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.
