The Devil Doll

This 1936 picture only gets a mild recommendation from me. It has escaped prisoner Lionel Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's great uncle in fact) taking his revenge on the three men that framed him and kept him in jail for seventeen years. The way he goes about settling the score is strange to say the least. With the research from a fellow escapee scientist, Lionel can shrink anyone down to size and control their will with his thoughts. Yeah, I'm not sure if the title fits either. So in order to get near all of his victims in Paris, he disguises himself as an elderly woman selling toys (see poster). Did I mention this was a peculiar revenge story?

Now for the nagging. First off you would have no idea this film takes place in France. Sure the Eiffel Tower is there and they say mademoiselle a lot, but it doesn't feel like Paris at all. It might as well been anywhere else. SPOILERS ahead for future audiences. The end wasn't satisfying at all. It started with a sinister plot but then became a lackluster drama. I really didn't care about the main character's daughter or her soon to be husband. I didn't care about how her daughter would never see him again. And I didn't see how she could fall in love with a loud mouth cab driver named Toto. I just wanted to see miniature people ofting his enemies in clever ways. No one was murdered. I know it sounds like I have a blood lust but it started as one type of movie and ended as another.

Still, given the questionable premise, I enjoyed it a bit. I'm not sure why. The special effects were pretty nifty I guess.