The Island of the Lost

1921 film

The Island of the Lost

German	Die Insel der Verschollenen

Directed by	Urban Gad
Written by	Hans Behrendt Bobby E. Lüthge
Based on	The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
Starring	Alf Blütecher Hanni Weisse Erich Kaiser-Titz
Cinematography	Willy Hameister
Production company	Corona Filmproduktion
Distributed by	Terra Film
Release date	21 November 1921 (1921-11-21)
Running time	90 minutes^[1]
Country	Germany
Languages	Silent German intertitles

The Island of the Lost (German: Die Insel der Verschollenen) is a 1921 German silent science fiction film directed by Urban Gad and starring Alf Blütecher, Hanni Weisse and Erich Kaiser-Titz.^[2] It is a loose unauthorized^[1] adaptation of the 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells. Wells was allegedly unaware that this unauthorized version of his novel existed. It was a common practice in the silent era for European filmmakers to produce unauthorized versions of famous works of literature, as evidenced by F. W. Murnau's Der Januskopf(1920) (based upon Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Nosferatu (1922) (based upon Bram Stoker's Dracula).^[1]

Thought at one time to have been lost, a print turned up at the Bundesarchiv in Berlin, Germany. The film was only screened in the US for the first time at a "Monster Bash" convention in 2014. Comments from the attendees included the fact that the film was somewhat illogical, and had more emphasis on comedy and romance than horror, but that it offered "memorable glimpses of human-animal hybrids".^[1]

Director Gad began his film directing career in his native Denmark where he met and married actress Asta Nielsen, but later they both moved to Germany where he had a successful filmmaking career that lasted until 1927.^[1] The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert A. Dietrich. The Wells novel was adapted earlier in 1913 as a silent film called The Island of Terror.^[1]

Plot

Dr. Marston leads a small party to a deserted island in the South Seas where they discover a hidden research facility run by a Professor McClelland. The scientist is experimenting with mixing the DNA of animals and humans, with frightening results.

Cast

In alphabetical order

Fritz Beckmann as Jim
Hans Behrendt as Pat Quickly
Alf Blütecher as Robert Marston
Louis Brody as the king of the island
Tronier Funder as Dr. Ted Fowlen
Umberto Guarracino as product from the Professor's secret workshop
Ludmilla Hell as Evelyn Wilkinson
Erich Kaiser-Titz as Professor McClelland
Nien Tso Ling as Fung-Lu
Hermann Picha as Jess
Desdemona Schlichting as last survivor
Hanni Weisse as Jane Crawford

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 238. ISBN 1936168685.
^ Bock, Hans-Michael; Bergfelder, Tim, eds. (2009). The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema. New York, NY: Berghahn Books. p. 145. ISBN 1571816550. JSTOR j.ctt1x76dm6.

External links

The Island of the Lost at IMDb

Films directed by Urban Gad

1910-1914

The Abyss (Afgrunden) (1910)
Heißes Blut (1911)
The Moth (Nachtfalter) (1911)
Den sorte drøm (1911)
Im großen Augenblick (1911)
Der fremde Vogel (1911)
Dyrekøbt glimmer
The Traitress (Die Verräterin) (1911)
Den store flyver
Die Macht des Goldes (1912)
Poor Jenny (Die arme Jenny) (1912)
Zu Tode gehetzt (1912)
Der Totentanz (1912)
Die Kinder des Generals (1912)
Wenn die Maske fällt (1912)
Det berygtede Hus
A Romany Spy (Das Mädchen ohne Vaterland) (1912)
Behind Comedy's Mask (Komödianten) (1913)
Jugend und Tollheit (1913)
Die Sünden der Väter (1913)
Der Tod in Sevilla (1913)
Die Suffragette (1913)
S 1 (1913)
The Film Primadonna (Die Filmprimadonna) (1913)
Engelein - Mimisches Lustspiel (1913)
Emma og Urban Gad i hjemmet (1913)
Little Angel (Engelein) (1914)
Das Kind ruft (1914)
Zapata's Gang (Zapatas Bande) (1914)
Das Feuer (1914)
Standrechtlich erschossen (1914)
Das Feuer. Die alte Gnädige (1914)

