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discovers that
Vorelli was a medical doctor who dabbled in Eastern magic and was disbarred. The colleague guides Mark to a former assistant of Vorelli's who lives in Berlin, named Mercedes. She tells Mark that another assistant, Hugo, worked for Vorelli in 1947, and was hypnotized into a state where he could not feel pain as part of their act. Mercedes would catch the two in strange conferences. One night, Vorelli stabbed Hugo on stage, and this time Hugo reacted with pain. Hugo was comatose for three months, during which Vorelli transferred Hugo's soul into the dummy, resulting in his death. The death was ruled an accident, and no one believed Mercedes's story, despite a theatre worker testifying he saw the dummy move immediately after Hugo screamed in pain.
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to his recent rebellions. Instead, Hugo smashes the face of the doll intended for
Marianne, and attacks Vorelli. The two struggle, their two souls interacting, until Vorelli finally locks Hugo back in his cage. Mark enters the room. Vorelli speaks in Hugo's voice and tells Mark that Hugo has now transferred his soul into Vorelli's body and vice versa and that Marianne's hypnotized state is broken. From Hugo's former puppet body, Vorelli begs for help from Mark, whose response is not shown.
528:-esque subplot sends the narrative down a detour that ultimately leads nowhere, since the real story is about the mystery of Hugo. Fortunately, the story eventually gets back on track for a reasonably exciting climax, which is nonetheless marred by completely side-lining nominal protagonist Mark, who doesn’t really do anything to resolve the story."
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mechanisms, a space for an operator, or any other feature that might allow him to walk on his own. The night of the ball, Vorelli stays at the mansion of
Marianne's aunt, where he rapes Marianne after using his power to subdue her will. Hugo appears in Mark's room and pleads "Help me ... 1948 ... Berlin" before disappearing.
524:(1945), this black-and-white English production works tolerably well as a crude rip-off, thanks to a creepy dummy and an even creepier performance from Haliday as The Great Vorelli. The innovation here is that Vorelli is not only a ventriloquist but also a hypnotist who casts a spell over Marianne. Unfortunately, this
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gave the film three stars in his review, summarizing it as an "bscure, underrated mystery that features an eerily effective
Haliday as a hypnotist-ventriloquist trying to transfer Romain's soul into that of a dummy, as he had already done with his onetime assistant. An exquisitely tailored, sharply
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Vorelli visits
Marianne in her home and hypnotizes her into agreeing to marry him. Vorelli confides to Hugo that he plans to marry Marianne in Spain and transfer her spirit into another doll before letting her body die and inheriting her wealth. He opens Hugo's cage, intending to discipline him due
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While
Vorelli performs his ventriloquism at the ball, Hugo takes a knife from the buffet table and tries to stab Vorelli, only stopping when Vorelli focuses all his will. The guests assume this is part of Vorelli's act. Mark secretly examines Hugo, and finds he is a simple dummy, without clockwork
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wrote: "This is another case where a strong but fantastic plot has been allowed to dawdle into mediocrity. The idea of a human personality being transferred into a wooden dummy is an odd-shaped pill to swallow in any circumstances and the director here never goes fast enough to sever the bonds of
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wrote: "Shot almost entirely in close-up, and with the action highlights reduced to a messy jumble of shock-cuts, this is a very pedestrian affair in which the script seems rather surprised at itself and Bryant
Halliday plays the leading role on a single note of staring-eyed monotony. The other
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Marianne falls into a semi-coma that the doctors cannot alleviate. In one lucid moment, she tells Mark that "He keeps calling me" and "Make him stop". Mark realizes her state is the result of being hypnotized by
Vorelli, and begins an investigation into Vorelli's past. Through a colleague, Mark
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Vorelli's current assistant and lover, Magda, is outraged at his rape of
Marianne and threatens to go to the police. Vorelli taunts Hugo into murdering Magda with a knife when Vorelli is visiting with stage crew elsewhere. Vorelli then hires a new, younger assistant whom he also puts under his
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Stage hypnotist/magician "The Great
Vorelli" and his dummy Hugo perform before a packed audience in London. The audience observes tension between the magician and Hugo, which Vorelli keeps in a locked cage between performances. American reporter Mark English is assigned a story on Vorelli, and
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disbelief, the result is that the macabre goings-on never generate quite the tension they should. William Sylvester does a workmanlike job as Mark and Bryant Halliday wears a beard and a burning glance to melodramatic effect, whilst Yvonne Romaine supplies the feminine interest."
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contains both. The European version includes some bare breasts and a strip tease (done under hypnosis). It also bills Sylvester above Haliday, while the British version displays Haliday's name first, and in a considerably larger font than that used for his co-stars' names.
