Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

BA_Harrison From Tod Browning, the director of horror classic Dracula (1931) and the infamous Freaks (1932), The Devil-Doll is a fun horror/fantasy that, while patently absurd, is very entertaining, with a great cast and some impressive special effects.Lionel Barrymore plays convicted banker Paul Lavond, who was sent to prison after being framed by his co-workers for embezzlement and murder. After 17 years inside, Lavond escapes with fellow prisoner Marcel (Henry B. Walthall), with revenge on his mind. On arrival at the swampland cabin inhabited by Marcel's crazy crippled wife Malita (Rafaela Ottiano), Paul sees something that will make it possible to even the score with his old colleagues: the miniaturisation of human beings that can be controlled by telepathy.After Marcel dies, Levond and Malita travel to Paris, where they set up a toy shop. Disguised as Madame Mandelip, the shop's proprieter, the escaped convict sets into motion his plan for revenge.With not one person-not even the police chief with whom he converses-suspecting that Madame Mandelip is Lavond, the film stretches plausibility quite a long way, but Barrymore is so amusing as his doddery alter-ego that all is easily forgiven. And with some great visual trickery, using a combination of mattes and excellent oversized props, The Devil-Doll is a delight for anyone interested in the history of movie special effects.The film is also very touching at times, with Lavond desperately wanting to clear his name so that his daughter Lorraine (the lovely Maureen O'Sullivan) will no longer hate him. As Madame Mandelip, Lavond has several conversations with his daughter (who also sees nothing peculiar about the heavy set woman with masculine features), but even after proving his innocence, he is unable to reveal his true identity.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the awesome line 'She's an inbred peasant halfwit'.

poe-48833 THE DEVIL DOLL calls to mind an earlier Tod Browning film, the Silent classic THE UNHOLY THREE- and the Sound remake (directed by Jack Conway); both featured Lon Chaney in drag, and Barrymore's performance here is a Carbon Copy thereof. Chaney actually FOOLED me the first time I saw the Sound version of THE UNHOLY THREE: there was no way, I figured, that THAT was a Man... Barrymore manages, amazingly, to pull off just such a remarkable feat in THE DEVIL DOLL. It's almost a shame that they felt they had to include the "living dolls" in the act: it would've been interesting to see Barrymore match wits with a detective hell bent on "uncovering" his cross-dressing secret (shades of J. Edgar Hoover!).

Bonehead-XL Common knowledge would have it that, after "Freaks" proved too spicy a meatball for '30s audiences, Todd Browning's career was over. While I can't comment on the films' performances, Browning did go on to make two minor classics: "Mark of the Vampire" and "The Devil-Doll." Despite what the title might lead you to think, this doesn't feature the 1930s equivalent of Chucky slashing through flapper girls. Instead, the gimmick is similar to "Dr. Cyclops." The story starts with two escapees slinking away from infamous Devil's Island. One of the convicts is Lionel Barrymore and the other is a not-quite mad scientist. The scientist has whipped up some phelbotinum that shrinks people, making them slaves to the shrinker's psychic will. He dies, leaving his research to Barrymore. Lionel grabs the formula and heads to Paris, planning to use the tiny people to murder the men who framed him. As you do.I didn't expect so much cross dressing. Similar to 'The Unholy Three," Barrymore hides in plain sight by living as an old woman. I'm not exactly sure why Browning was so fond of guys dressing up as old ladies but, at the very least, Barrymore is convincing in drag. The criminal opens up a toy shop, selling the miniaturized people as dolls, using them to dole out his revenge."The Devil-Doll" does have three stand-out sequences. In the first, a female doll squirms out of a little girl's arm before sneaking into the victim's bedroom. In a moment just as much about special effects as building tension, the little person slowly climbs into the man's bed, moving around on the furniture. When the doll finally strikes, the camera cuts away to Barrymore's leering face, screams echoing through the night. During that murder, a rare emerald was stolen. A cop comes to Barrymore's toy shop, unaware that the incriminating jewel is in plain sight. This is the movie's most suspenseful moment, the protagonist coming very close to being found. Finally, in the climax, another devil doll comes for the final victim, creeping up under the chair, preparing to strike. These moments make the movie worth seeking out.A large portion is focused on a romantic subplot. Barrymore keeps an eye on his estranged daughter, who has grown to resent her missing father. He hopes to win the girl back and talks to her while in disguise. The daughter is in a budding relationship with a cab driver. Maureen O'Sullivan does well as the daughter and Frank Lawton is never annoying as her love interest. Still, you wonder when the movie's going to get back to the more interesting devil doll business.In a surprising move, Barrymore gets away with his crimes, the one person linking him to the murders conveniently blowing themselves up. The emotional climax has Barrymore meeting with the cab driver at the Eiffel Tower, preparing to reveal himself to his daughter. The way this plays out is sweet and satisfying, even if it conflicts with the overall tone. "The Devil-Doll" is just as much a melodrama as it is a horror movie. The special effects are quite good and Browning seems more interested then he did while making "Dracula." Its tonal shifts make it an odd one.

tomgillespie2002 Two escapes convicts - Paul Lavond (Lionel Barrymore), who was wrongly imprisoned for robbing a Paris bank and killing a night watchman, and Marcel (Henry B. Walthall), a genius scientist who has worked out a formula that can shrink people to a sixth of their size - flee from Devil's Island. They wind up at Marcel's wife Malita's (Rafaela Ottiano) place, where Lavond witnesses Marcel's scientific experiment on his inbred, mute serving girl, shrinking her into a doll size. The plan is to shrink everyone in the world down to this size and control the Earth's food supply, but when Marcel dies suddenly, Lavond convinces Malita to come to Paris with him to seek revenge on the three bankers that wronged him.The plot has no credibility at all. Even by 1930's horror standards, this is extremely weak plotting. But Tod Browning's solid, reliable direction (here still piecing together his career after 1932's Freaks) and Lionel Barrymore's excellent, if camp, performance, makes The Devil- Doll is a must-see curiosity for horror buffs. The early MacGuffin is set aside in favour of Lavond's revenge, and when in Paris, he cross- dresses and becomes a dear old woman who runs a little toy shop. It's in this disguise that helps him to infiltrate the three suspecting bankers - high-pitched voice, Mrs. Doubtfire-style. Barrymore certainly doesn't shrink from the task, tackling this ludicrous plot device with gutso, and rather it coming across as simply preposterous, the film becomes memorable for it.The special effects deserve a mention also, as the three set-pieces where Lavond uses his miniature people dolls as instruments of death provide some nice moments. Of course, when compared to the CGI wonders that modern-day film-making provides, it's laughable, but for it's day, The Devil-Doll uses some impressive effects. The whole experience is certainly an odd one. It's not scary or mysterious, nor does the plot makes much (if any) sense, but there's a real heart to the film. Lavond's daughter Lorraine (Maureen O'Sullivan) has hated her father all her life for a crime she believes him to have committed, so the film becomes more than a simple revenge film. The final scene between Lavond and Lorraine is actually quite touching. This won't make any Best Of... horror lists, it's too obscure for that, but it's one of many stand-outs on Tod Browning's filmography, and a true curiosity.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com