To me, this movie is perfection.

Redundant and unnecessary.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is no method to the madness of reclusive scientist Albert Dekker, a man so determined to fight against the laws of God that he drive himself mad in the process, giving truth to the old saying that whom God intends to destroy he drives mad first. While Decker does not play an actual character named Cyclops, he will ultimately be exactly like the legendary creature of Greek myth. This colorful Paramount science fiction/horror movie is one of the gems of the silver screen that has simply not gotten its due except from a cult following rather than becoming an all-time classic on the lines of the Universal horror movies of the 1930s. However Dekker is up there with Karloff and Lugosi in the characterization of evil he plays here, and unlike Lugosi's Dracula, he is very much alive and unlike the undead Karloff in "Frankenstein", there is no sympathy at all for the creature that he becomes. The reclusive Dekker wants to continue his evil experiments in private, killing one rival, and turning a group of people trying to stop him by simply shrinking them to doll size versions of themselves, placing them in a world of terror that we as full grown men and women do not understand. However, in the world of the film of Dr. Cyclops, the audience is put into their shoes, seeing what would happen, if all of a sudden we were 1/10 of our size, or as it often seems 1/50 of Cyclops' size. With Dekker sleeping nearby, the little people escape his clutches, manage to avoid a ferocious cat, and end up outside where the most vicious thunderstorm hits all at once, showing the audience the fear of full grown animals who even in their own element are petrified. Shots of two spider monkeys consoling each other in a tree, lions, bears, various birds, and other wildlife critters, is intertwined with the footage of the miniature victims of Dekker's evil plans to find shelter. The doctor himself takes great glee in teasing these men and women over their predicament, informing one of the victims that they are about to be attacked by a giant rooster. The special effects are outstanding, and the cleverness of these little people is as equal as in the evil of Dekker's mad scientist. The tension arises in how these creatures will deal with their plight, and how they will ultimately stop Dekker from continuing his mad reign of terror. Filmed in beautiful color, Dr. Cyclops is one of the gems of its era, and is a must for all fans of science fiction and horror.There's also the presence of an adorable loyal dog who looks at his master in bewilderment as he sees him as a tiny version of himself, too confused to acknowledge him but still trained in loyalty to see him as anything else but who the dog knows him to be. The fate of this one particular character is quite tragic, and the impact of what. Of what the Cyclops does will immediately affect you.Unlike the earlier "The Devil Doll" which had little creatures being used by Lionel Barrymore to cause paralysis to their victims, and the later "Incredible Shrinking Man". Dr Cyclops uses a great deal of imagination in addition to intelligence to create a story that while fantastic and beyond belief, is a reminder that human beings should there not head down this path of knowledge, and find out secrets which God intends we do not find out. I am glad that this is never been remade, because no film creator could ever hope to reproduce the impact that this film has had, and it remains a true sleeper of the science fiction and horror genre.

BEING ONE OF the many sci-fi films that we've long heard about, but never viewed, DR. CYCLOPS (Paramount, 1940), finally came our way recently.THANKS TO PEOPLE such as Forrest J. Ackerman and his FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and other similar periodicals*, the be-speckled Doc had attained a truly legendary status. With an ample supply of movie stills to accompany an equally prodigious amount of prose, we were given about as much knowledge of the movie as we could have; that is, without having screened the same product.AND JUST WHAT was the result of all of this flowery praise? Well, DR. CYCLOPS had become a legend in the annals of the Sci-Fi flick. This status would have to stand the scrutiny of our own eyeballing to see if it is truly deserved.HAVING TO LIVE up such a reputation would seem to be quite difficult, to say the least; if not neigh well impossible. To be completely fair, we must view things through our magical prism of time. So, let's do kit.AS FOR THE area of Special Effects, we can't really knock the film too much. There are many a classic scene that hold up very well; from this bygone era, from so long before the introduction of computer generated imagery. Hence, all of the shots of Mr. Albert Dekker (Doc Cyclops) in conflict with his shrunken protagonists, form the bulk of the storyline. In here lies the rub.THERE NEVER SEEMS to be a solid and cinematically sound storyline. It is almost as if we are viewing just so many interesting photos in a slide show; with little connection and continuity between them.AS FOR THE sets and color, the studio back lot and the designed sets, for the most part, aren't as convincing. The color work seems to be just a tad below standard.AS A CURIO AND Sci-Fi film milestone, DR. CYCLOPS will always have a fond place in our hearts. Let's just stop worshiping at its altar.NOTE: There were other notable publications, such as: Castle of Frankenstein, Scrreen Thrills Illustrated and Flashback (2 issues only).

A mad scientist working in the South American jungle (Albert Dekker) miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.When I watched this I did not find it too terribly interesting, almost more of a hokey comedy with science fiction elements. But I did not realize it was from 1940. To have a film in 1940 shot in Technicolor is interesting enough, but then to be a film about shrinking people...Science fiction of the 1950s loved shrinking people and growing animals. But this film beat them all. Was it the first? I have no idea. But it mixes comedy with camera work, and also color... and even a hint of Greek mythology to boot. Viewed in the proper context, this is quite the film.

"Dr. Cyclops" is known as one of the better "early sci-fi" films, made in '39 and released in 1940. (It is also in color.) But while the story has potential and there are some good moments, this is a very confused film.The plot is simple - crazy mad scientist on some remote island can shrink animals, and wants to try it on humans. He manages this on a scientific team that came to check things out. They get angry, and the crazy scientist eventually gets really angry because his new shrunken subjects won't cooperate.The thing is, the film doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a thriller, or a goofy movie. Dr. Cyclops (never called that but referenced to a Cyclops after one lens in his glasses breaks) looks cool in his "30's style sci-fi helmet" as he performs experiments and can be chilling at times. But there is so much "Disney-style goofy music" going on that it is hard to take anything seriously. The music belongs in a family comedy for the most part, and is played when the shrunken people do things like try to survive, and creep around the floor. Add that a few of them have pretty gruesome deaths and that just adds to the confusing atmosphere.The FX aren't so bad but nothing special. The giant sets built are pretty impressive though. There is a scene where little fires are tossed at a real crocodile's head which probably made animal activists angry.It also takes a long time for anything to really happen. This movie could have been done in a nice tight half-hour. Good for a viewing, but you probably won't watch again. The performance of the guy who plays Dr. Cyclops is definitely the main attraction.