Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

In what was unfortunately his next to last directorial effort, Tod Browning creates a fun flick with a good gimmick (and good special effects), fine acting, and ultimately a truly touching quality. As we can see, our vengeance obsessed main character may be an antagonist but is not really a villain. His love for his daughter and mother comes through strongly, and with an actor as compulsively watchable as Lionel Barrymore in the lead, the movie is certainly easy enough to follow.Barrymore plays Paul Lavond, a banker framed by his partners and sent up the river, who at the beginning of the movie breaks out of Devil's Island prison in the company of a persecuted scientist, Marcel (Henry B. Walthall), who's devised what *he* thinks is the answer to the worlds' hunger problem: shrink everybody and everything so that the quantity of the worlds' food will then amount to more. The thing, Marcel and his wife Malita (Rafaela Ottiano) are clearly mad, and despite Pauls' own misgivings about their actions (yes, our antagonist does have some morals) he's still okay with using them towards his own ends.This leads to some fairly well realized sequences in which "miniaturized" dogs, horses, and people are controlled by masters such as Barrymore. The sequences in which Lachna (Grace Ford) and Radin (Arthur Hohl) go about particular missions are entertaining every step of the way. In general, the film is a little talky and never terribly scary, but Browning does generate some palpable suspense and in one great moment, as the clock is ticking, the character Matin (Pedro de Cordoba) feels his conscience getting to him. Maureen O'Sullivan, as Lavonds' daughter Lorraine, and Frank Lawton, as ambitious and cheery taxi driver Toto (!), make for an appealing couple. But getting to watch the interesting Mr. Barrymore at work is really the main reason to watch "The Devil-Doll", especially as he dresses in drag as Lavond masquerades as a doddering old character named Miss Mandilip.Set in Paris, and scripted by Garrett Fort, Guy Endore, and Erich von Stroheim, this does have solid atmosphere going for it, as well as an affecting, emotional ending. This may not be quite as memorable as Brownings' other works, but is worth a look for fans of genre films from this period.Seven out of 10.

Directed by Tod Browning, it's hard not to think about "The Unholy Three" where Lon Chaney dresses as an old lady as a cover for committing a multitude of crimes. However, that's where the similarity ends. Here it is Lionel Barrymore dressed as an old lady, posing as a Parisian toy manufacturer, when he is in fact hunted fugitive Paul Lavond, who was framed 17 years before by three associates and sent to Devil's Island for life. Once back in Paris, forgive and forget are not in this guy's vocabulary. Lavond says he must clear his name for the sake of his daughter, but - let's face it - he seems to be really enjoying his revenge. There are some plot holes here that confuse me. Lavond and his inmate friend Marcel escape from Devil's Island, which is off the coast of South America. Yet somehow the convicts manage to crawl to Marcel's wife's home. How did they get across the ocean? Did Marcel's wife relocate to Devil's Island hoping Marcel would escape? Although Lavond technically does not commit any crimes against the innocent, is what he does horrific enough that the production code requires his death? The ending is left so open it's hard to know what Paul Lavond's final move will be.Kudos to Rafaela Ottiano as Marcel's crazed widow with that streak of white in her hair and that Mrs. Danvers of the Devil Dolls vibe going for her as she somewhat steals the show. It's never mentioned how she lost that one arm and what appears to be part of one leg, but it sure adds to the atmosphere. Maureen O'Sullivan hams it up a bit as Lavond's embittered daughter but the relatively unknown Frank Lawton as her taxi driving fiancé somewhat dampens the effect with a fine performance as a very tolerant fellow who looks for the sunny side of life. Highly recommended as an odd little film from a director who specialized in them and that was quite daring for a movie made just after the production code.

Although much has been said about Barrymore in drag, there can be too much of a good thing. The performance is outstanding but on screen so much, with that irritating but realistic cackling voice and hunchback, it comes dangerously close to a detrimental domination and detraction from the bizarre, that is the backbone of the film. The film as a whole has so much more interesting and odd characters, horror, and sci-fi elements, and just plain creepiness that it comes off as an excellent example of the the depression era 1930's proliferation of pictures that are completely removed from the everyday. It is a supernatural stew. The magical and the mystical, the supernatural and dementia, are all in view with believable special effects and a suspenseful script.The Director's lovely obsession with the dark side and physical and psychological abnormalities are an obvious, predominantly personalized vision that was his greatest asset and his greatest liability. Always on or beyond the cutting edge his movies are seen today with more respect and serious consideration than this renaissance man received while he was creating his work of the weird and wonderful.

