1. DEVIL DOLL- 1936
I came across this purely by accident and was so happy I did. It was Halloween time, my parents were gone for the weekend and I was home alone. I just closed the drapes on a window because, the chesterfield I was sitting on, was up against the window and I did not want to turn around and see Sasquatch looking in at me. Yes, I just watched some show about this Bigfoot and got totally freaked, so I changed the channel but there was nothing on but the Exorcist, Jaws and all other freaky movies so I setttled on a rerun of the Love Boat. After that was done, I went to TVO(Canadian) and the great Elwy Yost was talking about his double feature night. This movie was the next feature which starred Lionel Barrymore so I decided to watch this and loved it. He plays a banker, wrongly convicted of a crime, who escapes, with a scientist,and decides to take revenge. He knows how to create living dolls by shrinking people down and having them do his bidding (he learned this from the dying scientist). I thought the special effects, for this time period, was quite good plus it was well acted by Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan who plays his daughter. Well worth watching especially seeing Barrymore dressed as an old woman.
2. TRILOGY OF TERROR: AMELIA- 1975
This TV movie truly freaked the hell out of me and still does! Karen Black played characters in all 3 horror movies and this one stands out. She picks up this African doll that she, somehow, finds appealing. She is talking to her mom about the doll and that she was told never to have this gold chain come off the doll or the evil spirit will come alive and come after her. She laughs and we know what will happen.. yup the chain comes off and this evil creep comes alive. You watch as she tries to fend off this doll who wants to inhabit her soul. I have to admit, I did laugh when she placed the doll in the suitcase and the thing takes the knife and cuts suitcase so he can escape. It is creepy, freaky with an unnerving ending.
3. CHILD'S PLAY- 1988
Stupid flick about a butt ugly doll that are all the rage( think cabbage patch dolls..God, they were ugly) and this kid wants for his birthday. Of course he gets the doll but this doll is possessed by an evil thug that died holding this doll. Who cares..stupid, dumb ass movie that became a huge hit and spawned many sequels. For a better review of this film plus all the sequels, go to A Film A Day. This poor gal decided to watch this film plus all the sequels
Now for a final doll that’s little girl loved in a beloved tv show, Family Affair, and always had me baffled why this girl loved this ghastly doll...talk about nightmares.
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteYour doll theme and movie picks give me a lot to discuss with you. I have seen all three pictures, most recently Child's Play starring Catherine Hicks who played the mom on Seventh Heaven, the family friendly TV series which was recently tainted by the Stephen Collins sex scandal. At least half a dozen Chucky sequels have been released to date.
The Devil-Doll, which stars one of my favorite actresses, the lovely Maureen O'Sullivan, brings to mind two similar movies - The Incredible Shrinking Man and Attack of the Puppet People, a horror film inspired by Shrinking Man. I admired actress Karen Black ever since watching her perform in two of my favorite films, the Jack Nicholson vehicles Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces. I am saddened to learn just now that Karen died of cancer a few years ago.
Seems that Family Affair doll put a curse on the cast. Brian Keith ended his own life. Sebastian Cabot, "Mr. French," was only 59 when he died of a stroke; and the little girl, Buffy, played by Anissa Jones, was only 18 when she died of a drug overdose.
Thank you very much, dear friend BB!
I can't stand Chucky but what a shame about 7th heaven that it was pulled all due to that moron. I haven't seen the other 2 movies you mentioned but I have seen Karen Black in Five Easy Pieces. She passed away a few years back which is a shame. I love Brian Keith and he was terminally ill with cancer and grieving over the suicide of his daughter when he took his life. When I heard the news my heart went out to that man. Only Johnny Whittaker and the gal who played the oldest are alive from that show
DeleteLooks like a granny doll.
ReplyDeleteChild's Play wasn't good. No idea why they made so many sequels. Even the Puppet Master movies were better.
However, Trilogy of Terror definitely wins for creepiest doll!
I hated that doll from Family Affair. That doll from Terror is creepy
DeleteCreepy dolls freak me out and I've never seen any of these, although just this weekend someone made a 'Chucky' joke. As for doll movies that aren't spooky, my first thought was 'Wait Until Dark' where the drugs are hidden in a doll that the thugs want back.
ReplyDeleteSomeone else who does this every week went the way your mind went and chose wait Until Dark which is excellent!
DeleteThat doll in Trilogy of Terror looks horrifying. I haven't seen your first two picks but now I want to.
ReplyDeleteAll 3 episodes of Trilogy of Terror is downright scary and the ending to that doll one gave me nightmares for weeks.
DeleteNever heard of Trilogy of terror, may have to give it a look. Yeah, Chucky movies were meh at best. One creepy arse doll at the end.
ReplyDeleteTrilogy is great and that doll from Family Affair is evil
DeleteI also picked Child's Play. And two other movies of the franchise. I have to say it wasn't as terrible as I thought. Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteYes you went the whole Chucky theme. You're welcome!
