Colin Christian Right from the start this film has a unique visual style,Art Deco and jungle film,the opening scene is visually stunning,a dark room strobing light and a mysterious figure,it grabbed me right away,and then the striking appearance of Dr Thorkel and his cold,calculating,even murderous intent,all in the name of science,with no boundaries ,it had me interested in the first few minutes. Once the other Biologists arrive in their mistaken belief that Thorkel needed their help in his experiments,their indignation at their mistreatment,it's a great set up for what s to come. I love the scenes of Thorkel in his radiation suit,metallic silver,with that green radiation glow ? I find it visually compelling,a joy to watch,unlike anything else at that time apart from those Fleisher Superman Cartoons... The story is interesting enough,I'm not bored for a second,but it is Thorkel,his character,and the beautiful visuals that surround his actions that I find so enjoyable,and will watch time and time again,he s easily one of the greatest mad scientists on film,I never tire of this movie,entertaining right from the start to the last frame. Fantastic film.

dougdoepke Two scientists and a crew are summoned to a jungle laboratory where a weird scientist measures people with a ruler.Poor Cyclops, he's more of a bumbler than a mastermind. But then his eyesight must be around 1000-1000. Actually, actor Dekker pretty much low-keys the role, considering how malevolent he can be, e.g. Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Among the Living (1940). Here his Cyclops is in the middle of the jungle with all this sophisticated equipment and coke bottle eyeglasses. Just what is he trying to do with his special 'shrink-em down to edible size' formula. I must have missed his Grand Plan, unless it was to feed his hungry cat on the cheap. Anyhow, the little people don't have to do much acting, just a lot of scampering while Cyclops makes a mess of the furniture.What's really arresting is not so much the storyline, but rather the special effects. I expect Paramount popped a bundle putting together some of the little people sets. Anyhow, maybe I'm as blind as Cyclops, but I couldn't spot any trick photography, which makes the whole weird thing seem more believable. Then too, there's all that talk about radium, uranium and pitchblende, all several years before the big brains turned that stuff into an A-bomb. Maybe that was his Grand Plan, after all. Actually, I thought the movie was more fun than scary, sort of like a Hollywood version of Blind Man's Bluff.

Woodyanders Brilliant, but deranged physicist Dr. Alexander Thorkel (splendidly played with deliciously wicked relish by Albert Dekker) shrinks his enemies down to miniature size after they take him to task for his unconventional experiments. Director Ernest Schoedsack, working from a taut and engrossing story by Tom Kilpatrick, relates the gripping story at a brisk pace, maintains a generally serious tone throughout, and builds a good deal of suspense and momentum. The bald, burly, and bespectacled Thorkel makes for a marvelously ruthless, haughty, and sinister mad scientist. While Dekker clearly dominates the movie with his sterling performance, his co-stars nonetheless do respectable work in their roles: Charles Halton registers strongly as Torkel's most gutsy and vehement opponent Dr. Rupert Bulfinch, Thomas Coley is likable enough as handsome layabout Bill Stockton, the lovely Janice Logan impresses as the feisty and resourceful Dr. Mary Robinson (and looks quite fetching in her purple toga), and Victor Kilian contributes a solid turn as gruff trail guide Steve Baker. The scenes with the tiny people fending off giant animals and fighting back against Thorkel are extremely tense and exciting. The nifty special effects hold up quite well. Henry Sharp's vivid Technicolor cinematography gives the picture a pleasingly vibrant look. The robust and rousing score by Gerard Carbonara, Ernst Toch, and Albert Hay hits the stirring spot. The tight 77 minute running time ensures that this movie never gets dull or overstays its welcome. An immensely fun film.

Coventry "Dr. Cyclops" is masterful science-fiction from the golden era of cinema, containing all the prime ingredients in order to be ranked amongst the genre's most timeless classics. The script is excellent, there are at least two highly memorable acting performances (Albert Dekker and Charles Halton), the use of (Techni)color still stands as groundbreaking and the special effects are – at least 'were' for that time – phenomenal and faultless to the smallest detail. Youthful horror and Sci-Fi fans, exclusively swearing by the use of computer-animated techniques, can't possibly imagine how much time, effort and sincere devotion it must have cost here to scale down the sets or to endlessly edit all the matte works together. The effects in "Dr. Cyclops" are so terrific and so ahead of times they actually form a worthy equivalent for the visual art in "The Incredible Shrinking Man", which got released more than 15 years later and had a larger budget to work with. Doctor Thorkel is a brilliant albeit slightly eccentric scientist investigating the possibilities of freshly exploited radium in the middle of the Amazonian jungle. He develops a way to miniaturize living tissue, but he requires the help of three fellow scientists because his declining eyesight causes miscalculations. The scientists naturally refuse to leave without knowing the essence of Thorkel's research and, paranoid over the idea they'll steal his lifework, he shrinks them to a mere twelve inches. With Thorkel going increasingly berserk, the group has the choice between either facing their mad opponent or flee into the immense and dangerous jungle. The script features a couple of slower parts but, generally speaking, "Dr. Cyclops" is a vastly compelling and intellectually challenging film. The references towards the Greek mythology in the title and, more elaborated, in the script are fantastic, and Albert Dekker's performance is a stellar tour-de-force. His diabolical role also compensates for the weak and hammy supportive players.