The Black Doll (1938)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"The Black Doll" is one of about 658,002,832 B-murder mysteries made during the 1930s and 40s and there is a certain sameness about them because most follow similar patterns. First, a person establishes to the audience they are thoroughly despicable and they then soon die. Second, a dopey cop shows up to investigate. Third, the crime is solved by an amateur. Fourth, everyone not killed lives happily ever after.When the story begins, Nelson Rood (C. Henry Gordon) spends a lot of time ticking off everyone around him. He's a thoroughly disgusting individual and you know in a film like this, Rood will soon be dead and EVERYONE who knew him is a suspect! The only real difference is that a black doll was found next to his body.Into this mess arrives the brain-dead Sheriff (Edgar Kennedy). He's a bit more bumbling and ridiculous that usual for this sort of cop...but not much. But there's also the know-it-all amateur, Mr. Halstead (Donald Woods)...who made TONS of educated guesses and gets all of them right...as if he was reading the screenplay in order to know all the answers. So who is doing this and why are they using a black doll? Who knows...and considering that it's so formulaic, who really cares?!

Boy, is rich old Nelson Rood (C. Henry Gordon) asking for it! He is rude and imperious with everyone around him. So when he finds a black doll on his desk with a knife through it, he knows it's a genuine threat.Who might want to harm Rood? Well….He is cruel to his sister, who lives with him and depends on his support. He scoffs at his nephew, a rebellious young man who has been forging his uncle's name on checks. He tries to chase away his daughter's fiancé. He even insults his faithful butler. And then there are the two old "business partners" from whom he has been hiding for 15 years, seemingly the only two people alive who could have known about the black doll….Nan Grey and Donald Cook make a nice pair as the intelligent daughter and her clever fiancé. Cook is right on the job when the murder is discovered; true, it's a murder investigation, but he generally gives the impression that he is having great fun with it all. Grey exhibits charm and personality—she's smarter than your average B movie heroine here, and fully a match for Cook's exuberance. (Alas, Grey is not really given quite enough to do.)Edgar Kennedy is strictly comic relief as the sheriff, but if you like Edgar then this film is for you. His best line: "When I'm investigating a crime, I'm not a man—I'm a bloodhound!" He's blustery, hilarious and totally inept right to the film's final shot. The mystery plot itself is pretty standard….but it keeps you guessing. The dialog is good and the performances energetic. Lots of fun for B mystery fans.One line that mystified me: "Get me a jar of jelly, some talcum powder, and a plate." (Donald Woods apparently preparing to take some fingerprints. All for naught, however, as one of Sheriff Kennedy's deputies eats the jelly.)

This is pretty much a direct copy of the pulp novel formula then popular.Detective happens to be nearby when a murder is committed. Once engaged, others occur.The pool of suspects is small and confined to a country home.The policeman on the case is greatly outclassed by the detective and provides comedy. There is a funny joke here. The sheriff's men are bunglers as well. The sheriff says to them both, better get your act together or you'll be selling popcorn again, meaning: you won't be on the screen any more but in the back at the concession stand.The solution to the crimes comes while everyone is gathered to hear the detective explain things at the end. Traditionally there are some surprise revelations beyond the murder and that happens here. Also traditionally, the solution to the mystery depends on you having made an assumption about a key fact.The trick here involves a VooDoo-like doll make of leather that was a child's plaything but appears after decades and repurposed as a curse. The production values are typical for this sort of thing, and the mystery a bit better. There is no offensive racist chauffeur in this one. That slot is filled by a Hispanic butler, whose accent and language are the source of jokes.Other than the self-referential joke, not much important here.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This B-movie was the second entry in Universal's long-forgotten Crime Club series, based on a popular run of mystery books of the time. A few of the entries are well above-average, thanks mainly to strong source material (Jonathan Latimer wrote several of the originals) and fine, resourceful low-budget direction by the obscure Otis Garrett (who died just as his career was getting established). This one concerns a skein of murders presaged by a native doll, a revenge plot revolving around the discovery of a rich mine many years before.This was Garrett's first directorial foray (he had edited the previous entry), and he shows plenty of enthusiasm early on with some clever camera setups (the first murder, by tossed knife, is seen reflected in a mirror). Comedy relief was de rigueur in the genre at the time, and unfortunately, Edgar Kennedy's low-humor bumbling cop is given far to much prominence, totally undermining the creepy atmosphere established before his appearance. Also, the always-nasty C Henry Gordon gets killed off early on in the proceedings. The plot never really gels, and it all ends with one of those Charlie-Chan-style all-the-suspects-in-one-room scenes, which is handled in a disappointingly pedestrian manner. In the leads, Nan Grey is very fetching and Donald Woods affable. Stanley Cortez, still trapped in B-land, was co-cinematographer. Unless you're a completist, you can give this one a miss and try the strikingly-edited "Lady in the Morgue" instead.