Runtime: 78 minutes
Directed by: Tod Browning
Starring: Lionel Barrymore, Rafaela Ottiano, Maureen O’Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Robert Greig
From: MGM
What a bizarre movie this was. I’ve enjoyed what little Tod Browning I’ve experienced in my life; that and praise from the Pure Cinema Podcast meant that this was worthy of a DVR recording made late yesterday afternoon on Turner Classic Movies. That recommendation did not steer me wrong.
The plot is that Lionel Barrymore (Paul) and a scientist escape from prison. That scientist (Marcel) is of the mad variety; he creates a method of shrinking animals to 1/6th their size as a way to reducing the usage of resources… and yes I laughed because it was just like the flop film Downsizing. Marcel demonstrates this to Barrymore-unjustly convicted-and image his befuddlement when he not only he sees tiny dogs, but also that Marcel can control their thoughts, in a process that is glossed over in a breezy manner. Paul is all WTF at how the process is done on “a half-wit woman” but is happy to use the shrinking method for the benefit of getting revenge on the A-holes who framed him.
If that wasn’t wild enough, legendary stage then screen actor Lionel Barrymore dresses as a woman as part of the scheme, and thus is in women’s clothing for much of the motion picture. In short, Marcel croaks, so Paul and Marcel’s wife shrink people and telepathically controls them while putting up the front that this old bitty woman has somehow created a way to make lifelike dolls. There’s also his daughter Maureen O’Sullivan, who despises him; perhaps the most surprising moment was realizing that her boyfriend is named TOTO. Like I said, what a bizarre movie.
Yet, it still entertained me not just for the Grand Guignol nature of the plot. Barrymore and the rest of the cast delivered; this included Maureen O’Sullivan as Paul’s daughter in a role I wish would have been more extensive, and Rafaela Ottiano as Marcel’s constantly bug-eyed expressive wife. The effects are great, at least by 1936 standards. It’s a macabre delight despite the Hays Code and actually includes a poignant ending, believe it or not. Thus, it always enthralled me & will be a film I’ll never forget, and not just during Spooky Season.
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