The Devil-Doll

It's beautifully shot and Tod Browning's flair for the grotesque pops up here and there, but a soppy father-daughter reconciliation is what actually ends up taking over the story (this is not a horror movie in the end). Lionel Barrymore is disturbingly convincing as a little old lady. I don't think this was the first time he'd ever put on old-lady clothes and prattled about.

How the hell a film like this even got made in its time is almost as amazng as how well it works. Browning made Barrymore in drag controlling little people surprisingly empathetic.

Tod Browning's finest hour. As science fiction it sucks ducks, but it's an original and absorbing horror tale. Lionel Barrymore is simply great, and you wonder how the dickens the ending made it past the censors

Disappointingly compromised work that mixes oddball ideas with conventional Hollywood melodrama. No doubt a case can be made for its appeal--it is hardly a standard blend of contrary elements--and the effects are impressive for their time, as others have mentioned, but Barrymore's old woman impression veers too close to parody, and the ending is corny.

Tod Browning's 2nd to last film is fun little horror outing greatly boosted by Barrymore's performance. Maureen O'Sullivan is magnificent as Barrymore's estranged daughter and Rafaela Ottiano is eccentric and creepy as Walthall's widow.

Very impressive special effects for the time and quite a performance by Barrymore (in a dual role).

Really liked the bits with the daughter.

It's no Freaks, but it holds its own.

85.500

I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that MGM didn't think horror movies were worth taking seriously. A bunch of goofy shit with a bunch of goofy melodramatics on top. Impressive effects for '36, but that's about it.

The concept is more creepy than what we actually see on screen, but that doesn't mean it's not a great little film. Barrymore is excellent and surprisingly convincing as an old lady, and the story is a good bit of strange, tense, fun.

A lot to love. First off the madness of Henry B. Walthall and his parter in the head-shrinking game, Lucy Beaumont, was wonderful to watch. Walthall was dying at this point and he looked frail which only enhanced his performance. Then there was the small people to do their dirty work getting revenge on those that put Barrymore in jail many years ago. Some of those shots looked amazing! The acting was okay too. Most notably by Maureen O'Sullivan as the girl who'd learned to hate her father.

The dogs at the beginning do no justice to how the special effects work later in some scenes. It's also not just a movie about some crazy and evil scientist (what it looks at first), but it tries another way telling a story about a man trying to get back what others stole him, and give back to her mother and daughter the honor they also take with them blaming Paul Lavond for a crime he didn't commit.

42.250

Engaging if improbable fun, with Barrymore spending much of the film dressed up like a Monty Python pepperpot. O'Sullivan is adorable as always. Ottiano should've had "USDA" stamped on her forehead, she was such a ham (definitely a silent star not quite making the transition). Special effects very good, especially for the time.

Another strange tale from Browning. The film doesn't always work, but it does succeed in being honestly different.

Very entertaining yarn.

A fun little movie if you give it a chance. The plot is all over the place borrowing moments from crime, mystery, sci-fi, horror and melodrama. It doesn't quite flow well but like other Browning efforts the characters are what's truly interesting. Barrymore gives a convincing turn as an old woman; a fun change of pace from his typical performances. Yet Rafaela Ottiano manages to steal every scene from him! Fun roles for both. SFX are good too. It's baffling that ending got past the Hayes office.