The Devil-Doll (1936)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Writers:

Garrett Fort (screenplay) &
Guy Endore (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 July 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Plot:

An escaped Devil's Island convict uses miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those that framed him.

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Devil's Island | Vengeance | Robbery | Revenge

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Alden	...	Apache Dancer (uncredited)
King Baggot	...	Detective Pierre (uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	Detective (uncredited)
Robert Du Couedic	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Paul Foltz	...	Apache Dancer (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank	...	Detective (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert	...	Matin's Butler (uncredited)
Robert Graves	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Detective (uncredited)
Mahlon Hamilton	...	Detective (uncredited)
Edward Keane	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Eiffel Tower Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Off-Screen Voice (voice) (uncredited)
Eily Malyon	...	Laundry Proprietress (uncredited)
Frank Reicher	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Evelyn Selbie	...	Flower Woman (uncredited)
Nick Thompson	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)

Directed by
Tod Browning		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Garrett Fort		(screenplay) &
Guy Endore		(screenplay) and
Erich von Stroheim		(screenplay) (as Eric Von Stroheim)
Tod Browning		(story)
Abraham Merritt		(novel "Burn Witch Burn")
Richard Schayer		contributor to dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Tod Browning	....	producer
E.J. Mannix	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Franz Waxman		(musical score)
Edward Ward		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Leonard Smith		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Fredrick Y. Smith

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Sharrock	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Stan Rogers	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
James Brock	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)
T.B. Hoffman	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Standish J. Lambert	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Ralph A. Pender	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
R.L. Stirling	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Don T. Whitmer	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Willard Vogel	....	additional photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe

Music Department
M.J. McLaughlin	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Clifford Vaughan	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Paul Foltz	....	double: Arthur Hohl (uncredited)
Val Raset	....	dance director: apache dance (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Loew's (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1936) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Nostalgia Collectibles (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Collectibles (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection")

Also Known As:

The Witch of Timbuctoo

Runtime:

78 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

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.

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.

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!

Movie Connections:

References The Unholy Three (1925)

Barrymore & Browning Provide 'Camp"

For those who remember the word "camp," that description would apply to this film and especially the character played by lead actor Lionel Barrymore.

He makes this movie really fun to watch, adding humor to the "horror" story, dressing up and talking like an old woman en route to satisfying his revenge. The story has no credibility - absolutely none - but the movie is so likable that it's still satisfying and always entertaining. I wish this would be put out on DVD.

Another big plus for this movie is the fact it isn't that dated for being so old. The special effects, for its day, are quite good. The combination of humor and horror works, almost 70 years after it was released! Tod Browning, who did some weird movies such as "Freaks," directed this one, if that helps make you want to check this out.