Richard Connell's short story is a masterpiece of imagination and invention - he never seemed to match it - one I have always loved. This first version is for me the best, even though films have remade it (ripped it off?) ad nuseum.It is a bit creaky, the filmmakers miss opportunities - but there is so much right. It's set on a creepy island with swamps and huge trees, there's a big castle, and the villainous count and his henchmen and dogs. The photography is beautiful.
It was a good addition to have a brother and sister on the island as well as Rainsford (played likeably by Joel McCrea - not a gentleman like in the story but very effective). The brother soon buys the farm (why don't we see it though? Would have been a terrific sequence), enabling Fay Wray to run through the island and be partially disrobed like she would later in King Kong. Leslie Banks is fine as the villainous count though it does feel like an opportunity missed for one of the all-time great villains - I started imagining Bela Lugosi in the role and when I started couldn't stop.
So many great moments - heads in jars, the hounds, the final thrilling chase through the island. King Kong fans with enjoy spotting the same set as Skull Island eg the log over the crevasse, the waterfall.
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