DeleteOh dear I haven’t seen any of these and to be honest I hate creepy.....bad enough that my great niece had a cabbage patch doll that I thought was gross....hoping Mom is comfortable....enjoy the weekend xxxx
ReplyDeleteThose cabbage patch dolls were downright ugly and stupid. Mom is comfortable and rests a lot
DeleteMrs. Beasley!!! Ha! I never understood Buffy's devotion to her either but I'm sure the writers saw her as some sort of talisman for their lost mother.
ReplyDeleteDevil Doll is a great catch! It was obviously made with a great deal of care and considered a top flight project by the studio what with Lionel Barrymore in the lead. Just one thing his daughter was played by Maureen O'Sullivan not Margaret Sullavan (though it would have been interesting to see Maggie Sullavan in this sort of film very far from her usual genre-LOVE her and just managed to track down her final film I was missing, the delightful The Moon's Our Home that she made with Henry Fonda after they had divorced in real life.)
That last segment of Trilogy of Terror is so memorable and had an extra punch the other two didn't. It scared the hell out of me when I saw it.
I've seen Child's Play but none of the sequels and agree that it was stupid.
This week was a challenge to find three for me as well but you're in luck since my first is the film you mentioned! It is on DVD though I don't know how widely available it is.
Magic (1978)-When ventriloquist assistant Corky Withers (Anthony Hopkins) makes his first public performance alone he’s a bust. Afterward he’s given a dummy, Fats to work with. Slowly he improves and eventually is approaching the big time but something strange is happening, Fats seems to be taking control of not only their act but Corky’s actions. Feeling uneasy he takes a break at a cottage owned by his childhood sweetheart Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret) where the hoped for relief doesn’t come but thanks to Fats things become increasingly dire. Creepy and unsettling. Notorious for having its initial TV preview pulled after a massive series of complaints that it was too frightening for children.
Attack of the Puppet People aka I Was a Teenage Doll (1958)-Mad doctor is lonely for companionship so he invents a machine that shrinks people to miniature size. When he pulls the trick on his secretary and her boyfriend they desperately try to discover a way to escape and once again return to normal size. Strictly drive-in stuff with a budget to match but John Hoyt gives it everything he’s got as the wacko professor with the human doll collection.
Magnificent Doll (1946)-Dolley Payne Todd (Ginger Rogers!?) is a young widow living in 17th century Philadelphia when she meets two men with great futures, Aaron Burr (David Niven) and James Madison (Burgess Meredith). Both court her but she picks Madison and from that point on according to this history is decided by two lovesick puppies quarreling over the supposedly Magnificent Doll. Ginger, completely at sea, obviously thinks the way to portray one of the Great Ladies of History is to declaim rather than speak her lines and act as if she were made of wood throughout this stately bore. A horror show of another kind and a real disservice to its subject perhaps the most vibrant, interesting woman of revolutionary times who did have tremendous influence on events just not in the drippy, empty way shown here.
I don’t know what it is, I meant to write Maureen O’Sullivan but I always write Margaret when I mean Maureen. Poor Margaret! She deserves to be remembered for the few films she did make. I’m so glad you chose Magic which I have always wanted to see. I haven’t seen the Puppet people or Magnificent Doll which I think I’m happy about not seeing
DeleteI loved Child's Play, though I haven't seen it since I was a young teen. One of the first stories I wrote was a knock-off of Child's Play, about a possessed doll/Halloween Decoration. My 6th Grade English teacher loved it, though it was graphically violent (and illustrated!) Some other teachers might have called to have my head checked.
ReplyDeleteI just realized yet another sequel came out this year, and unbelievably it has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
86%? I don’t get it...I really don’t but I never understood why Chucky became so big. I have to hand it to your teacher for recognizing your writing ability and commending your work.
DeleteChild's play was a really scary one, no doubt about that.
ReplyDeleteI hated it to be honest
DeleteI agree with you, wondering what was supposed to be so endearing about Mrs. Beasely, Buffy's doll.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone remembers the other two segments of Trilogy of Terror. That Zuni fetish doll was horrifying, but not as horrifying as that closing shot.
I would have chosen 1964's Devil Doll (no relation to the 1936 film), about a ventriloquist's dummy possessed by a human soul. When I was a kid, the local drive-in had a huge promotional item displayed (in its snack bar!) to advertise Devil Doll. It was a life-sized "Hugo," the dummy from the film, in a full-sized cage. I was fascinated by it, although I didn't see the film until I was an adult. 1945's Dead of Night contained a ventriloquist's dummy sequence, and 1929's The Great Gabbo, an early "talkie" with Eric von Stroheim, prominently featured a dummy in its storyline.
You made me laugh with Mrs. Beasley and you are so right about that closing shot. I don’t know that 1964 film but it sounds pretty good. I have heard about The Great Gabbo and always wanted to see it since I love Von Stroheim
DeleteSpooky doll movies, shudder. Shudder, shudder. Shudder. I won't watch them because I had a spooky looking 4-foot doll who I hid in the closet when I was young. Shudder.
ReplyDeleteYou know what’s freaky...in the Victorian era, people who lost their babies or young children, would get dolls created in their dead children’s likeness. Yikes!
DeleteI too was thinking about Devil Doll -- isn't that the one that has Barrymore in drag for one scene? (OK, technically, it's the daughter's grandmother he disguising himself as.)
