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When I was a kid, I was given a collection of H.G. Wells stories. It’s hard to call them actual novels because of the length; they are more or less novellas. These are classic stories, though, and they have been made into excellent movies more than once. Included in the collection are The Time Machine, The Food of the Gods, The First Men in the Moon, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. All six of these stories run less than 700 pages combined. What this means is that they are easy to adapt accurately. This doesn’t, however, mean that they are easy to adapt well. The 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau is evidence enough of that.
My guess is that you know at least the basics of the story—a man named Braddock (Michael York) is shipwrecked on a faraway island where he meets the mysterious Doctor Moreau (Burt Lancaster) and his assistant Montgomery (Nigel Davenport). Also on the island are a number of bestial men who seem sub- or half-human. There is also a woman named Maria (Barbara Carrera), who claims to have been brought to the island by Moreau. p> What soon becomes evident is that the bestial creatures actually are animals. Moreau is conducting a number of experiments on animals to try to turn them into human beings. Essentially, each of the creatures on the island—those who live outside of Moreau’s compound as well as his servants, are upraised from animal to human by the judicious application of human genetic material via injection. The creatures all eventually revert to a more animalistic state, but Moreau keeps them pacified by requiring them to learn and recite a basic set of laws—not to walk on four feet, not to shed blood, etc. Anyone who breaks the law is sent back to Moreau’s laboratory, called the House of Pain by the creatures. We’re going to get plenty of intonations of the law, usually lead by the Sayer of the Law (Richard Basehart).
While the medical experiments are already plenty creepy, we’re certainly not going to stop there in terms of what seems like a genuine case of medical malpractice. The beastmen have that series of laws that they need to follow, but Moreau, Braddock, and Montgomery essentially see themselves as above the law. The trouble is that the beastmen don’t really see it that way. So, when Braddock kills a bull man gone rogue (and because the bull man would rather die than return to Moreau’s needles), he has transgressed the law and needs to be punished.
All of the Wells stories in my collection seem to be easily adapted to the screen. The ideas are easy for the audience to follow, and the stories themselves, at least in the abstract, are punchy and interesting. For whatever reason, though, about half of these stories haven’t been adapted to the screen very well, and that includes Dr. Moreau. This story has been adapted three times—first as The Island of Lost Souls, then this one, and then the ridiculous Val Kilmer/Marlon Brando vehicle. It’s gotten worse each time.
To be fair, there is a lot that this version of The Island of Dr. Moreau gets right. The costuming, for instance is very good. It’s not always easy to tell what the base creature is that has been uplifted to human (although some, like the boar man, are very easy to spot), but they look like a nightmarish combination of animal and human. They are disturbing enough to be interesting without being entirely horrifying. It’s good work all the way around.
It's also true that the cast is a good one, honestly too good for this film. Michael York is always fun, and Burt Lancaster has a particularly lovely style of scenery chewing. It’s hard not to enjoy his performance, mainly because he plays it completely straight. Sadly, this adaptation just isn’t worth all of the effort, not from him, nor anyone else involved. Michael York in particular gives it the old college try, but there’s just not enough here.
I have to wonder why, when we’ve gotten such solid adaptations of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds, what is it about this story in particular that defies adaptation? I think it’s because the science has moved past it. We know that you can’t inject an animal with human DNA and have it start becoming human. Because of that, the overall premises is hard to buy into, and because of that, the necessary component of willing suspension of disbelief simply doesn’t work.
It's a nice try, but this isn’t required viewing.
Why to watch The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977): It’s a better cast than the story deserves.
Why not to watch: The cast lives down to the story.
