The Island of the Lost (1921 film)

The Island of the Lost (German: Die Insel der Verschollenen) is a 1921 german silent movie adaptation of The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Plot
A message in a bottle is published in the newspaper with coordinates of an island and the name of the writer, Jane Crawford. Robert Marston reads it, realizing the castaway Jane is his ex-fiance. Robert hides all knowledge of Jane and her stranding from his current fiance, Evelyn Wilkinson, who grows suspicious. Robert tells his friend, Dr. Ted Fowlen about Jane's stranding. Ted asks if Robert still has feelings for Jane which Robert promptly denies. They resolve to save Jane themselves and divert her travels away from Evelyn so Evelyn never has to learn of Jane's existance, would Jane have been rescued otherwise. At the same time, Ted has just released a fake ad claiming he invented an artificial human, so Ted has to flee the city anyway for a couple months to avoid the press.

Robert Marston, Ted Fowlen and an unnamed black man travel to the island to rescue Jane Crawford. Robert and Ted get off while the Captain is to go to another water-inlet. Robert and Ted spot a Beast-man along their walk searching for Jane. Robert and Ted find a hut on stilts surrounded by a lake. They take a canoe on the lake bank to a ladder up. They see Jane's shadow through a window of one of the huts, before it disappears. They walk into a main office hut where they are surprised by McClelland, the resident of the hut compound. He says he is alone on the island and all the native people died from an epidemic. While McClelland and Robert discuss drinking, Ted finds a door to Jane's prison. Ted finds and demands a key from Fung-Lu, McClelland's assistant, who replies that McClelland has the key. Ted makes McClelland open the door and Fung-Lu takes Robert and Ted's guns while they're distracted. Robert and Ted walk to the inlet while Jane talks about how she was drugged by McClelland's Chinese henchman on a train. An explosion, caused by Fung-Lu, destroys the party's ship, while the black man is outside having a smoke.

Fung-Lu demands opium from McClelland as repayment for destroying the ship. McClelland agrees on the added condition that Fung-Lu sign a statement that he was only McClelland's henchman. McClelland explains that he is working on something greater than Fung-Lu has helped with so far. Meanwhile, Robert, Ted, Jane and the black man find shelter and split up to find resources. Ted tells Robert to tell Jane about Evelyn but he doesn't want to. The black man meets the last surviving native inhabitant of the island, a black woman, whom he quickly finds racial solidarity with and decides to leave his white aquantences to go "back to nature". In company of Jane, Ted asks Robert if he thinks about Evelyn a lot. Jane asks who Evelyn is and Ted answers that it is Robert's bride.The next day, Ted serves Jane goat milk and they kiss. Robert begins to suspect their love and grows jealous. Back at McClelland's compound, Fung-Lu is taking care of the beast-man that was spying on Robert and Ted earlier. Fung-Lu informs McClelland that Jane can't be captured, but McClelland says it's alright since they have no way to escape the island and they'll capture her when the time is right. While McClelland and Fung-Lu leave the study, the Beast-man the place apart to steal something. McClelland and Fung-Lu come back with McClelland promptly threatening the beast-man with a whip asking who it thinks it's master is to which the beast-man points to Fung-Lu much to McClelland's dismay. Robert, Ted and Jane meet with the black man and last survivor. Robert has constructed a makeshift ship to leave the island, telling Ted that he's jealous of him for Jane and that he's rather drown on the radt than be the fifth wheel of the other four's relationships. While Ted is out, Robert confesses his love to Jane who refuses because of Evelyn and Ted. Ted spots a ship and catches everyone's attention but the ship passes the island to everyone's dissapointment. Robert grows hopeless of his escape after destroying his raft's sail so easily in his excitement. And the last survivor is angry at the black man for wanting to leave so quickly.

McClelland orders his beast-man to shoot a poisonous dart into Jane. The beast-man does so but neglects to take her back. Ted, thinking Jane has been poisoned by an insect pleads with McClelland to give him medicine for Jane back at home. McClelland monolouges his operations of surgically combining animals into humans and how all the beast-men seen so far are "sketches" for his upcoming creation. For this, McClelland needs a human heart. Ted flees the compound. He and Robert get in a fight and Jane is captured by the beast-man. Robert pursues Jane before being captured himself.

