Film Reviews

Freaks and The Devil Doll

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• Details: US / 140 mins / (No Cert).

An absorbing double bill of Tod Browning's most infamous works, Freaks and The Devil Doll shows the 'master of the macabre' at his best. The long banned Freaks is the highlight, made in 1932, Freaks used real sideshow circus performers with real malformations in sympathetic roles. The story is not the most searching,a female trapeze artist marries a circus midget for money, who is unaware that she plans to murder him after their wedding, but Browning's casting was inspired. A poignant piece which steers refreshing clear of being exploitative, Freaks is superb and must be seen by anyone pertaining to have an interest in cinema. Made towards the end of Browning's career, the less captivating The Devil Doll features Lionel Barrymore as Paul Lavond, a Paris banker who was framed by three of his former business partners. After escaping from Devil's Island, Lavond and a fellow prisoner make it back to France. Once there, Lavond learns that his colleague has the ability to reduce living creatures to a fraction of their size. Seeing an opportunity to exact his revenge, Lavond goes to Paris to seek out his former colleagues. While it's camp and extremely odd, The Devil Doll is a diverting tale, which lacks some of the directness of his other work. The tone may be light, but Browning's outstanding effects for the time (1936) are alone worth seeing.

Review by Garreth Murphy