ReplyDeleteSomebody else mentioned Dead of Night, another movie I was thinking of picking. I wound up finding a couple of dolls that engender fear for different reasons, however....
Yup that is the one! So many stars who appeared in drag...who knew Lionel was one of them:)
DeleteYikes! I steer clear of evil dolls.
ReplyDeleteYup...too freaky
DeleteI actually SAW Child's Play. It was, in my opinion, stupid. I'm glad you felt the same about it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the theme for your week on my sidebar, I immediately thought of Chucky. Wasn't that a doll? Or was I smoking funny cigarettes when I heard about it? Loved your choices because I actually had seen one, which is one more than I normally have seen (grin).
Yup, child’s Play is Chucky and it is stupid and except for money, I have no idea why they made so many more
DeleteEw, Magic. *shudders* That movie came out when I was just the right age for a picture of that doll to freak me out. I remember having to hide something with that face (or rather, my mother had to) because neither of us could look at it. I doubt I'll ever see that movie.
ReplyDeleteI just read something about that Trilogy of Terror part. Apparently you aren't the only one who remembers that particular short with fondness.
I also was freaked out by the trailer when it came out but I have this death wish to see it. I’m Surprised I watched the Trilogy movie because it totally freaked me out.
DeleteI've only seen Child's Play, about a thousand times. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI hang my head in sadness:)
DeleteChucky gave me a lot of chills
ReplyDeleteIt gave me the....oh no...it gave me the eye rolls. Thought I was going to say something rude eh?
DeleteDid you know Chucky was based on an actual cursed doll? I've blogged about it--pretty creepy story.
ReplyDeleteThe Boy is an excellent movie about a haunted doll, with a great twist. Highly recommend it. The first Annabelle was decent too, but The Conjuring, which features Annabelle, is better.
Accursed doll, for real? Well now I'm going to have to hop over to your blog. :-)
DeleteBut these movies are probably going to be too scary for me. I will pass them onto my daughter. :-)
I didn’t know it was based on a real doll...I may have read your review and forgot about it so I have to look into this. The Boy sounds scary just like Annabelle
DeleteChuckie used to give nightmares.
ReplyDeleteIf I was young, it would have done the same
DeleteAs far as the little girl and her ghastly doll: The heart wants what the heart wants:) Grin.
ReplyDeleteI hope your weekend is filled with sparkle, Birgit, and that you and your mom are well.
Hugs
Yes....I know as I remember the nuttiness of those stupid Cabbage patch dolls. I’m well but my mom is ok
DeleteBirgit,
ReplyDeleteI remember watching a horror flick when I was younger about a doll and that movie terrified me. Why do Hollyweird producers turn a child's toy into something creepy and evil is beyond me. To this day, I do not want to watch any flicks with dolls. I'm not a huge horror movie fan anyhow but I do like suspense thrillers or a good sci-fi...well, maybe an occasional vampire or werewolf or zombie movie are the exceptions but it's hard to find good ones made in this genre. Oh well...thanks for sharing these flicks about some very mean spirited dolls. I couldn't even bring myself to watch the clips because...it's dark and I'm alone. :)
Some dolls are creepy and, as I wrote a little above, in the Victorian era, wealthy people who lost their children would have dolls c4eated in their kid’s likeness...talk about creepy
DeleteI loved Buffy's doll, Beasley. Take her glasses off and just look at her little smile and rosy cheeks. The glasses are to give her a nerdy look, not scary. And I thought it was quite endearing, showing a little girl that even while wearing ghastly glasses, you can be loved. This is because a lot of little kids are called four eyes and other rotten names when they are stuck wearing glasses, something they can't help at all. And years ago, they did not have as many different styles of glasses as they do today. So some of them were quite ghastly. And Beasley made all who wore glasses a symbol of someone loved.
ReplyDeleteBut as for the three scary-doll movies you mentioned, I watched none of them. I've seen glimpses of Chucky as someone else in the house was watching it, but I refused to sit and watch it myself. I loved my baby dolls, my Barbies, and every doll that came into my possession, and I don't want any distorted versions of dolls giving me nightmares instead of those good memories, so I do not watch scary-doll movies. :-) So I'm with you on not even being able to watch the clips, especially in the dark or when alone. :-)
I’m glad you gave a different spin on how to view this ugly(sorry) Doll. Actually, this doll really resonated with you so strongly that you still feel the positive effects to this day. I’m usually not one for horror films because they are too scary
DeleteI've never seen Child's Play (or any of its thousands of sequels) but dolls freak me out.
ReplyDeleteLike J.H. above, I would have said The Conjuring. Annabelle, especially because she's real, is terrifying.
Chucky is horrible. I have not seen The Conjuring because it looked too scary
DeleteHave never heard of your first picks.
ReplyDeleteCabbage Patch Kids, I remember them. I suppose what looks ugly to us adults, are cute to kids, I mean look at those Troll dolls too.
I saw Child's Play- but don't remember the others. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Beasley made all who wore glasses a symbol of someone loved.
ReplyDeleteเกย์