Evelyn arrives on the island with a crew and ship. She finds Ted who admonishes the black man for saving him from starvation and that Robert tried to steal Jane from him. Jane decides to see the adventure through so she can see the woman who swayed Robert. The black man explains the situation of McClelland to Jane.

Back at the compound, Robert is imprisoned for later use. For Jane on the other hand, McClelland orders Fung-Lu to get her heart now for the surgery of his great creation. Jane persuades Fung-Lu not to take her heart and Fung-Lu begins eyeing a caged tiger instead. The black man enters the compound to find an imprisoned Robert before being attacked by the main beast-man whom the black man injures. The black man flees and Jane returns in his place. McClelland realizes that Fung-Lu gave him a tiger heart and the overly bestial creature escapes. Evelyn unties Jane who frees Robert but their way to escape the complex is blocked by escaped beast folk. Jane scares them with fire but sets the complex ablaze as a consequence. The beast folk attack McClelland before they and Fung-Lu burn to death. Robert, Ted, Jane, Evelyn and the black man reunite on the lake shore watching the complex burn down. Ted and Evelyn kiss thus forming a closed love square.

Characters

 * Alf Blütecher as Robert Marston: Ex-fiance of Jane Crawford who wants to hide her from his current fiance by saving her before she gets the chanc to meet him by herself.
 * Ludmilla Hell as Evelyn Wilkinson: The current fiance of Robert Marston who grows suspicious of Robert hiding the newspaper from her. When she opens his newspaper, she finds a peice torn out and reluctantly buys another copy to find out what Robert was hiding from her. She goes on her own journey to the island, Robert travelled to previously and rescues him and his party.
 * Tronier Funder as Dr. Ted Fowlen: An old friend of Robert Marston who gets in trouble for false advertizing. He assists Robert in rescuing Jane Crawford who he subsequently falls in love with.
 * Fritz Beckmann and Hermann Picha as Jim and Jess: Hired partners of Dr. Ted Fowlen who threaten to go on strike unless they get paid. Ted Fowlen promises them that his new advertizement will make business boom. Jim and Jess believe him after reading the ad for themselves and quickly recall their strike.
 * Julius Brandt as Dixon, Daily Murder Reporter: A reporter who tries to get an interview with the artifical human that Dr. Ted Fowlen claimed to have.
 * Louis Brody as unnamed black man: This person came aboard the journey of Robert and Ted to rescue Jane. He escapes a explosive attack on the ship by going outside to have a cigarrette break. He falls in love with last surving native inhabitant of the island.
 * Umberto Guarracino as product from the Professor's secret workshop: A beast-man created by McClelland who spies on Robert and Ted. He later ransacks McClelland's study. He shows more respect to Fung-Lu than McClelland.
 * Erich Kaiser-Titz as Professor McClelland: A mad scientist creating people out of animals on the island who had kidnapped Jane Crawford so he could use her heart for his latest experiment.
 * Hanni Weisse as Jane Crawford: Robert Marston's ex-fiance from London who gets kidnapped by McClelland's henchman to get sent to his island. She then sends a message in a bottle which gets published in the newspaper.
 * Nien Tso Ling as Fung-Lu: An opium addicted assistant to Professor McClelland.
 * Desdemona Schlichting as last survivor: An unnamed black woman, being the last survivor of the island's native populus who falls in love with the unnamed black man. She gets angry at him for wanting to leave too quickly.

Locations

 * Berlin
 * Spree River
 * Dr. Fowlin's office
 * London (mentioned)
 * The Island: 32° 15' N, 142° 15' W.
 * McClelland's Compound
 * Office
 * Cells
 * Estuitary
 * Village
 * Treehouse
 * Last survivor's hut

Vehicles

 * Submarine
 * Ships
 * Utility boats
 * Train (mentioned)

Comparison to other versions

 * Island of Lost Souls (1932 film): There is a love triangle between the male lead and two women, one on and another off the island, the latter eventually coming to the island.