the audience applauded

Admirable film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Janus Films (now part of The Criterion Collection) can be credited with helping to introduce American audiences to the films of Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa and many other well-regarded directors. What has that to do with this? Is it a classic? No, the lead actor in this film, The Great Vorelli, Bryant Haliday was a co-founder of Janus Films in 1956.He stars in a really creepy film. There is an air of sophistication about it, and I am sure that Haliday had something to do with that. Vorelli uses his mesmerizing powers to get Marianne (Yvonne Romain) and it works like a date-rape drug. He is not after sex, but money, but, off-camera...Asthe intrepid reports (William Sylvester) rushes to dig up the dirt before Marianne is killed, we wait with bated breath.No nudity, no blood, just classic horror.

What an act the Great Vorelli has, in the 1964 British horror thriller "Devil Doll"! Not only can he hypnotize audience volunteers to perform any kind of outlandish stunt, but he can also make his ventriloquist's dummy, Hugo, talk and act most uncannily lifelike. But how to explain Hugo's ability to locomote all by himself? That's what reporter Mark English (excellently portrayed by American actor William Sylvester) tries to find out, in this very effective little sleeper. While I would never dream of revealing Hugo's back story, I will say that he is a much creepier presence than the modern-day Chucky, if perhaps not as homicidal; the filmmakers of "Devil Doll" get maximum bang out of Hugo's merest eye movements and head turnings. It really is remarkable how much emotion can be inferred in the little puppet's homely mug; his is hardly a wooden performance! In addition to this living doll's eerie presence, the film boasts stunning B&W photography, uniformly fine acting (especially by Bryant Haliday as Vorelli, who comes off far more sinister here than the evil hypnotist played by Jose Ferrer in 1949's "Whirlpool"), intriguing FX (negative images, freeze frames) and a literate script. Despite the central doll character, this is very much an adult film that is not suitable for the kiddies. The crisp-looking DVD from Image that I just watched also includes the so-called "Continental" version of the film, which contains a striptease sequence and several bits of nudity not present in the American release. As does producer Richard Gordon, I prefer the American version, simply because the "racier" print excises an entire scene between Vorelli and his assistant Magda that helps us better understand Vorelli's character. Either version, though, is a surprisingly winning entertainment.

This is one of my favorite British films that was released in the year 1964. The plot features some people named Marianne Horn (Yvonne Romain), her boyfriend and reporter Mark English (William Sylvester) investigating this hypnotist named The Great Vorelli (Bryant Haliday) that they believe is really using mirrors and smoke for his shows. What Mark is really wondering about is Vorelli's walking talking Dummy named Hugo (whom really did live and was portrayed by actor David Charlesworth).To make a story short, Vorelli keeps his dummy in a cage and basically has sex with his assistant. Afterwards he tells Hugo to kill her, which he does, and then Mark goes to find out what really is Vorelli's deal. He finds out that the dummy had a human soul, from this guy named Hugo Novick (David Charlesworth), in the 1940's. Mark races to save his girlfriend, only to find out that the dummy, having had it with not being able to eat ham and drink wine, has attacked and transpired his soul into Vorelli's body and Vorelli's soul went into the dummy body.Very good film that was made in the 60's, even if it was black and white it was good cheesy fun. Just as good as Dead of Night (1945) and it spawned a great beginning for Magic (1978), Child's Play (1988) and Puppet Master (1989). It's a good Saturday night movie. Devil Doll isn't to be confused with the similarly titled film Devil-Doll, which was made in 1936. Devil Doll 1964 was directed by Linsey Shonteff.

I really liked this movie for several reasons. I thought that the special effects were very good for the time, 1964, the hypnotist was excellent. He played the part perfectly. It was a great story line. I think that the movie was under rated. The writer should have gotten special notice. Last but not least, when I first saw this movie I was 13 and my male hormones went nuts over the assistant who showed off her butt. The movie had a great atmosphere that I wish modern day movie directors would take notice of. There was no slash, no gore and no bad language. Instead of showing all the blood and guts of todays horror movies, they should take notice of movies like this.