Les poupées du diable

Don't let the genre classification as "sci/fi & horror" mislead you. It's really an excellent suspense/mystery/melodrama with the superb Lionel Barrymore (Mr Potter of "It's a Wonderful Life") and a young Maureen O'Sullivan. The sci/fi & fantasy elements - a mad scientist's ability to shrink people and control their actions - are exciting plot devices that allows Barrymore to exact revenge on the men who destroyed his life and family.

Director Tod Browning ("Freaks", the original "Dracula", and many Lon Chaney films) has created a great mix of suspense, action, light humor, & heart-tugging emotions in this tale of revenge and redemption.

The efx are (mostly) ahead of their time, and as good as the later shrunken-people sci-fi movies of the 40s and 50s, such as "Dr Cyclops", "Attack of the Puppet People", and "The Incredible Shrinking Man".

But the best part is the great acting of Barrymore. He plays a desperate escaped convict, who hides by masquerading as a kindly old woman, who in turn pretends to be maker of perfectly detailed dolls. As this character that's both humorous and murderous, obsessed and befuddled, he toys with the police and his betrayers who will be the targets of his army of living dolls. It's a tour de force of acting in this beautiful film.

Lionel Barrymore is great in this film as an escaped convict out for revenge against the three bankers who framed him for embezzlement and murder seventeen years before. He and another fellow, a scientist, escape from Devil's Island together and arrive at the scientist's house, where his wife carries on his twisted experiments: shrinking living beings. His goal is to shrink all creatures on Earth, to make food production easier, but the shrunken things' brains don't function properly. You can control them telepathically, for some strange reason, but they can't think for themselves. When the scientist dies, Barrymore devises to use these dolls to get revenge on his enemies.

There are a lot of relatively good special effects in the film, and, like I said, Lionel Barrymore is fantastic. There is a nice emotional center of the film - Barrymore's daughter has suffered a lot from her father's crimes, and she hates him. Barrymore's sole purpose in getting revenge (and getting his enemies to confess their crimes) is to free his daughter from the shame in which she has always lived because of him. I actually wish that there was at least one more sequence concerning the daughter (there are three in the present film). The final scene is quite touching. 7/10.

I really enjoyed this little horror flick. It was the story of an escaped prisoner and his efforts to exact revenge using his evil little zombie dolls. It was well-written and exciting to watch.

However, what really made the film for me was watching Lionel Barrymore. He was an immensely talented actor that starred in countless movies from the 1920s to about 1950 and I would have to say that this was definitely the weirdest departure he ever took on the screen! Not only was he an escaped con trying to exact revenge, but much of the movie he disguised himself as an old lady! Seeing him in drag (and doing a credible job) gave a me a real laugh and it was nice to see him increase his range. FYI--in drag, he DID look and sound a little bit like his famous sister, Ethel!

After seventeen years in prison, the former respected Parisian banker Paul Lavond (Lionel Barrymore) flees with his friend, the lunatic scientist Marcel (Henry B. Walthall) that is researching with his wife Malita (Rafaela Ottiano) the miniaturization of animals and human beings to improve the resources of mankind. Paul Lavond was framed for robbery by his scoundrel associates Emil Coulvet (Robert Greig), Charles Matin (Pedro de Cordoba) and Victor Radin (Arthur Hohl) that had stolen his business while his family was doomed to shame, poverty and tragedy. When Marcel reduces the retarded servant Lachna (Grace Ford), he learns that the woman is motionless and only responds to the control of his brain and has a heart attack. After the death of Marcel, Paul Lavond sees the chance to use the miniaturization process as instrument of vengeance and he travels to Paris with the insane Malita disguised of Madame Mandilip, a nice old lady and owner of a dolls store. Paul Lavond, using the identity of Madame Mandilip, befriends his resented and estranged daughter Lorraine Lavond (Maureen O'Sullivan) and plots a scheme to revenge and vindicate his family name.

"The Devil Doll" is an entertaining film by Tod Browning with a good story and special effects still impressive in 2011. The cast has great performances but Lionel Barrymore is excellent in his double role, and convincing as an old woman. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Boneca do Diabo" ("The Devil Doll")

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.