IMDb on iPhone and iPod touch Learn more Learn more Download from the App Store
IMDb > The Devil-Doll (1936)

The Devil-Doll (1936) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 3 | slideshow)

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   1,071 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Garrett Fort (screenplay) &
Guy Endore (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Devil-Doll on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 July 1936 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
An escaped Devil's Island convict uses miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those that framed him. full summary | add synopsis
User Reviews:
Goofy but good Tod Browning horror flick more (39 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Lionel Barrymore ... Paul Lavond

Maureen O'Sullivan ... Lorraine Lavond
Frank Lawton ... Toto
Rafaela Ottiano ... Malita
Robert Greig ... Emil Coulvet
Lucy Beaumont ... Madame Lavond
Henry B. Walthall ... Marcel
Grace Ford ... Lachna
Pedro de Cordoba ... Charles Matin
Arthur Hohl ... Victor Radin
Juanita Quigley ... Marguerite Coulvet
Claire Du Brey ... Madame Coulvet (as Claire du Brey)
Rollo Lloyd ... Detective Maurice
E. Alyn Warren ... Commissioner of Police
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Alden ... Apache Dancer (uncredited)
King Baggot ... Detective Pierre (uncredited)
Egon Brecher ... Detective (uncredited)
Robert Du Couedic ... Policeman (uncredited)
Paul Foltz ... Apache Dancer (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank ... Detective (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert ... Matin's Butler (uncredited)
Robert Graves ... Gendarme (uncredited)
Sherry Hall ... Detective (uncredited)
Mahlon Hamilton ... Detective (uncredited)
Edward Keane ... Gendarme (uncredited)
Gus Leonard ... Eiffel Tower Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas ... Off-Screen Voice (voice) (uncredited)
Eily Malyon ... Laundry Proprietress (uncredited)
Frank Reicher ... Doctor (uncredited)
Evelyn Selbie ... Flower Woman (uncredited)
Nick Thompson ... Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Tod Browning (uncredited)
 
Writing credits
Garrett Fort (screenplay) &
Guy Endore (screenplay) and
Erich von Stroheim (screenplay) (as Eric Von Stroheim)

Tod Browning (story)

Abraham Merritt (novel "Burn Witch Burn")

Richard Schayer  contributor to dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Tod Browning .... producer
E.J. Mannix .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Franz Waxman (musical score)
Edward Ward (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Leonard Smith (photographed by)
 
Film Editing by
Fredrick Y. Smith 
 
Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons 
 
Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer .... makeup artist (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Sharrock .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Stan Rogers .... associate art director
Edwin B. Willis .... associate art director
 
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer .... recording director
James Brock .... production sound mixer (uncredited)
T.B. Hoffman .... sound effects editor (uncredited)
Standish J. Lambert .... sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Ralph A. Pender .... sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore .... sound effects editor (uncredited)
R.L. Stirling .... sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Don T. Whitmer .... sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Willard Vogel .... additional photographer (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree .... wardrobe
 
Music Department
M.J. McLaughlin .... music mixer (uncredited)
Clifford Vaughan .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Paul Foltz .... double: Arthur Hohl (uncredited)
Val Raset .... dance director: apache dance (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Witch of Timbuctoo
more
Runtime:
78 min (Turner library print)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2328)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Francis McDonald (Detective) and Inez Palange (Concierge) are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members for their roles, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: As one of the men who framed Lavond is reading about his escape from prison, the paper he's holding is shown both folded and unfolded between shots. more
Quotes:
Lavond (as Madame Mandelip): Once you're in my shop, I'll wager you'll do anything I ask. more
Movie Connections:
References The Unholy Three (1925) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 15 people found the following review useful.
Goofy but good Tod Browning horror flick, 29 October 2001
7/10
Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

Lionel Barrymore is great in this film as an escaped convict out for revenge against the three bankers who framed him for embezzlement and murder seventeen years before. He and another fellow, a scientist, escape from Devil's Island together and arrive at the scientist's house, where his wife carries on his twisted experiments: shrinking living beings. His goal is to shrink all creatures on Earth, to make food production easier, but the shrunken things' brains don't function properly. You can control them telepathically, for some strange reason, but they can't think for themselves. When the scientist dies, Barrymore devises to use these dolls to get revenge on his enemies.

There are a lot of relatively good special effects in the film, and, like I said, Lionel Barrymore is fantastic. There is a nice emotional center of the film - Barrymore's daughter has suffered a lot from her father's crimes, and she hates him. Barrymore's sole purpose in getting revenge (and getting his enemies to confess their crimes) is to free his daughter from the shame in which she has always lived because of him. I actually wish that there was at least one more sequence concerning the daughter (there are three in the present film). The final scene is quite touching. 7/10.

Was the above review useful to you?
more (39 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Devil-Doll (1936)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
That streak of white pery-1
Brilliant! Suspense, visual effects mapsnmad
Confused about the ending cwaters-3
Mystery Science Theater? atarisafarifx
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Dr. Renault's Secret Mystic River Men in Exile The Black Doll White Heat
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
IMDb Sci-Fi section IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.