ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932). Colorized.

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS is a 1932 American science fiction horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton. Produced and distributed by Paramount Productions, it is based on H. G. Wells' 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, and stars Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, and Kathleen Burke. Island of Lost Souls is about Edward Parker (Arlen), a sailor who finds himself stranded on an island that is occupied by the scientist Dr. Moreau (Laughton). Parker agrees to stay until the next boat arrives; Moreau introduces him to Lota (Burke), who unknown to Parker, is part-panther. It is revealed all of the island's inhabitants are the results of Moreau's experiments to create humans from animals. Moreau tries to persuade Lota to have sex with Parker so he can continue his experiments.

The film is Paramount's follow-up to the successful horror film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). Several writers, including Joseph Moncure March, Cyril Hume, Garrett Fort, and Philip Wylie, worked on scripts for the film. While Paramount had invited stage actor Charles Laughton to Hollywood, they did not have the film set up for him, leading him to work on other projects in 1932. For the role of Lota the Panther Woman, a contest was run across the United States to cast an unknown actor for the film. From thousands of contenders, the final group was Lona Andre, Gail Patrick, Verna Hillie, and the winner Kathleen Burke. Island of Lost Souls began production on October 1, 1932. Some scenes were filmed on location on Catalina Island. During production, Bela Lugosi joined the cast, having declared bankruptcy during the same month. Production ended in early November.

Island of Lost Souls was released in December 1932. Since then, several edited forms have been released with several edits to remove dialogue and scenes involving Dr. Moreau. The film was banned in several countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, India, and New Zealand. Theatrical, television, and home video releases have often been truncated until the 2011 release by the Criterion Collection, which was described by the company's president as one of the most difficult restorations they had done. Contemporaneous critical reception was mixed, noting the horrific nature of the film. Retrospective reviews have been mostly positive and have often complimented Laughton's performance; some reviews praised the cinematography, while others noted the film's disturbing themes.

Plot
Shipwrecked traveler Edward Parker is rescued by a freighter delivering animals to an isolated South Seas island owned by Dr. Moreau. Parker fights with the freighter's drunken captain who mistreats M'ling, a passenger with some bestial features, and the captain tosses Parker overboard into Mr. Montgomery's boat, which is bound for Moreau's island. When Parker arrives at the island, Moreau welcomes him and introduces him to Lota, a young woman who Moreau claims is of Polynesian origin. When she and Parker hear screams coming from another room, which Lota calls "the House of Pain", Parker investigates. He sees Moreau and Montgomery operating on a human-like creature without anesthetic. Convinced Moreau is engaged in brutal vivisection, Parker tries to leave but encounters savage-looking humanoids resembling beasts emerging from the jungle. Moreau appears, cracks his whip and orders them to recite a series of rules ("the Law"), and the creatures disperse.

Kathleen Burke as Lota and Richard Arlen as Edward Parker
At the main house, Moreau tries to assuage Parker by explaining his scientific work—years before in London, he had begun experiments to accelerate the evolution of plants. He then progressed to animals, trying to transform them into humans through plastic surgery, blood transfusions, gland extracts and ray baths. When a dog hybrid escaped from his laboratory, it horrified people and he was forced to leave England. Moreau tells Parker that Lota is the sole female on the island but hides the fact she was derived from a panther. Later, Moreau privately expresses his excitement to Montgomery that Lota is showing human emotions in her attraction to Parker. So he can continue observing this process, Moreau destroys the only available boat, ensuring Parker cannot leave, and blaming this on his beast-men. Lota falls in love with Parker and they eventually kiss. After Lota hugs him, Parker examines her fingernails, which are reverting to animalistic claws. Parker storms into Moreau's to confront him for hiding the truth about Lota. Moreau explains Lota is his most-nearly human creation, and he wanted to see if she was capable of reproducing with a man. Enraged by the deceit, Parker punches Moreau and demands passage off the island. Moreau observes Lota weeping and showing human emotions; his hopes are raised and he screams he will "burn out" the remaining animal in her in the House of Pain.

Meanwhile, the American consul at Apia, Samoa learns about Parker's location from the cowed freighter captain. Parker's fiancée Ruth Thomas persuades Captain Donahue to take her to Moreau's island. She is reunited with Parker and Moreau persuades them to stay the night. The ape-themed Ouran, one of Moreau's creations, tries to break into Ruth's room but is driven away by her screams. Montgomery confronts Moreau and implies Moreau arranged Ouran's attempted break-in. Donahue tries to reach the ship and fetch his crew. Moreau, seeing him depart, dispatches Ouran to strangle him. Learning Moreau has allowed Ouran to break the Law, the other beast-men no longer feel bound by it; they set their huts ablaze and defy Moreau, who tries and fails to regain control. The beast-men drag Moreau into his House of Pain and brutally hack him to death with his own surgical knives. Parker and Ruth escape with help from the disaffected Montgomery. Parker tries to rescue Lota but she decides to buy the group some time when she notices Ouran ambushing them, leading to both of their deaths. The others escape by boat as the island goes up in flames, presumably destroying Moreau's work and eradicating the beast-men.

CAST:
Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau
Richard Arlen as Edward Parker
Leila Hyams as Ruth Thomas
Bela Lugosi as Sayer of the Law
Kathleen Burke as Lota, The Panther Woman
Arthur Hohl as Montgomery
Stanley Fields as Captain Davies
Paul Hurst as Donahue
Hans Steinke as Ouran
Tetsu Komai as M'Ling