There is no method to the madness of reclusive scientist Albert Dekker, a man so determined to fight against the laws of God that he drive himself mad in the process, giving truth to the old saying that whom God intends to destroy he drives mad first. While Decker does not play an actual character named Cyclops, he will ultimately be exactly like the legendary creature of Greek myth. This colorful Paramount science fiction/horror movie is one of the gems of the silver screen that has simply not gotten its due except from a cult following rather than becoming an all-time classic on the lines of the Universal horror movies of the 1930s. However Dekker is up there with Karloff and Lugosi in the characterization of evil he plays here, and unlike Lugosi's Dracula, he is very much alive and unlike the undead Karloff in "Frankenstein", there is no sympathy at all for the creature that he becomes. The reclusive Dekker wants to continue his evil experiments in private, killing one rival, and turning a group of people trying to stop him by simply shrinking them to doll size versions of themselves, placing them in a world of terror that we as full grown men and women do not understand. However, in the world of the film of Dr. Cyclops, the audience is put into their shoes, seeing what would happen, if all of a sudden we were 1/10 of our size, or as it often seems 1/50 of Cyclops' size. With Dekker sleeping nearby, the little people escape his clutches, manage to avoid a ferocious cat, and end up outside where the most vicious thunderstorm hits all at once, showing the audience the fear of full grown animals who even in their own element are petrified. Shots of two spider monkeys consoling each other in a tree, lions, bears, various birds, and other wildlife critters, is intertwined with the footage of the miniature victims of Dekker's evil plans to find shelter. The doctor himself takes great glee in teasing these men and women over their predicament, informing one of the victims that they are about to be attacked by a giant rooster. The special effects are outstanding, and the cleverness of these little people is as equal as in the evil of Dekker's mad scientist. The tension arises in how these creatures will deal with their plight, and how they will ultimately stop Dekker from continuing his mad reign of terror. Filmed in beautiful color, Dr. Cyclops is one of the gems of its era, and is a must for all fans of science fiction and horror.There's also the presence of an adorable loyal dog who looks at his master in bewilderment as he sees him as a tiny version of himself, too confused to acknowledge him but still trained in loyalty to see him as anything else but who the dog knows him to be. The fate of this one particular character is quite tragic, and the impact of what. Of what the Cyclops does will immediately affect you.Unlike the earlier "The Devil Doll" which had little creatures being used by Lionel Barrymore to cause paralysis to their victims, and the later "Incredible Shrinking Man". Dr Cyclops uses a great deal of imagination in addition to intelligence to create a story that while fantastic and beyond belief, is a reminder that human beings should there not head down this path of knowledge, and find out secrets which God intends we do not find out. I am glad that this is never been remade, because no film creator could ever hope to reproduce the impact that this film has had, and it remains a true sleeper of the science fiction and horror genre.

This is one of two movies (the other being The Valley of Gwangi) I'm reviewing this month that has some connection with King Kong. In this case, it's the fact that the co-director of that one, Ernest B. Schoedsack, helmed this one solo. Also, actor Frank Reicher who plays Professor Kendall here was Captain Englehorn in the original 1933 blockbuster. Anyway, this was a pretty entertaining for its time yarn about a mad scientist (Albert Dekker as Dr. Alexander Thorkel) who invites three of his colleagues to look at his work before quickly dismissing them after only a few minutes of their time since he only needed them because of his gradually failing eyesight. Also along for the ride is a mule owner and a servant with a dog. When they discover what Thorkel's done, he tricks them into a room and shrinks them in order to control them...Okay, anyone expecting some logic as to why certain things happen the way they do should probably stay away from this movie as you'll probably get a headache doing so. Just marvel at some of the interesting visual effects (like how Dr. Throkel holds one of the shrunken in his hand), some cool sound effects (like the loud roar of that black cat), and the campy performance of Dekker (as when he actually tells the fate of what happens when the three survivors stay alive while still shrunken for a long time). Despite not much action (at least not until the last 25 minutes) or very compelling acting (though Charles Halton does have his moments as Dr. Rupert Bulfinch when confronting Thorkel especially when he calls him the title name), this was still a reasonably entertaining movie that won't waste the 77 minutes you spend watching this. So on that note, I recommend Dr. Cyclops. P.S. I'd like to recognize uncredited screenwriter Malcolm Stuart Boylan and player Janice Logan as both native born Chicagoans, like I am. And that Halton played Mr. Carter, the bank examiner, in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life.

