{"id":38179,"date":"2016-11-07T10:10:17","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T17:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38179"},"modified":"2021-02-04T00:02:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T07:02:28","slug":"dr-cyclops-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38179","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Cyclops (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Now I can control life &#8212; absolutely!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-38182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster-768x1146.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster-686x1024.jpg 686w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Poster.jpg 2011w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA doctor (Albert Dekker) with failing eyesight invites three scientists (Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, and Charles Halton) to his laboratory deep in the South American jungles, hoping to seek their input on his work with radium. Soon the scientists, a mule driver (Victor Kilian), and Dekker&#8217;s assistant (Frank Yaconelli) find their lives at stake when the power-hungry Dekker miniaturizes them.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atomic Energy<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;conventional juvenile horror story benefits from solid special effects: it was the first time transparencies, split screens, and double exposures had been used in a color film&#8221;. As he notes, &#8220;the tiny people look authentic&#8221; &#8212; but unfortunately, that&#8217;s about all one can say about them, given that they barely have a chance to emerge as full-fledged characters (and rather uninteresting ones at that) before being reduced to doll-like figurines. The bulk of the movie involves the tiny group attempting to escape from hulking Dr. Thorkel (Dekker) and other menacing threats (a cat, cacti, etc.). It&#8217;s all very impressively filmed, but doesn&#8217;t offer enough narrative grit to hold one&#8217;s interest. Made in between <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11743\"><em>The Devil Doll<\/em> (1938)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16204\"><em>The Incredible Shrinking Man<\/em> (1957)<\/a>, <em>Dr. Cyclops<\/em> is less successful than either of these outings, but worth a look for its impressive early special effects. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Albert Dekker as Dr. Thorkel<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Dekker.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Dekker.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Dekker.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Dekker-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Dekker-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Excellent special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Effects2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine Technicolor cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Dr-Cyclops-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though film fanatics should check it out once for the special effects. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032412\/?\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1940\/04\/11\/archives\/the-screen-dr-cyclops-a-fantasy-in-pure-cinematic-science-arrives-a.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifilm.org\/musing69.html\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1803&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/sciencefiction\/dr-cyclops-1940.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2409sci2.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/73261\/dr-cyclops#articles-reviews?articleId=145282\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/dr-cyclops\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Now I can control life &#8212; absolutely!&#8221; Synopsis: A doctor (Albert Dekker) with failing eyesight invites three scientists (Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, and Charles Halton) to his laboratory deep in the South American jungles, hoping to seek their input on his work with radium. Soon the scientists, a mule driver (Victor Kilian), and Dekker&#8217;s assistant (Frank Yaconelli) find their lives at stake when the power-hungry Dekker miniaturizes them. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Atomic Energy Mad Doctors and Scientists Science&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38179\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38179"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68515,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38179\/revisions\/68515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}