Devil Doll "Continental Version" (1964)

Directed by Lindsay Shonteff and Sidney J. Furie

Written by George Barclay, Lance Z. Hargreaves and Frederick E. Smith

"Devil Doll" is available to watch for free online here.

I reviewed a great b-horror film a few weeks ago called "Devil Doll". (Click here for review) I liked it so much, I have since bought "Devil Doll" on DVD, and was pleased to discover that the DVD came with both the UK version (which is the version available to watch for free online) and the "Continental Version", which had scenes changed and added for European audiences. 

Before I get in to the meat of my review of the "Continental Version", I would like to make a few observations that struck me while watching the film a second time. In my first review, I dismissed Bryant Haliday's performance of The Great Vorelli as "ridiculous as always... ...but slimy and creepy enough to evoke genuine discomfort." After a second viewing, my opinion of Haliday as an actor has gone up considerably. The dramatic tension he creates on stage could be cut with a knife. I particularly enjoyed the monologue during which he convinces an audience volunteer that they are about to be executed by soldiers. The overall eerie tone of the movie and the quality of the story and the acting are what separates this from the many other "killer doll" movies. It takes a b-movie premise and follows it through with thoughtful, serious conviction. 

The main difference between the "UK Version" and the "Continental Version" is that a scene of dialogue between Vorelli and his assistant (in the UK version) has been replaced with a scene of Vorelli hypnotizing a meek-looking woman into doing a wooden, creepy strip-tease for the audience (in the Continental version). As I remember from my viewing of the UK version, the omitted dialogue scene consists of Vorelli's assistant expressing jealousy of Mary-Anne, and Vorelli reassuring her, then sleeping with her, which is the lead-in to the later scene of her lying in bed, naked except for a sheet. While the dialogue scene isn't terribly crucial to plot development, I feel it gave Vorelli a bit more depth as a shameless womanizer. The strip-tease scene is a mixed bag. Vorelli compels a woman from the audience to do a strip-tease, but she does it like a robot, moving mechanically in a not-very-sexy manner. On the negative side, a scene that introduces nudity for nudity's sake to the movie was less arousing than watching modern shampoo commercials. The actress was sadly less attractive than Mary-Anne or Vorelli's assistant. It was also odd that under her professional businesswoman suit, the volunteer was wearing fancy lingerie. It's almost as if she was planning to do a strip-tease that night. Lastly, the woman's strip-tease is much more wooden and robotic than any of the people Vorelli had hypnotized earlier. If she had been as enthusiastic about the strip tease as Mary-Anne was about dancing, it might have been a good show. On the positive side, this scene adds an extra layer of creepy to the psycho-sexual vampire vibe that Vorelli has going. Because it's so un-sexy, watching the woman robotically strip for Vorelli becomes one of the film's eerier moments. It is rather uncomfortable to watch. 

The other two scenes are scenes that are in the UK version that have simply been re-shot with nudity added. These are my favorite new scenes. The first gives us an artful glimpse of one of Vorelli's assistant's breasts just before Hugo stabs her to death. A great breast and a great scene in general. The second occurs when Mark calls his friend in Berlin. In the original scene, it shows his friend in pajamas in a hotel room with a woman. The woman is clothed, but the scene suggests they're lovers. In the "Continental" version of the scene, she's topless for the whole telephone conversation. It's much more suggestive, and I thought made this scene funnier. Sorry for my pervy insights, but the male readers may want to know these things.

Overall, the movie worked about as well both ways. Purists will probably prefer the UK version, and pervy guys like me will make a v-line for the "Continental" version. Either way, "Devil Doll" is a great film, and is available to watch for free (UK version only) online here. If you would like to see the "Continental" version, it's available as a special feature with the DVD I bought:

Other haunted doll movies you may enjoy:

Devil Doll (1964)

Directed by Lindsay Shonteff and Sidney J. Furie
Written by George Barclay, Lance Z. Hargreaves and Frederick E. Smith

"Devil Doll" is available to watch for free online here.

"Devil Doll" is the second Lindsay Shonteff / Bryant Haliday collaboration I've watched recently (the first was "Curse of the Voodoo" (1965)). Like "Curse of the Voodoo", the name and the premise had me expecting the worst. While they are both pretty cheesy b-horror movies, both of these films exceeded my  expectations of them. "Devil Doll" in particular is one b-horror movie that deserves to be promoted to a B+.

[I have, since writing this review, bought "Devil Doll" on DVD, and have written a review of the "Continental" version of the film, which includes nudity, and is not available for free online. Read the review of the "Continental" version here.]

Bryant Haliday (who played Mike Stacey in Curse of the Voodoo) stars as The Great Vorelli, an evil hypnotist/ventriloquist who uses hypnosis to manipulate those around him. He headlines his own show with his "helper", Hugo the dummy. Hugo is no ordinary dummy though. He has special abilities that go beyond ventriloquism. While possessed dolls are nothing new to horror films, Hugo exhibits the same squeaky-voiced, knife-happy glee that would infuse the "Child's Play" franchise in the 80's and 90's.

William Sylvester stars as Mark English, a newspaper reporter who's been charged with reviewing the Great Vorelli's act. In an attempt to get close to Vorelli, English asks his girlfriend Marianne to volunteer as a hypnosis subject during a show. Vorelli hypnotizes Marianne and turns her into a rockin' dancer before a crowded theater full of spectators. Then, for the big finish, Vorelli brings out Hugo the dummy, who speaks fluently while Vorelli drinks from a glass of wine, then walks by himself to the front of the stage to accept the audience's applause. Marianne begins to sense something is wrong with Vorelli, but Mark keeps insisting that she get close to him for the purposes of his newspaper story. Unfortunately for the young lovers, Vorelli has developed his own plans for Marianne.

Yvonne Romain (who played Rosa the prostitute in "Corridors of Blood" (1958)) dazzles as vulnerable young Marianne. Her devotion to Mark English places her directly in Vorelli's slimy grasp. Romain's anti-chemistry with Haliday's Vorelli is potent. Like Dracula, Vorelli steals in in the dead of night to prey on pretty young women in a psycho-sexual manner. He mesmerizes them into a state of complete vulnerability and then takes advantage of them, infecting them further with his poisonous presence.

After Marianne's first visitation, she becomes ill and must be bedridden. She raves hysterically, but the doctors can't determine a medical reason for her illness. But Mark has received his own visitation that night from Hugo the dummy, who delivers a cryptic message: "Help me. Find me in Berlin, 1948." Further investigation reveals the key to the horrifying secret of the Great Vorelli and his Devil Doll Hugo.

I gave "Devil Doll" an unexpected 8/10. It plays like a feature-length episode of "The Twilight Zone", but in a good way. Yvonne Romain is a fair actress, and that's on top of being pin-up beautiful. Bryant Haliday is ridiculous as always as the Great Vorelli, but is slimy and creepy enough to evoke genuine discomfort. The story is crude but entertaining, and features enough plot twists to keep you interested. The end in particular is expertly done, but you'll have to watch for yourself to see what I mean. Watch it with friends and food, or watch it right now for free:













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It has also come to my attention that there is a recent blacksploitation version of "Devil Doll" called "Black Devil Doll" (2009). Though I haven't seen it, it looks ridiculous. Here's a link to the amazon page for it: