DEVIL
DOLL (1963)Director: Lindsay Shonteff
Image Entertainment
DEVIL
DOLL (1963)Richard Gordon produced some very quirky thrillers in the UK during the 60s. DEVIL DOLL is one of the oddest, as you are painfully aware that a midget is playing the dummy yet it is still very creepy in the DEAD OF NIGHT tradition. The film also recalls two of the finest Twilight Zone episodes ever, namely "The Dummy" and "Caesar and Me." Not unlike Anthony Hopkins' turn in MAGIC (1980), paved the way for the far more graphic world of the "Chucky" franchise.
Bryant Halliday is a minor Horror personality in the Mike Raven/Ralph Bates manner. He is far too arrogant and nasty to be a villain we care about yet his is a sinister performance with little time for regrets and his end is more than justified in the final reel.
This rather lackluster production benefits greatly from the presence of the staggeringly beautiful Yvonne Romain, so memorable in Hammer Film Productions like CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) and NIGHT CREATURES (1962) but especially in CIRCUS OF HORRORS (a non-Hammer horror classic). Her exuberant rendition of "The Twist" while under hypnosis is one of the highlights of this downbeat thriller.
William Sylvester appears in the film as a reporter. The actor has a very interesting horror/sci-fi pedigree of his own with titles such as GORGO (1961) and a most vocal part in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). However, two of Sylvester's credits which beg for distribution are his turns in BEAST OF MOROCCO (1966) and the classic UK creepfest, DEVILS OF DARKNESS (1965). Are you listening, Image Entertainment?
The plot has an interesting angle which involves the transference of human souls into the body of a wooden mannequin. Bryant Halliday stars as The Great Vorelli who spends the majority of the film utilizing his powers to have sex with women under his control and influence. [Maybe this is where the term "Woody" came from!] The slanted camera angles during the sequences when the mannequin is mobile are genuinely offbeat and sinister. This reviewer isn't that keen on this project but one cannot deny its staying power and innate classiness.
On the positive side, this DVD presentation allows you to compare both the standard and the more racy Continental versions of DEVIL DOLL, presented beautifully in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio with Anamorphic enhancement. Consisting of a bit of nudity and nothing more, the film looks as good as it's ever going to. And the photography is more television-oriented than for cinema as a number of close-ups reveal.
There certainly is a cult following for DEVIL DOLL as this reviewer can attest. Baby-boomers particularly remember its Brit sense of creepiness and the dummy bears a striking resemblance to the one in the celebrated 1945 DEAD OF NIGHT.
The audio commentary by Richard Gordon (who is interviewed by genre historian Tom Weaver) is very entertaining and one wishes Mr. Gordon would do more of these. Gordon seems to have an endless reservoir of anecdotes about the industry. And well Gordon should, having produced or executive produced such fare as FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (1958), PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (1962), and THE PROJECTED MAN (1967) and more recently INSEMINOID (1981) which was also released as HORROR PLANET.
The U.S. trailer is included on the disc along with a stills, poster and artwork gallery. The liner notes are splendid as is the jacket and extras and prove a real treat for most of us fans.
So pick up that Brewski and put this puppy in the DVD player! The voracious Vorelli in us all commands it! (Christopher Dietrich)