How many science fiction films were made in color before 1940? Unless we include 'color tinted' films from the silent era, the answer is ONE -- the recently released two-strip version of 'Dr. X' (1932). 'Dr. Cyclops' is an 'A' list SF film, it's in gorgeous Technicolor, and has state of the art special effects. It is highly recommended for those three reasons.Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker) has been using radium extracted from a rich underground vein to miniaturize animals. We see the shrinking room and machine (the 'condenser'), the deep welled vein and a strange looking extracting device-- and the green glow of them in operation, all nicely done. He invites three scientists to confirm some mysterious part of his work, and then after their having done so, dismisses them the same day. Outraged, they stick around, until finally Dr. Thorkel locks them in the shrinking room and miniaturizes them. They spend the rest of the film escaping and then trying to kill him.I first saw this in black and white on TV over 40 years ago, when few programs were shown in color. I didn't know it was filmed in color! While the movie had a great premise and effects, I was a little underwhelmed by the acting, and it didn't seem particularly exciting. Watching it today, it still has those weaknesses. Though Albert Dekker does a fine villainous job, as do Charles Halton (Rupert Bulfinch*), veteran of 186 bit parts in movies and TV, and Victor Kilian (Steve) with 139 to his credit, the rest of the small cast is flat, colorless, and uninteresting. (Paul Fix does get one great scene at the beginning.)The pacing is fine and the shrunken heroes are placed in a number of perilous situations. My 8 and 10 year old grandchildren were transfixed during those parts. You do enjoy watching the entire film; you just wish that Janice Logan, Thomas Colley, and Frank Yaconelli could have had a wider range of facial expressions and acting skills as well as better and richer dialog.Charles Halton had a long career playing professors, judges, lawyers and other 'stiff' types; Victor Kilian can be seen as the (uncredited) professor leading a crew inside the Earth in 'Unknown World' (1951), and as a featured player in the great TV 'soap' 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' (1976-1977).The film has great Technicolor photography, matte shots, with mostly sharp rear projection that makes it seem as if the 13 inch shrunken humans are actually in the same room with Dr. Thorkel. We get the heroes filmed in giant sets, something done in other films such as the fantastic 'The Incredible Shrinking Man' (1957) with Grant William's great tortured face.We have to be grateful for large favors. The amazing Technicolor and effects place this one up high. Some less than scary music (for example, flighty flutes and staccato violins during running sequences) and 'B' list actors in an 'A' level production reduce my score down to a 6 and a half.* This presumably is a little joke reference to 'Bulfinch's Mythology' the standard work of the time on ancient mythology that included the story of Ulysses and Cyclops.

This is an awfully entertaining and unique film, though it does seem a bit reminiscent of THE DEVIL DOLL. Both are wonderful films about slightly mad people who have a secret for shrinking people and both excel due to exceptional special effects. However, this movie is one where the mad doctor doesn't actually intend to shrink a group of outsiders--at least not initially. A small group of people trek through the Andes to a very remote region to meet a brilliant scientist who is doing experiments with radium. However, even though they were invited, the doctor soon tells them to get lost!!! The people went through a lot to get there and are understandably irked at the doc. So, because the people refuse to leave and the doc is at heart a real jerk, he decides to use his evil shrink ray to make them all itsy-bitsy (about a pound or so each)! Now so far, the film is pretty interesting and could have degenerated into a lousy B-movie (like in ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE). However, decent writing really saved the film. Instead of the little people just running away or trying to save themselves (which they initially do), they decide to stay and fight! This really helped the film and made the shrunken people more 3-dimensional and people you could care about and root for in the film. And all this is done using what were, for the time, exceptional special effects. About the only problem, and boy is it minor, is that at one point an American Aligator attacks the little folks. Sure, they aren't native to South America, but this is such a tiny quibble, who cares?? An entertaining film for kids and adults like me who just haven't chosen to grow up!!