The Devil-Doll Blu-ray Review
You can’t go wrong with a Tod Browning film.
Based on the novel “Burn Witch Burn!,” 1936’s “The Devil-Doll” begins with 2 escaped inmates (Marcel and Paul) on the lam. The 2 make their way to Marcel’s home where his wife Malita has been carrying on his experiments. You see, Marcel is a scientist who has been shrinking down animals and he hopes to shrink humans soon in order to solve the population growth and limited resource problem. During a human shrinking experiment, Marcel dies unexpectedly. Former banker Paul (who was wrongfully convicted of crimes by 3 former associates) sees this miniaturization process as a way to seek revenge against his lying colleagues and so he teams up with Malita (who wants to carry on her husband’s work). The 2 travel to Paris where they open a toy shop that sells lifelike dolls (really shrunken humans and animals). Paul disguises himself as an old woman in order to evade the police as he is a wanted man. While in Paris, Paul learns more about his estranged daughter Lorraine whose life has been wrecked by his incarceration. Can Paul clear his name, get revenge and patch things up with his daughter? How far will Malita take the work? All is revealed in the end.
Director Tod Browning (who is best known for “Dracula” and “Freaks”) is one of the true godfathers of horror. The filmmaker chilled audiences, broke new ground and told creative stories. “The Devil-Doll” isn’t particularly a scary film, but it fits the mad scientist horror genre mold well.
Stories with miniature people were not new at the time, but writers Guy Endore and Erich Von Stroheim, and Garrett Fort crafted a unique revenge story/mad scientist story around it (although there is some sappy family melodrama stuffed in as well near the end). One can argue the miniature aspect turns out to be more of a convenient gimmick than anything, but ‘Doll’ boasts some truly marvelous special effects/camera tricks here that were so far ahead of their time. There’s no question that the doll robbery/paralysis scene is the best part of the entire movie. You end up wishing there were more showstopping sequences like that in the movie.
Cast wise, the big names here are Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O’Sullivan, Frank Lawton and Rafaela Ottiano, but it’s Barrymore who carries the movie. The award winning actor shows a great deal of range here as he portrays an old woman for much of the film. Add in the revenge angle and the father-daughter storyline and you’ll discover a truly engaging character arc for Paul.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.37:1 1080p. How does it look? The 4K scan gives this B&W classic a sharp new print.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? Viewers can expect a clean 2.0 track.
Extras include the original theatrical trailer, a commentary by film historians Dr. Bruce Haberman and Constantine Nasr and 2 “Looney Tunes” cartoons titled “Milk And Money” and “The Phantom Ship.”
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