THE DEVIL-DOLL (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1936) directed by Tod Browning, best known for his macabre collaborations with Lon Chaney of the late 1920s, Universal's Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, and MGM's bizarre FREAKS (1932), is another interesting variation by Browning combining science fiction and fantasy often confused with horror. The title may seem a bit confusing, indicating this as a predecessor of supernatural themes later popularized on TV's "The Twilight Zone" or the graphic "Child's Play" where an evil doll comes to life to commit grotesque murders. Taken out of context from which it was based, "Burn Witch Burn" by Abraham Merritt, this is definitely not one about the 1623 Salem witch hunt in Massachusetts. In fact, THE DEVIL-DOLL, with director/actor Erich Von Stroheim being one of the screenplay collaborators, is set in Paris, lifting themes to both Browning's THE UNHOLY THREE (MGM, 1925) featuring Chaney, and Alexandre Dumas' literary classic novel of "The Count of Monte Cristo." No doubt THE DEVIL DOLL might have served the great talent of the late Lon Chaney (1883-1930), especially during the silent era, but with Lionel Barrymore, the final result is just as good.Plot summary: Paul Lavond, a bank president who, seventeen years earlier, was falsely accused of embezzlement and the killing a night watchman. After his trial, he's convicted to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. The story opens with Lavond making his most daring escape, accompanied by his cell-mate, Marcel (Henry B. Walthall). Successfully eluding both guards and hound dogs hot on their trail, the convicts seek refuge at Marcel's home and laboratory located in the middle of the woods with his wife, Malita (Rafaela Ottiano) awaiting him. Marcel, a scientist by profession, uses his freedom to perfect an experiment he started years ago by reducing humans and animals one-sixth to normal size, communicating with them through beams of thought. As for Lavond, he intends on using his freedom by going after the three former bank associates, Emile Coulvet (Robert Greig), Rodin (Arthur Hohl) and Charles Matin (Pedro De Cordoba) and avenge for what they had done. After Marcel succumbs to a heart attack, Malita talks Lavond into helping her carry out her late husband's work. Move forward four months. Lavond and Malita team up as owners of a toy shop in Paris, close enough for Lavond, disguised as an old woman, Madame Mandilip, to be close to his aged mother (Lucy Beaumont) without arousing suspicion to the police. Through his visit, Lavond discovers his now grown daughter, Lorraine (Maureen O'Sullivan), working as a laundress and romantically involved with taxi driver, Toto (Frank Lawton), detests her father enough to report him to the authorities if he should ever appear. Keeping his identity a secret to her, though known to his mother, Lavond soon carries out his vengeful plot on the three bankers by using Marcel's miniature human dolls as his weapon. Aside from being one step ahead of a detective (Rollo Lloyd), Lavond must face up to the insanely manner of Malita, who refuses to let him part company with her.Browning directs in his usual style, giving main focus on Barrymore's two characters, the escaped convict and the old woman. Barrymore's grandmotherly disguise comes as a sheer reminder of character actress Beulah Bondi's role in both MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (Paramount, 1937) and ON BORROWED TIME (MGM, 1939). Quite original in concept, with scenes borrowing from both silent (1925) and sound (1930) versions of Lon Chaney's THE UNHOLY THREE, one being the confrontation between "old woman" and police inspector as he gets closer to clues and solution without realizing it. Special effects revolving around the miniature people known as devil dolls are an asset, while Franz Waxman's soothing score played during its opening and closing credits give the movie some great distinction. Of its supporting players, Rafaela Ottiano comes off best as the mad widow walking about on one crutch. Her hypnotic eyes, hissing sounding voice, and gray streak of hair on one side of her head is convincing enough to make one believe she's related to Count Dracula. Maureen O'Sullivan and Frank Lawton, who earlier performed together in "David Copperfield" (1935), give capable performances, though not enough to compete against such old pros as Barrymore and/or Ottiano. O'Sullivan is believable as the bitter daughter while Lawton, unlike his title character of "David Copperfield" a year before, is given less to do this time around. He does have two noteworthy scenes (one with O'Sullivan, another with Barrymore) set on top of the Eiffel Tower.While THE DEVIL-DOLL is one of a kind, it is no way connected with the 1964 British-made thriller simply titled DEVIL DOLL. The only connection both films have is the confusion it sometimes causes in the TV listings. Reportedly a personal favorite of actress/singer Jane Powell, thanks to frequent revivals, the status of THE DEVIL DOLL has grown over the years, becoming a favorite for others as well. Formerly presented on video cassette in the 1990s, it's availability on DVD and presentation on Turner Classic Movies is a good way in keeping THE DEVIL DOLL in full view for future generations to come. It's certainly one of many prime examples of creative movie making, especially the notable off-beat style by the one and only Tod Browning. (***)