. He maintains a laboratory in the jungle mountains of peru, because of its proximity to a large radioactive deposit. Schoedsack, who had earlier codirected king kong, once explained that the entire technical side of dr. Usually these horror types dont live up to the hype, but i did find dr. Cyclops 1940 original trailer from picture palace movie. Cyclops pop culture is there any sinister superweapon more popular than the shrinking ray. Since the earliest days of cinema, film has been a colorful medium and art form.
Alexander thorkel albert dekker invites two prominent scientists and a mineralogist to his hidden amazon jungle laboratory. The study of dollsized humans has transfixed powermad maniacs from brainiac, who collected shrunken cities in bottles, to dr. Cyclops which was hollywoods first science fiction film in technicolor. Mary robinson, and an engineer, bill stockton, are invited by legendary biologist dr.
The dvd for this looks pretty impressive for a film that came out in 1940 but its a bit of a snoozefest. Cyclops is the best bad picture of the year, an epic of silliness, and, more than that, a triumph of the process screen and the department of trick effects all combined very tastefully with. Cyclops official trailer a funfilled film from the director of the original king kong which casts dekker as a mad scientist who gets kicks out of shrinking people to onefifth their normal. Jul 30, 2015 those little people, the team of scientists mad dekker sent fornot for professional aid, but because his eyes had gone badplace dr. The film is noted for having decent special effects for the time. Cyclops 1940 scifi horror medical glass jar d395 price. Cyclops 1940 to assist with his work due to his failing eyesight, renowned biologist dr. In an era where most movies were still shot in black and. This is the film where a mad scientist up in the peruvian andes shrinks people with a radium ray. Alexander thorkel, one of the screens most memorable mad scientists, who discovers the secret of.
Dr cyclops is the first film for which i read of someone involved with its making director. Cyclops plays like a movie from fifteen or more years later, with. They discover a rich source of radium and a halfmad. Dr cyclops the horror adventure from universal studios, which has just received a new lease of life on dvd by fabulous films ltd and fremantle media enterprises is one of those obscure classics, often unjustly overlooked in the light of more famous horrors from the same period. The result is one of those early science fictionthrillers that it is very hard to dislike.
Thorkel albert dekker has developed a way to shrink people to a minuscule size and sets about inflicting his experiments on everyone he can find. Cyclops 1940, kiss me deadly 1955, and the wild bunch 1969 schindler designed the van dekker house in response to the conditions on the site, rotating the lshaped house along a diagonal axis, taking advantage of the. Cyclops was thomas coleys first and only film role and for some reason he was thrust directly in the game as the leading man, although he did some bitpart work in a few tvseries in the fifties. Cyclops was albert dekkers signature part, and virtually all of his obituaries mentioned the film. Cyclops stars albert dekker, janice logan, thomas coley, charles halton the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 15 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which. The film is just silly fun and a wonderful distraction from everyday life. Alexander thorkel albert dekker invites two prominent scientists and a mineralogist to his hidden. Schoedsack ran away from home in his teens and eventually found work as a surveyor in san francisco. Pretorius in the bride of frankenstein and the later the incredible shrinking man, but this film doesnt have the charm of either of those. He began his career as an activist documentary filmmaker covering the 1960s chicano.
Alexander thorkel represents the classic mad scientist dedicated to the pursuit of science at all costs, and when presented the ability to become a monster, does so without hesitation. Cyclops was a pretty entertaining yarn from king kong codirector ernest b. Writerdirector jesus salvador trevino has more than a hundred hours of american primetime television to his credit, including episodes of such shows as nypd blue, er, resurrection blvd, third watch, crossing jordan, criminal minds, bones, the unit, and law and order. Maybe i read it in fm, or in classics of the horror film, but ive heard it repeated since, and frankly, it makes no sense. Universal has dipped deeper into the barrel this time, coming up with fun titles but no surprise classics.
