The Devil-Doll
1936  NR  SCIENCE FICTION  1h 19min
CAST— Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O’Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Robert Greig, Lucy Beaumont, Henry B. Walthall, Grace Ford, Rafaela Ottiano
MUSIC— Franz Waxman  DIRECTOR— Tod Browning

     Let’s make it short and sweet, ‘kay? Two guys escape from prison and hide out in a swamp. One of them turns out to be a mad scientist and gets his kicks by shrinking dogs into doll-sized living creatures and controlling them with his mind. You following this so far? Just checking. Anyway, while experimenting on his first human subject the scientist dies. So his partner in crime takes up his work, but only to exact revenge upon the three men who wrongly imprisoned him. He leaves for Paris to do his, uh… exacting, but “Wanted” posters with his face are plastered everywhere. So he dresses in drag (as an elderly woman) and starts a shrinking lab in the basement of the old lady’s toy shop. And now, REVENGE! The movie is very entertaining for those who like to see men in full womanly disguise (and can pull it off quite nicely, as a matter of fact) imaginatively wasting their enemies, well made primitive special effects, and great set pieces. Check it out.
OUR RATING— ** ½