1915-1926

Frontstairs and Backstairs (Vordertreppe - Hintertreppe) (1915)
Die Tochter der Landstraße (1915)
The False Asta Nielsen (Die falsche Asta Nielsen) (1915)
Die ewige Nacht (1915)
Engeleins Hochzeit (1916)
The White Roses (Die weißen Rosen) (1916)
Cinderella (Aschenbrödel) (1916)
Der rote Streifen (1916)
Der breite Weg (1917)
Die verschlossene Tür (1917)
Klosterfriede (1917)
Die Vergangenheit rächt sich (1917)
Die Gespensterstunde (1917)
Vera Panina (1918)
Die neue Daliah (1918)
Die Kleptomanin (1918)
Der schuldlose Verdacht (1918)
Der Schmuck des Rajah (1918)
Das verhängnisvolle Andenken (1918)
Das sterbende Modell (1918)
Das Spiel von Liebe und Tod (1919)
Christian Wahnschaffe (1920)
What a Girl (1920)
Der Abgrund der Seelen (1920)
Ich bin Du (1921)
Mein Mann - Der Nachtredakteur (1921)
The Love Corridor (1921)
The Poisoned Stream (1921)
The Island of the Lost (1921)
Hannele's Journey to Heaven (1922)
Count Festenberg (Graf Festenberg) (1922)
Lykkehjulet (1926)

v t e H. G. Wells
Bibliography
Novels	The Time Machine (1895) The Wonderful Visit (1895) The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) The Wheels of Chance (1896) The Invisible Man (1897) The War of the Worlds (1898) When the Sleeper Wakes (1899) Love and Mr Lewisham (1900) The First Men in the Moon (1901) The Sea Lady (1902) The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904) Kipps (1905) A Modern Utopia (1905) In the Days of the Comet (1906) The War in the Air (1908) Tono-Bungay (1909) Ann Veronica (1909) The History of Mr Polly (1910) The Sleeper Awakes (1910) The New Machiavelli (1911) Marriage (1912) The Passionate Friends (1913) The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914) The World Set Free (1914) Bealby (1915) Boon (1915) The Research Magnificent (1915) Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916) The Soul of a Bishop (1917) Joan and Peter (1918) The Undying Fire (1919) The Secret Places of the Heart (1922) Men Like Gods (1923) The Dream (1924) Christina Alberta's Father (1925) The World of William Clissold (1926) Meanwhile (1927) Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928) The Autocracy of Mr. Parham (1930) The Bulpington of Blup (1932) The Shape of Things to Come (1933) The Croquet Player (1936) Brynhild (1937) Star Begotten (1937) The Camford Visitation (1937) Apropos of Dolores (1938) The Brothers (1938) The Holy Terror (1939) Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940) All Aboard for Ararat (1940) You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
Nonfiction	Anticipations Certain Personal Matters Crux Ansata The Discovery of the Future An Englishman Looks at the World Experiment in Autobiography The Fate of Man First and Last Things Floor Games The Future in America God the Invisible King In the Fourth Year Little Wars Mankind in the Making Mind at the End of Its Tether Mr. Belloc Objects to "The Outline of History" The New America The New World Order New Worlds for Old The Open Conspiracy The Outline of History Russia in the Shadows The Science of Life A Short History of the World The Story of a Great Schoolmaster This Misery of Boots Travels of a Republican Radical in Search of Hot Water War and the Future The Way the World Is Going The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind World Brain A Year of Prophesying
Collections	The Country of the Blind and Other Stories The Plattner Story and Others Select Conversations with an Uncle The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents Tales of Space and Time Twelve Stories and a Dream
Short stories	"Æpyornis Island" "The Argonauts of the Air" "The Beautiful Suit" "The Chronic Argonauts" "The Cone" "The Country of the Blind" "The Crystal Egg" "A Deal in Ostriches" "The Diamond Maker" "The Door in the Wall" "A Dream of Armageddon" "The Empire of the Ants" "In the Abyss" "The Land Ironclads" "Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation" "The Lord of the Dynamos" "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" "The New Accelerator" "The Pearl of Love" "The Plattner Story" "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper" "The Red Room" "The Sea Raiders" "The Star" "The Stolen Body" "A Story of the Days to Come" "A Story of the Stone Age" "Triumphs of a Taxidermist" "The Truth About Pyecraft" "A Vision of Judgment"
Screenplays	Things to Come (1936) The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937)
Related	Political views G. P. Wells Anthony West (son) Joseph Wells (father) Simon Wells (great-grandson) H. G. Wells Society Lunar crater Time After Time (1979 film)

v t e H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
Film	The Island of the Lost (1921) Island of Lost Souls (1932) Terror Is a Man (1959) The Island of Doctor Agor (1971) The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004)
Adaptation	Dr. Franklin's Island "The Island of Dr. Hibbert"