Island Of Lost Souls (1932)

Shipwrecked traveler Edward Parker is rescued by a freighter
delivering animals to an isolated South Seas island owned by Dr.
Moreau. After Parker fights with the freighter's drunken captain
for his mistreating M'ling, a passenger with some bestial
features, the captain tosses Parker overboard into Mr.
Montgomery's boat, bound for Moreau's island .


When Parker arrives at the island, Moreau welcomes Parker to his
home and introduces him to Lota, a young woman whom Moreau claims
is of Polynesian origin, and who seems fearful and withdrawn.
When she and Parker hear screams coming from another room, which
Lota calls "the House of Pain," Parker investigates. He sees
Moreau and Moreau's assistant, Montgomery, operating on a
human-like creature without anesthetic. Convinced that Moreau is
engaged in sadistic vivisection, Parker tries to leave, only to
encounter brutish-looking humanoids resembling apes, felines,
swine, and other beasts emerging from the jungle. Moreau appears,
cracks his whip, and orders them to recite a series of rules
("the Law"). Afterward, the strange "men" disperse.


As Parker spends time with Lota, she falls in love with him.
Eventually the two kiss, but Parker is then stricken with guilt,
since he still loves his fiancée, Ruth Thomas. As Lota hugs him,
Parker examines her fingernails, which are reverting to
animalistic claws. He storms into the office of Dr. Moreau to
confront him for creating Lota. Dr. Moreau explains that Lota is
his most nearly human creation, and he wanted to see if she was
capable of falling in love with a man and bearing human-themed
children. Enraged, Parker punches Moreau to the ground and
demands to leave the island. When Moreau realizes Lota is
beginning to revert to her panther origin, he first despairs,
believing that he has failed—until he notices Lota weeping,
showing human emotion. His hopes are raised and he screams that
he will "burn out" the remaining animal in her in the House of
Pain.


Meanwhile, the American consul at Apia in Samoa, Parker's
original destination, learns about Parker's location from the
cowed freighter captain. Fiancée Ruth Thomas persuades Captain
Donahue to take her to Moreau's island. She is reunited with
Parker, but Moreau persuades them to stay the night. The
ape-themed Ouran, one of Moreau's creations, tries to break into
Ruth's room. She wakes up and screams for help, and Ouran is
driven away. Montgomery confronts Moreau, and implies that
Ouran's attempted break-in was arranged by Moreau. Donahue offers
to try to reach the ship and fetch his crew. Moreau, seeing him
depart, dispatches Ouran to strangle him.


Learning that Moreau has allowed Ouran to break the Law, the
other beast-men no longer feel bound by it. They set their huts
ablaze and defy Moreau, who tries and fails to regain control. He
demands of them, "What is the Law?" Their response is, "Law no
more!" The beast-men drag the doctor into his House of Pain,
where they bind him, screaming, to the operating table and
assault him with his own surgical knives.


With help from the disaffected Montgomery, Parker and Ruth make
their escape. Parker insists they take Lota along. When Lota sees
Ouran following, she waits in ambush. In the ensuing struggle,
both are killed. The others escape by boat as the island goes up
in flames, presumably destroying Moreau's work and eradicating
the beast-men.