The Devil-Doll

Paul Lavond, escaping from Devil's Island, was framed by his partners and imprisoned seventeen years ago. The scientist he escapes with has found a way to reduce living things to a sixth of their size; the shrunken lose their will and take mental commands. Lavond returns to Paris, disguises himself as an old woman, opens a toy shop and takes his revenge with dolls. The film is not interested in science fiction. It is interested in whom revenge strikes: Lavond gets his justice and cannot reveal himself to his daughter, and never once steps out of the disguise. In the end it leaves him nothing. The form is early effects work: oversized furniture sets, rear projection and sequences of miniaturised people in motion. The effects are exceptionally clean for their time and remain convincing. Tod Browning directed; it comes after Freaks and Dracula, from the last part of his career. Erich von Stroheim shares a credit on the screenplay. Lionel Barrymore plays Lavond and spends most of the film dressed as an old woman; Maureen O'Sullivan plays his daughter. Who it is for: viewers who like classical-era horror and fantasy. Who it is not for: anyone looking for logic. The shrinking is never explained and the plot rests entirely on accepting it.