Freaks and The Devil-Doll: two great Tod Browning classics

By Doug Gibson

We love Tod Browning's films at Plan9Crunch blog, and we thought we'd spare some paragraphs on a couple of his better MGM films of the 1930s: Freaks, 1932, (see news clipping ad above) and  The Devil-Doll, from 1936. Also, thanks to David Grudt, of Long Beach, Calif., we go back in time and see classic newspaper clips about the films.

FREAKS

Besides “Dracula,” the film Browning may be best known for is the 1932 "Freaks." It is a masterpiece of surreal horror. The plot involves a selfish, beautiful trapeze artist (Cleopatra) who marries a little man (Hans) for his money. With her strongman lover (Hercules), she plots to kill Hans. Their big mistake is that they assume the circus “freaks” are little children, rather than adults capable of retribution. What they learn too late is that the “freaks” — and the actors really were such — act like children as a defense mechanism. They want to be left alone. But threatened in their environment, they draw strength from numbers.

For 40-plus minutes of this slightly longer than an hour film, we are not scared. Instead, we learn about life in a circus, and we view the “freaks” as human beings. The last 20 or so minutes are horrifying as the “freaks” gain revenge on two who would falsely request their trust and then try to kill one of them. The scenes of the “freaks” with knives and guns, peering through windows and under wagons, slithering, hopping, sliding and pursuing Hercules and Cleopatra through a dark rainy night are frightening. For years, the fim ended with a brief, jarring shot of what the “freaks” had done to Cleopatra. It’s one of the most shocking finales in film. But now “Freaks” when seen on Turner Classic Movies, adds the epilogue with Hans and other characters that diminishes the impact a little.

“Freaks” was ahead of its time. The suits at MGM hated the film and barely distributed it. More than any other film, it damaged Browning’s career. In fact, it was banned in Britain for 40 years. See it for yourself: it’s a masterpiece that draws on Browning’s love and respect for carnival life. In fact, before his film career Browning worked in a carnival. He allowed himself in these Grand-Guignol-like events to be "buried alive." More newspaper clips of Freaks below:

THE DEVIL-DOLL

One more Browning film worth seeing is the 1936 “The Devil-Doll.” (See newspaper clipping above)  It stars Lionel Barrymore as Paul Lavond, a framed banker who breaks out of France’s Devil’s Island prison with a mad scientist who can turn people into doll-sized humans who can be manipulated by human masters’ thoughts. It’s a wild plot. Outside Paris the mad scientist dies. Lavond’s and the scientist’s widow — who is as crazy as her husband — continue the experiments. She wants to turn the whole world little; Lavond just wants to gain revenge on his ex-partners who framed him and also help his blind mother and daughter, who were impoverished by his imprisonment. He uses the “devil dolls” to get his revenge on his ex-partners and clear his name.

Watch this film for the special effects and Barrymore’s performance. He’s great as a mostly decent man who can’t control his thirst for revenge and knows it. As an actor, Barrymore could be very kindly, as in Frank Capra's "You Can't Take It With You," and also quit evil, as in Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" and an earlier Browning film, "West of Zanzibar."

More newspaper clippings for The Devil Doll below, including a mid 1930s review.: