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Showing posts from February 22, 2014

Devil-Doll (1936) - Tod Browning

The 1936's Devil-Doll is a crazy mix of Frankenstein, The Littles, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Sounds strange enough right? This movie marks the steep decline in quality and in popularity of Tod Brownings work. He really picked up steam by directing classics like Dracula and Freaks, however he wasn't able to maintain that level of quality. Instead he retired from directing in 1939 and fell out of society; completely cutting himself off from everyone, including his family, until his death in 1962. This movie is really intriguing with its use of the early "green screen" work and its other effects. That is really what drives the film. Other than that the movie sort of falls flat and ends very bizarrely. Lionel Barrymore (Great uncle of Drew Barrymore) and Marcel are on the run after escaping from prison. Marcel is a great scientist and he drags Barrymore to his experiments once they escape. The experiments Marcel performs involve shrinking things down to 1/6th their