A campy classic from Tod Browning
Added 11/26/2008
By the time The Devil-Doll was released in 1936 Tod Browning's career was all but dead due to the backlash stemming from his now cult classic Freaks. Though Browning attempted to get his career back on track it never came to be and The Devil-Doll was sadly his 2nd to last movie; after this Browning would make one more movie in 1939 titled Miracles for Sale.
The Devil-Doll isn't exactly a great movie, but it's just so much fun it reaches a certain level of greatness and despite the camp value the movie also has plenty of dramatic elements that also advance the movie and also make it very different than most movies in the horror genre. Though by right The Devil-Doll really isn't a horror flick, while there are horror elements, there is a lot more going on here and I suppose it really doesn't fit any genre, but horror or Sci-Fi is the closest fit.
Lionel Barrymore plays Paul Lavond who has been in prison for 17-years for a robbery and murder that he was set up for. He escapes with another man who is one of those crazy scientists who is able to shrink people to a mere few inches. Lavond takes off for Paris to seek out revenge on those who did him wrong.
The screenplay by Garrett Fort, Guy Endore & Erich von Stroheim was excellent; while the villains aren't all that developed, their script is very well written with plenty of laughs and surprisingly some touching dramatic moments. The Devil-Doll may not have the greatest script, but it's always well written and highly entertaining.
Director Tod Browning once again delivers a classic of the genre; while there aren't many horror moments his scenes are well paced with some really funny moments and he handles the dramatic scenes brilliantly. The Devil-Doll is truly one of a kind and too bad Tod Browning never was able to get his career back on track. His loss was a great loss for the horror genre and one can only wonder what classics he would have brought to us.
Even with Browning's direction, what makes this movie so great is the performance by Lionel Barrymore. Once he gets to France to get his revenge he takes a disguise as the people he's after have offered money for his capture, so his disguise is of that of a kind old lady. Seeing Barrymore dressed up as an old lady was hysterical and Barrymore plays up to the camp value and its quite clear he was having a lot of fun in the role. But he also delivers a very emotional performance that was simply brilliant.
Paul's daughter Lorraine played by Maureen O'Sullivan doesn't know her father was set up and she hates him and blames him for the problems that have come upon her family. There's some really great scenes with Paul dressed as an old lady trying to talk with Lorraine. That subplot plays a pretty big part, but than is dropped for a while before a very touching scene at the end between Paul and Lorraine, which has to rate as one of the all time greatest scenes in horror or any genre for that matter.
The Devil-Doll featured a lot of special F/X and honestly even today they still look rather decent despite the age of the movie. I've seen movies released after this and even movies released today where the F/X don't look as good as they did in The Devil-Doll.
As I stated after this movie, Browning would only make one more movie before disappearing from the film industry. Browning would pass away in 1962 at the age of 82 and with his death closed the chapter on one of the greatest horror filmmakers of all time. The Devil-Doll in my opinion is a great flick that I feel is better than Dracula, and almost as good as Freaks and Mark of the Vampire and in some ways maybe better. This is a must see for fans of the classic era and fans of Tod Browning.
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Wonderful.
Added 12/20/2007
The Devil Doll (Tod Browning, 1936)
The Devil Doll seems to be considered one of Tod Browning's minor films (it has 635 ratings at IMDB, as compared to the 8,151 garnered by Freaks or Dracula), though I'm not entirely sure why-- within the realm of Browning's movies, The Devil Doll probably ranks as his highest-profile production-- a stable of big stars, the kind of totally out-there plot Browning was known for, great special effects, the works.
The plot concerns a mad scientist who escapes from Devil's Island with the help of innocent detainee Paul Lavond (Lionel Barrymore), who's been plotting his revenge against the men who framed him for the seventeen years of his incarceration. When the old man dies after showing Lavond his life's work-- the turning of regular beings into miniatures-- Lavond and the old man's helper, Malita (Rafaela Ottiano), head off to Paris to give Lavond his revenge.
It's considered a horror film, but might just as easily be considered proto-noir; this is as much a crime film as anything, and Barrymore's character is a classic noir protagonist-- the antihero who sinks even lower than the rats who framed him in the first place in his desire for revenge. However you want to genrify it, it's great stuff, with Barrymore chewing scenery right and left (and sounding remarkably Brooklyn for a guy who spent his whole life in Paris, you know), megastar Maureen O'Sullivan as Barrymore's starry-eyed kid who spent her whole life hating her dad for putting her in such an awkward social position, Ottiano driving everyone around her crazy (which is what she does best; check her filmography and think about the characters she always ended up playing; one wonders whether, Tom Cruise-like, she got to a point where she was known for simply playing herself), the great character actor Robert Grieg as Barrymore's nemesis, the cheesy, but amazing for the time, special effects... The Devil Doll really does have it all. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has called it one of the thousand best movies ever made. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and deserves far wider recognition than it currently enjoys. Highly recommended. ****
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First rate horror thriller
Added 10/8/2007
"Devil doll "was another remarkable work of that genius of the direction as Tod Browning was. More than a filmmaker, he was primarily, a visionary artist. Indeed, anticipating himself for years to next releases of the same narrative profile, mirrors around the revenge of a man who has been framed for murder by three business rivals. Starred by Lionel Barrymore plus the scary special effects and a brilliant direction, you really should not miss this one!
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Barrymore & Browning Provide 'Camp'
Added 4/29/2006
For those who remember the word "camp," that description would apply to this film and especially the character played by lead actor Lionel Barrymore.
He makes this movie really fun to watch, adding humor to the "horror" story, dressing up and talking like an old woman en route to satisfying his revenge. The story has no credibility - absolutely none - but the movie is so likable that it's still satisfying and always entertaining. I wish this would be put out on DVD.
Another big plus for this movie is the fact it isn't that dated for being so old. The special effects, for its day, are quite good. The combination of humor and horror works, almost 70 years after it was released! Tod Browning, who did some weird movies such as "Freaks," directed this one, if that helps make you want to check this out.
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BARRYMORE IN DRAG???
Added 6/16/2005
The Devil Doll was directed by Todd Browning who also gave the world Dracula, Freaks, and Mark of the Vampire. This is certainly the least of the bunch but it's not a bad film. Barrymore plays Paul Lavond, a Paris banker who is framed by his three business partners and spends 17 years in prison. He escapes along with a friend named Marcel to Marcel's home in a swamp where his wife Malita is waiting for him. Marcel is a bit of a mad scientist along the lines of an Ernest Thesiger who has found a way to shrink people down to under a foot in height. Supposedly this is to help man by revlieving starvation in the world since smaller people will eat less. Of course...Marcel doesn't seem to take into account the man-sized homes, cars, etc....
Marcel has a heart attack and dies and Lavond agrees to continue the work with the wild-eyed Malita. They travel to Paris where Lavond plots his revenge on his partners. All of Paris is looking for him so he disguises himself as an elderly woman and sets up shop as a doll and toy maker, using the shrunken animals and people to get revenge on his three former partners. The sighy of Lionel Barrymore in drag is one you will not soon forget! Meanwhile his daughter played by Maureen O' Sullivan despises her father because of his alleged crimes and he just wants to make contact with her.
The special effects are similar to what would be used in Dr. Cyclops with trick photography and larger sets to convey the character's and animal's size. As a horror film it isn't really that scary except for the aforementioned Barrymore in a dress and Rafaela Ottiano's psychotic look as Malita. Still an interesting role for Barrymore although the last few minutes degenerates into mundane sappiness as Lavond finally gets to see his daughter.
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