Friday, July 04, 2014

Movie review - "Devil Doll" (1964) ***

Fun ventriloquist tale which to be honest would have made a really strong short as part of an anthology instead of being dragged out over feature length. Still, there's a lot to enjoy, such as Bryant Halliday's performance as the (surprise) crazy ventriloquist, sexy Yvonne Romain as the rich girl who Halliday sets out to seduce, some groovy 60s direction and several genuinely creepy moments involving the doll.

William Sylvester is bland as the middle aged American hero - British horror films of the 60s were full of these, often played by Robert Hutton - determined to expose Halliday for his newspaper, and several parts the movie seems padded (eg Romain dancing the twist, long part scenes). But the final twist is good and there's a genuine sense of unease throughout.

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