History Film / DrCyclops

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Although it's possible Thorkel would've eventually figured it out on his own, Bulfinch pompously pointing out that there'll be "a reckoning" once the shrunken captives revert to formal size, resulting in Thorkel realizing he has to kill them, probably didn't help.

* ILoveNuclearPower: The ShrinkRay is powered by uranium.

* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The miniaturized victims of Thorkel's [[ILoveNuclearPower uranium-powered]] ShrinkRay, although as opposed to continuing to shrink, they're slowly returning to ordinary size.

* VillainProtagonist: Thorkel. Albert Dekker receives top billing, and has the most dialogue and screentime. The Will Garth {{Novelization}} even refers to the story as "The Amazing and Thrilling Adventures of the Super Scientist," as though Thorkel is some kind of Franchise/DocSavage style AntiHero whose adventures will continue beyond a mere retelling of the movie in book form.

* MisplacedWildlife: A few, notably an American alligator in Peru, standing for a crocodile.

* AdaptedOut: In both the Henry Kuttner and Will Garth [[{{Novelization}} Novelizations]], Thorkel's ill-fated assistant Dr. Mendoza neither appears nor is mentioned. This is largely because the scene where he confronts Thorkel and gets killed, the only scene in which he appears in the film, is absent from both Kuttner and Garth's books.

** Although often said to be based on a novelette of the same name by Henry Kuttner, which was published in a June, 1940 issue of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Kutner's book was actually a {{Novelization}} of screenwriter Tom Kilpatrick and Malcolm Stuart Boylan's original screenplay. The main notable differences in this version are the absence of Dr. Mendoza, Steve Baker's reason for coming (he is looking for a Peruvian girl named Mira, who worked as Thorkel's housekeeper), and the big reveal that [[spoiler:Thorkel is working for the Nazis!]]

** Although often said to be based on a novelette of the same name by Henry Kuttner, which was published in a June, 1940 issue of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Kutner's book was actually a {{Novelization}} of screenwriter Tom Kilpatrick and Malcolm Stuart Boylan's original screenplay. The main notable differences in this version are the absence of Dr. Mendoza, Steve Baker's reason for coming (he is looking for Mira, the sister of an acquaintance of his, who worked as Thorkel's housekeeper), and the big reveal that [[spoiler:Thorkel is working for the Nazis!]]

** Although often said to be based on a novelette of the same name by Henry Kuttner, which was published in a June, 1940 issue of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Kutner's book was actually a {{Novelization}} of screenwriter Tom Kilpatrick and Malcolm Stuart Boylan's original screenplay. One notable difference in this version is Steve Baker's reason for coming; he is looking for Mira, the sister of an acquaintance of his, who worked as Thorkel's housekeeper and is intimated to have suffered a fate similar to Dr. Mendoza in the film.

* RaceLift: Possibly. In the Garth {{Novelization}}, Thorkel is described as having "[[ScaryBlackMan ebony]]" skin.

* ThoseWackyNazis: In Henry Kuttner's novelization of the film published in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Thorkel reveals that [[spoilers:he is conducting his experiments on behalf of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, with the aim of creating tiny armies of German soldiers to be smuggled into enemy nations for the purposes of spying and sabotage.]]

* AdaptedOut: In the Will Garth {{Novelization}}, Thorkel's ill-fated assistant Dr. Mendoza neither appears nor is mentioned. This is largely because the scene where he confronts Thorkel and gets killed, the only scene in which he appears in the film, is absent from Garth's book.
* AdaptationNameChange: In the novelization, Mary's last name is changed to Phillips for some reason.

** Although often said to be based on a novelette of the same name by Henry Kutner, which was published in a June, 1940 issue of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Kutner's book was actually a {{Novelization}} of screenwriter Tom Kilpatrick and Malcolm Stuart Boylan's original screenplay.

Confused and a little insulted that they travelled thousands of miles for basically nothing, the four of them refuse to go and snoop around. When Thorkel catches them, he pretends to bring them into his confidence, revealing he's been harnessing radioactivity from a nearby uranium mine to create what basically amounts to a ShrinkRay. Inviting them to look, he shrinks them, along with his Peruvian servant Pedro, who had also been present, and keeps them as test subjects. But when he discovers that they're slowly returning to ordinary size, Thorkel realizes that, once they're normal-sized again, they'll go ''right'' to the authorities, he realizes he has to kill them. After he euthanizes Bulfinch with an overdose of ether, Mary, Bill, Steve and Pedro escape into the surrounding jungle and fight to survive until they can return to normal size, while Thorkel hunts them.

* AdaptationNameChange: In the Will Garth {{Novelization}}, Mary's last name is changed to Phillips for some reason.

* AffablyEvil: Thorkel sure is a nice and polite fella, even when trying to crush and murder his shrunken opponents.

* HairTriggerTemper: Thorkel may be AffablyEvil, but he's prone to flying off the handle if needled in just the right way.

** Although often said to be based on a novelette of the same name by Henry Kutner, which was published in a June, 1940 ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Kutner's book was actually a {{Novelization}} of screenwriter Tom Kilpatrick and Malcolm Stuart Boylan's original screenplay.

* RaceLift: Possibly. In the "Will Garth" {{Novelization}}, Thorkel is described as having "[[ScaryBlackMan ebony]]" skin.

* RaceLift: Possibly. In the "Will Garth" {{Novelization}}, Thorkel is described as having "ebony" skin.

* AffablyEvil: Thorkel sure is a nice and polite fella, even trying to crush and murder his shrunken opponents.

* VillainProtagonist: Thorkel. Albert Dekker receives top billing, and has the most dialogue and screentime. The Will Garth {{Novelization}} even refers to the story as "The Amazing and Thrilling Adventures of the Super Scientist," as though Thorkel is some kind of Literature/DocSavage style AntiHero whose adventures will continue beyond a mere retelling of the movie in book form.