''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' is a 1977 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

horror film directed by Don Taylor, the second English-language adaptation of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

novel of the same name, following '' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932). Starring Burt Lancaster,

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and '' Chariots of F ...

Barbara Carrera Barbara Carrera (born Barbara Kingsbury) is an American actress, model and artist. She starred in the films '' The Master Gunfighter'' (1975), '' Embryo'' (1976), '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1977), ''Condorman'' (1981), ''I, the Jury'' (1982) ...

and

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knig ...

, the plot follows a scientist who attempts to convert animals into human beings. The make-up for the "Humanimals" characters was created by John Chambers.

Plot

Ship's

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Andrew Braddock (

) and two other men are floating in a lifeboat in the middle of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

following the wreck of the ship ''Lady Vain''. One dies at sea. After seventeen days at sea, Braddock and the other man land on an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, where the other man accompanying Braddock is promptly killed by

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s. Braddock is nursed back to health in the compound governed by the mysterious

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

"Dr. Moreau" ( Burt Lancaster). Besides Moreau, the inhabitants of the compound include Moreau's associate, Montgomery (

), a mercenary; Moreau's mute, misshapen servant, M'Ling (

Nick Cravat Nicholas Cuccia (pronounced ''coo-cha''; January 10, 1912 – January 29, 1994), better known by his stage name Nick Cravat, was an American actor and stunt performer. Early life Nicholas Cuccia was born in Manhattan, New York City. His real ...

); and a ravishing young woman named Maria (

). Moreau warns Braddock not to leave the compound at night. Moreau welcomes Braddock as an honored guest and willingly shares his fine

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, but there are some strange goings-on. One day, Braddock witnesses Moreau and Montgomery manhandling a chained creature who is clearly not quite human, and the island is home to more than just this one. The Sayer of the Law (

) recites the laws Moreau passed on to them. Moreau explains that they are, in fact, the hybrid products of his experiments upon various species of wild animal. Braddock is both shocked and curious. Moreau explains that he is injecting the animals with a serum containing human genetic material. At times, the human/animal hybrids still have their animal instincts and do not quite behave like a human. This sometimes enrages Moreau, who is left feeling that his experiments have not worked successfully. That night as Braddock is reeling from learning the truth, Maria goes to his room where they have sex. It is implied that this is intended by Moreau. The following day, Braddock takes a rifle and leaves the compound, determined to see exactly how the hybrid creatures live. He enters a cave and finds several of them (all male). Just as he is surrounded by them and about to use the rifle to defend himself, Moreau appears and restores order. The Sayer of the Law is the only one of Moreau's experimental beasts who can speak. Moreau calls on him to utter the three laws (no going around on all fours, no eating of human flesh, and no taking of other life) aloud to the other creatures. This reminds them that they must not attack Braddock. After the Bull-Man (Bob Ozman) kills a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

, Moreau intends to take it to the "house of pain", his laboratory, as punishment. The Bull-Man panics and runs. Braddock finds it in the jungle, badly injured, where it begs him to kill it rather than return it to the lab. Braddock shoots it. This has the effect of angering the man-beasts as Braddock has broken the law of killing. Convinced that Moreau is insane, Braddock prepares to leave the island with Maria. Moreau stops them and straps Braddock to the table in his lab. He then injects him with another serum so that he can hear Braddock describe the experience of becoming animalistic. Caged, Braddock struggles to maintain his humanity. When Montgomery objects to this treatment and threatens Moreau's life, Moreau shoots him. Outside the compound, the angry man-beasts turn on Moreau because by killing Montgomery, he has broken the very law he expected them to follow. Moreau is mortally wounded at the compound's gate while trying to whip his attackers into submission. The man-beasts, now overpowered by their primitive instincts, go on a rampage to try and break into the compound and destroy the house of pain as the Sayer of the Law states "There is no law". Braddock (still struggling to remain human), Maria, M'Ling, and the still-coherent and benign beastfolk servant women stave them off. Braddock resists killing Moreau, who dies of his injuries. Braddock uses the corpse as a diversion so they can escape through the compound. Eventually, the man-beasts break in and the compound is burned. In the chaos, the wild animals which Moreau kept for his experiments are turned loose and a battle ensues between them and the hybrids. Most of the man-beasts are killed by the animals or consumed by the fire, the Sayer of the Law's throat torn out by a tiger, the Bear-Man tackled off a roof by a black panther, and the Lion-Man is mauled by a normal lion. During the final escape, M'Ling risks his life to save his companions from a lion and both fall into a pit trap. Braddock and Maria manage to float away in the lifeboat that Braddock arrived in, but are followed by the Hyena-Man (Fumio Demura) who is one of the last man-beasts. After a battle with each other, Braddock kills the Hyena-Man with a broken oar. Sometime later, they see a passing ship, and the serum has worn off, returning Braddock to his full human state as Maria looks on with changed, feline eyes.

Cast

* Burt Lancaster as Dr. Paul Moreau *

as Andrew Braddock *

as Montgomery *

as Maria *

as Sayer of the Law *

as M'Ling * The Great John L. as Boar-Man * Bob Ozman as Bull-Man *

Fumio Demura is a well known Japanese master of karate and kobudo (traditional weaponry).Clayton, B. D., Horowitz, R., & Pollard, E. (2004): ''Shotokan's secret: The hidden truth behind Karate's fighting origins'' (p. 108). Black Belt Books. ()American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

' H. G. Wells film cycle, following '' The Food of the Gods'' (1976) and preceding '' Empire of the Ants'' (1977). Filming took place in

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

, U.S. Virgin Islands. Lancaster has been described as perfectly matching Wells' description of Moreau's physical appearance, unlike the other two actors to play the role on screen, Charles Laughton in '' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932) and Marlon Brando in '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1996), both of whom were portly and had receding hair. Carrera claims there were three or four different endings imagined, including one in which her character gave birth to a kitten. That version was favored by producer John Temple-Smith, which York flatly refused to do. Director Taylor said that he did not take it seriously and the footage was never shot. A comic-book adaptation was released by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

the same year. Written by

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critica ...

and illustrated by

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows ''M*A*S*H'' ...

, the comic-book adaptation had a slightly less happy ending than the film, with Maria reverting into a cat-woman just before help arrives.

Release

''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' premiered on 13 July 1977 in the United States. Lorber Films released the film under its Kino Lorber Studio Classics imprint available for the first time on Blu-ray in the U.S.Kino Travels Back to the Seventies Island of Dr. Moreau
/ref>

Critical reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' holds an approval rating of 54%, based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 5.1/10. Its consensus reads: "''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' takes a reasonably entertaining pass at adapting its classic source material, although key scenes are let down by struggles with special effects".

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Island of Dr. Moreau (1977 film) 1977 films 1977 horror films 1970s monster movies 1970s science fiction adventure films 1970s science fiction horror films American International Pictures films American science fiction adventure films American science fiction horror films American monster movies Adventure horror films Films set on islands Films set on fictional islands Films adapted into comics Films based on works by H. G. Wells Films directed by Don Taylor Films scored by Laurence Rosenthal Films shot in the United States Virgin Islands Films about genetic engineering The Island of Doctor Moreau Mad scientist films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films