Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Devil Doll Blu-ray Movie Review

Ms. Potter goes to Paris.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 26, 2023

Co-written and directed by Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks), 1936's The Devil Doll is an outlandish sci-fi/horror film of the "mad scientist" variety, showcasing a truly unique lead performance by Lionel Barrymore (It's a Wonderful Life) as Paul Lavond. Wrongfully imprisoned for a robbery and murder inside his own Parisian bank by three contemporaries, Paul escapes with Marcel (Henry B. Walthall), a scientist hoping to finish an experiment he began with his wife Malita (Rafaela Ottiano) in a secret location. Covering their tracks, they return to Marcel's lab where his work is revealed: an attempt to miniaturize subjects and prolong Earth's available resources. (It's like Downsizing, but good.)

Soon, Marcel's efforts are successful; he shrinks a few Saint Bernards and even their live-in servant, but is overcome by stress and dies of a heart attack. This leaves Paul with only one way to fix his problem: return to Paris under the false identity of an old woman named "Madame Mandelip", open a toy shop with Malita, and use miniature people to exact revenge on the men who sent him to prison... all under the nose of police actively seeking his whereabouts. All the while, Paul -- er, Madame Mandelip -- tries to rebuild his broken relationship with his now-adult daughter Lorraine (Maureen O'Sullivan) and estranged wife (Lucy Beaumont), only one of whom is aware of his cross-dressing ruse.

The fact that "mad scientist invents shrink ray" is the least ridiculous part of The Devil Doll should immediately let you know what kind of experience you're in for. It's built upon a patently silly premise (which itself is just barely based on the 1932 novel Burn, Witch, Burn! by Abraham Merritt) that requires all your suspension of disbelief due to a disguise more transparent than Clark Kent's glasses, oddly-placed narrative detours, Rafaela Ottiano's distractingly bug-eyed performance as Malita, and enough glaring plot holes and logic gaps to drive a truck through.

Yet as The Devil Doll goes on, that's part of what makes it enjoyable -- well, that and a number of extremely clever special effects, none of which are more impressive than the production and set design when its "little people" quietly stalk their unsuspecting victims, which likely provided plenty of nightmare fuel for unsuspecting 1936 audiences. The Devil Doll bobs and weaves then-new Hays Code standards to deliver a fitfully chilling horror movie with great visuals, completely separated from the fact that it also features a healthy dose of (un?)intentional comedy. Lionel Barrymore, who chews as much scenery as Rafaelal Ottiano in select moments, nonetheless binds everything together because his underlying warmth drives the film's poignant B-story with his estranged family members... and it's obvious he's having loads of fun with the part. The end result is a film you can't help but love for its pure, unadulterated commitment to lunacy, yet it also serves up a few intimate emotional moments that might just take you by surprise.

It's also the reason I'd never recommend The Devil Doll to everyone... but if you're intrigued by the cast, director, or subject matter, chances are good you'll find something to appreciate here. Die-hard fans of this cult classic, however, will be bowled over by Warner Archive's long-awaited Blu-ray that replaces a long out-of-print DVD that's not even in our database. Featuring an immaculately restored transfer and several new extras (including an audio commentary), this is a well-rounded disc that, like its pint-sized assassins, proves that big things come in small packages.

The Devil Doll Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive extends their usual amount of love and care to The Devil Doll's 2023 restoration, which is sourced from a fresh 4K scan of "original preservation elements" (typically a mixture of the original negative and other high-quality substitutes). Manually cleaned and polished to erase almost all instances of dust and debris while preserving its original filmic textures, the end result is a consistently pleasing and crisp presentation that will delight die-hard fans and first-timers alike. Special attention must have been paid to its sporadic optical effects during the "miniature" scenes, some of which show their seams (and even a bit of remaining dirt) but are nonetheless in near-spotless condition -- Warner Archive is not in the business of "fixing" or updating rough edges and older format limitations, and their commitment is appreciated. All told, this is a great-looking effort that stands alongside their dozens of other releases from this era and, as always, is perfectly encoded to avoid posterization, macro blocking, and other unsightly artifacts.

The Devil Doll Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix follows suit with a clean, crisp reproduction of The Devil Doll's original one-channel audio with this split mono track, which lightly widens the sonic experience while staying true to the source. Dialogue is given first priority but Franz Waxman's original score isn't far behind, enjoying a surprisingly robust dynamic range without intruding. Much like the video presentation, this is a very clean and crisp effort that nonetheless has trace amounts of remaining damage, most left as-is to avoid compromising its original texture and fidelity.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only -- not the bonus features below.

The Devil Doll Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive vintage poster artwork and no inserts. The extras, most of which are exclusive to this release, offer a nice mix of pre-show entertainment and retrospective analysis.

• Audio Commentary - This full-length track pairs up film historians Dr. Bruce Haberman and Constantine Nasr, who deliver an appealingly informative and well-organized conversation. Recorded exclusively for Warner Archive (a welcome rarity among their releases), it covers a lot of ground as they gratefully watch the film's brand-new restoration; topics of interest include Tod Browning's life and career, the source material and its adaptation, The Devil Doll's emotional themes and comparisons to other films, the production design, special effects techniques and history, the cast and crew, silent films vs. talkies, editing and the use of montage, John Barrymore's career, Hays Code restrictions, and much more. Overall, it's a top-tier track with a lot of terrific insight and obviously recommended to fans, who have been starved of supplements for this film until now.

• Looney Tunes Shorts - A pair of 1936 black-and-white WB cartoons, both nicely restored in HD.

• Milk and Money (8:09) - This early Tex Avery short (made less than one year into his career at WB) concerns Porky Pig and his farmer dad, who are in dire straits so Porky decides to work as a milkman to make ends meet. He can't break a single bottle, and obviously everything goes smoothly.
• The Phantom Ship (7:36) - Directed by Jack King, this lightly spooky short starts Beans the Cat and his Saint Bernard nephews (hmm....), who secretly stow away on Beans' plane to explore a haunted galleon in the Arctic. Do they find ghosts, skeletons, or treasure? Let's make it "all of the above".

• Theatrical Trailer (1:54) - This terrific vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

The Devil Doll Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tod Browning's The Devil Doll is a delightfully demented horror-drama that keeps audiences guessing with a narrative that wildly changes tone but stays entertaining throughout. Bolstered by clever visual effects and other illusions, not to mention an enjoyably unique lead performance by Lionel Barrymore, it's the kind of vintage rarity that'll take first-time viewers by surprise. Newcomers and die-hard fans alike will love Warner Archive's new Blu-ray, which offers another first-rate A/V restoration and a handful of new extras too. Highly Recommended to the right audience.