The Doll

A silent comedy directed by Lubitsch. Lancelot learns he must marry to receive his uncle's inheritance. But he is terrified of women; he flees the crowd of prospective brides and takes refuge in a monastery. The monks find a solution: there is a toymaker nearby who makes life-sized mechanical dolls that can move. If Lancelot marries a doll he will satisfy the condition. An accident in the workshop breaks the doll. To save the situation the toymaker's daughter Ossi takes its place. Lancelot notices nothing. The world of the film is entirely artificial. The sets are cardboard; the trees are painted, the house fronts drawn by hand, and even the sun hangs there as a face. The film does not hide it; in the opening the director assembles a small model and places the performers inside it. Ossi Oswalda plays Ossi; she was among the best-known comic performers of the period. Ernst Lubitsch directed, in his German years. A worthwhile discovery for anyone who likes silent comedy and formal play. For a viewer looking for realism, the film refuses it from the start and proceeds like a fairy tale.