Schoedsack and starring albert dekker, thomas coley, charles halton, victor kilian, frank yaconelli. To assist with his work due to his failing eyesight, renowned biologist dr. Ernest b schoedsack, codirector of the original king kong, returns to the fantasy genre with this wonderfully weird tale of a mad scientist albert dekker who miniaturises explorers in his. Cyclops 1940 based on the short story of the same name by henry kuttner, dr. Cyclops, the 1940 landmark sciencefiction adventure. There were also several excellent process shots in the film, for scenes in which thorkel towered above the shrunken humans. Im going to go out on a limb and claim that along with the invisible ray, dr. Thorkel, who has developed a process that will shrink human beings to doll size. Schoedsack, american film director who made only a few movies, most in collaboration with producerdirector merian c. Those little people, the team of scientists mad dekker sent fornot for professional aid, but because his eyes had gone badplace dr. But, like the famous titan in the homeric cave, the doctor had one conspicuous flaw in his physics. Special effects took a clever step forward with the release of paramounts dr.
This new blu ray looks amazing, and definitely makes the film more enjoyable. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. In doctor cyclops 1940, biologists mary robinson janice logan and doctor. Schindler designed this woodland hills home for actor albert van dekker and his family. Cyclops rather enjoyable the story for the movie is rather clever. More than 230 film color processes have been devised in the course of film history, often in close. Thorkel remains evasive about the nature of his experiments, and after the team evaluates his bacteria slides. Dr cyclops the horror adventure from universal studios, which has just received a new lease of life on dvd by fabulous films ltd and fremantle media enterprises is one of those obscure classics, often unjustly overlooked in the light of more famous horrors from. Cyclops had been plotted on blueprints before shooting began, a common enough method today, but apparently unusual in 1940. Four explorers are summoned to peru by the brilliant physicist, dr. Though it did not turn out to be another king kong, it was hollywoods first technicolor excursion into science fiction, with albert dekker as dr. Schoedsack, albert dekker, thomas coley, janice logan, adventure, scifi, horror may 3, 2017 four explorers are summoned to peru by the brilliant physicist dr thorkel.
Cyclops as he breaks the beam hes on, trying to get his machine. Castle films 8mm vintage camera films for sale ebay. For one thing, its extremely odd to see a clunky little bmovie from 1940. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Schoedsack directed several other films in the 1930s including the last days of pompeii, trouble in morocco, and outlaws of the orient. Overall, cinemagoers prefer the movie, giving it an average score of 69%, compared to film critics, who gave it a lower average score. Cooper, of which the most notable was king kong 1933.
Cyclops, star of the selftitled 1940 film from paramount pictures directed by ernest b. Cyclops was one of the key films in transforming mad doctors into mad scientists. Get the best deals on castle films 8mm vintage camera films when you shop the largest online selection at. Great story, great color photography and there special effects are well done. Charles halton and albert dekker in the 1940 film dr. Albert dekker chews the scenery as mad scientist dr. Cyclops is the best bad picture of the year, an epic of silliness, and, more than that, a triumph of the. Also in 1933, rose and schoedsack collaborated on the film blind adventure. The first technicolor horror film since mystery of the wax museum, 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. Cyclops 1940 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Cyclops 1940 albert dekker and charles halton in dr. Mar 19, 2009 he died and met god, and he wasnt ready. This film tells the story of a mad, a very mad scientist that has discovered the ability to miniaturize things, animals, and even people. They discover a rich source of radium, and a halfmad thorkel, who shrinks them down to onefifth their normal size, when they threaten to stop his unorthodox experimentation. Cyclops is the best bad picture of the year, an epic of silliness, and, more than that, a triumph of the process screen and the department of trick effects all combined very tastefully with technicolor. The movie was featured in the mad scientists volume of crestwood house monster books series which i devoured religiously as a kid. Schoedsack a 1940 novelization of the movie was penned by author will garth. Vintage 8mm super 8 film reel jolson story rare in box. Four explorers are summoned to peru by the brilliant physicist dr thorkel. Cyclops from 1940, an ernest schoedsack project more notable for its 3strip photography than anything else. Albert dekker plays easily his finest role as the demented dr.
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