Island of Lost Souls

4 p.m. Sunday, July 11, 1999, Caravan of Dreams theater

Charles Laughton, one of the decade's finest screen actors, made an indelible mark on cinema with characters like his vicious Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty, his Oscar-winning title role in The Private Life of Henry VIII and his pitiful Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

While his take on H.G. Wells' Dr. Moreau isn't quite in that calibre, his queeny mad scientist comes closest to showing the closeted man behind the mask. Though married to actress Elsa Lanchester (remembered by most as The Bride of Frankenstein) , Laughton's private life became public when Lanchester revealed his homosexuality in a 1976 biography. After Laughton admitted to a tryst on the living room sofa, Lanchester responded, "Fine. But let's get rid of the sofa." Not rated ­ PG equivalent. USA, 1933, 71 min., b&w.

Director: Erle C. Kenton; Writers: Philip Wylie and Waldemar Young; Based on: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells; Starring: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Kathleen Burke

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