IMDb > The Devil-Doll (1936)

The Devil-Doll (1936) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   1,067 votes
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Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Garrett Fort (screenplay) &
Guy Endore (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Devil-Doll on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 July 1936 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
An escaped Devil's Island convict uses miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those that framed him. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Great suspense, drama, efx, and acting by Lionel Barrymore! more (39 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Lionel Barrymore ... Paul Lavond

Maureen O'Sullivan ... Lorraine Lavond
Frank Lawton ... Toto
Rafaela Ottiano ... Malita
Robert Greig ... Emil Coulvet
Lucy Beaumont ... Madame Lavond
Henry B. Walthall ... Marcel
Grace Ford ... Lachna
Pedro de Cordoba ... Charles Matin
Arthur Hohl ... Victor Radin
Juanita Quigley ... Marguerite Coulvet
Claire Du Brey ... Madame Coulvet (as Claire du Brey)
Rollo Lloyd ... Detective Maurice
E. Alyn Warren ... Commissioner of Police
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Witch of Timbuctoo
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Runtime:
78 min (Turner library print)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2328)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Francis McDonald (Detective) and Inez Palange (Concierge) are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members for their roles, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: As one of the men who framed Lavond is reading about his escape from prison, the paper he's holding is shown both folded and unfolded between shots. more
Quotes:
Lavond (as Madame Mandelip): Look at me and see what seventeen years in the grave has done to me. No, Radin, without my hatred I never could have lived to exhume myself. What swine you three are! more
Movie Connections:
References The Unholy Three (1925) more

FAQ

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Great suspense, drama, efx, and acting by Lionel Barrymore!, 7 August 2000
9/10
Author: drseim from Upstate NY

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.

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That streak of white pery-1
Brilliant! Suspense, visual effects mapsnmad
Confused about the ending cwaters-3
Mystery Science Theater? atarisafarifx
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