''The Island of the Lost'' (German: ''Die Insel der Verschollenen'') is a 1921 German silent

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by Urban Gad and starring

Alf Blütecher Alf Blütecher (7 February 1880 – 5 March 1959) was a Norwegian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1913 to 1930. Selected filmography References External links

* 1880 births 1959 deaths People from Tokke Norwegian mal ...

, Hanni Weisse and Erich Kaiser-Titz. It is a loose unauthorized adaptation of the 1896 novel ''

The Island of Doctor Moreau ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...

'' by H. G. Wells. Author 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 ''Der Januskopf'' () is a 1920 German silent film directed by F. W. Murnau. The film was an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. Little is kn ...

''(1920) (based upon Robert Louis Stevenson's ''

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

'') and '' Nosferatu'' (1922) (based upon Bram Stoker's ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

''). Thought at one time to have been lost, a print has 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". Director Gad began his film directing career in his native Denmark where he met and married actress

Asta Nielsen The General Students' Committee (German: Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss) or AStA, is the acting executive board and the external representing agency of the (constituted) student body at universities in most German states. It is therefore consid ...

, but later they both moved to Germany where he had a successful filmmaking career that lasted until 1927. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Robert A. Dietrich. The Wells novel was adapted earlier in 1913 as a silent film called ''The Island of Terror''.

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 Hans Behrendt (28 September 1889 – 1942) was a German-Jewish actor, screenwriter and film director. He was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. Selected filmography Screenwriter * '' Catherine the Great'' (1920) ...

as Pat Quickly *

Alf Blütecher Alf Blütecher (7 February 1880 – 5 March 1959) was a Norwegian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1913 to 1930. Selected filmography References External links

* 1880 births 1959 deaths People from Tokke Norwegian mal ...

as Robert Marston *

Louis Brody Louis Brody (born Ludwig M'bebe Mpessa; 15 February 1896 – 11 February 1951) was a Cameroonian-born German film actor, musician and showfighter. Brody was born in Douala, in the German colony of Kamerun, now Cameroon. His career began in the 1 ...

*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

External links

* Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by Urban Gad German silent feature films 1920s science fiction films German science fiction films Terra Film films German black-and-white films 1920s rediscovered films The Island of Doctor Moreau Films based on works by H. G. Wells Rediscovered German films 1920s German films 1920s German-language films Silent science fiction films {{Germany-silent-film-stub