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wrote: "This slow-paced pic never comes up to its title in the way of shocks, thrills, scares, sex or other dividends for meller regulars. Filmed in England, its gimmick – a ventriloquial dummy’s revenge on his manipulator – has been done before and better by
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of 1929. ... Sylvester gives an honest, realistic touch to the role of the newspaperman. Halliday, however, burdened with a messy beard and one expression, the hypnotic stare, depends on his resonant voice to make the role credible."
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Mark suspects Vorelli deliberately hypnotized Hugo to die from the knife wound, but his concerns over Vorelli are greatly assuaged when he hears that Marianne has awoken from her comatose state.
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Gordon said the cost of the film was £20,000, plus $ 20,000 for expenses and the salaries of American personnel, including Gordon and Halliday, for an estimated total of $ 60,000–$ 75,000.
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the story on which the film would be based. He earned £10 for doing so, and said that one of the conditions of cashing his cheque was that he surrender any rights of resale of the story.
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declared the film "ne of the most brilliant films to come from England in 1964," as well as one of the most underrated films of its genre.
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performances are adequate, however, and the animated doll theme retains just enough of its built-in compulsion to keep things going."
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announced in an interview had that he obtained the film rights to the story. Funding was from Gordon Films, Galaworld and the
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At the show, Vorelli asks for a volunteer. Mark encourages Marianne to go up. Vorelli hypnotizes her and makes her dance the
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was originally scheduled to direct, but was offered a more prestigious film, so he recommended his fellow Canadian
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Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movies: The Mutant Melding of Two Classic Interviews
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solicits his girlfriend Marianne Horn, a wealthy heiress, to go with him to another show.
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The film's script was originally written in 1957. In 1959, film producer
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The movie was distributed in the United States by Joe Solomon.
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The film was also shown on the 27 February 2021 episode of
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Francis De Wolff as Dr. Keisling (as Francis de Wolff)
695:Everitt, David (December 1982). "Richard Gordon".
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349:Pamela Law as Garrett's girlfriend (uncredited)
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361:Margaret Durnell as the countess (uncredited)
670:The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70
571:was featured in an October 1997 episode of
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741:Clarke, Graham (July 1965). "Devil Doll".
379:Lorenza Coalville as Mercedes (uncredited)
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875:. No. 42. February 1985. p. 25.
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358:Trixie Dallas as Miss Penton (uncredited)
382:Jackie Ramsden as the nurse (uncredited)
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376:David Charlesworth as Hugo (uncredited)
364:Ray Landor as twist dancer (uncredited)
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843:"Devil Doll – 50th anniversary review"
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577:. The episode was released on DVD by
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355:Anthony Baird as soldier (uncredited)
16:1964 British film by Lindsay Shonteff
784:from the original on 10 March 2019.
245:. The story is about an evil stage
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1109:Films directed by Lindsay Shonteff
841:Biodrowski, Steve (26 July 2014).
770:Variety Staff (31 December 1963).
701:. No. 24. pp. 34–37, 63.
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367:Ella Tracey as Louisa (uncredited)
153:Associated Film Distributing Corp.
19:For the 1936 MGM film directed by
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1119:British supernatural horror films
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797:Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide
625:, Bear Manor Media 2011 p 102-114
623:The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon
352:Heidi Erich as Grace (uncredited)
830:. No. #164. pp. 19–25.
648:Windchill, Walter (April 1959).
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867:"The Video Eye of Dr. Cyclops"
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1174:English-language horror films
1129:British black-and-white films
820:Zabroff, Morgan (June 1980).
658:. No. 3. pp. 12–14.
650:"The Shape of Things to Come"
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429:British Board of Film Censors
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1164:1960s English-language films
1114:Films based on short fiction
722:(372): 109. 1 January 1965.
672:Hemlock Books 2013 p 136-142
574:Mystery Science Theater 3000
346:as Uncle Walter (uncredited)
7:
1159:Films set in country houses
1055:No. 1 of the Secret Service
827:Famous Monsters of Filmland
655:Famous Monsters of Filmland
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508:Famous Monsters of Filmland
477:in a real horror classic –
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991:The Million Eyes of Sumuru
46:Theatrical release poster.
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1154:Films about body swapping
1144:Films about sentient toys
1139:Films about haunted dolls
1063:Licensed to Love and Kill
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715:The Monthly Film Bulletin
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536:The film was released on
447:The Monthly Film Bulletin
225:directed and produced by
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142:Galaworldfilm Productions
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795:Maltin, Leonard (2009).
1134:Horror films about toys
685:1999 McFarland & Co
547:Both versions, for the
514:Reviewing the film for
399:London Mystery Magazine
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243:Frederick Escreet Smith
76:Frederick Escreet Smith
1149:Films about hypnosis
822:"Manikins of Menace"
634:Smith, Frederick E.
581:on 9 November 2010.
373:as Hans (uncredited)
301:as The Great Vorelli
1169:1960s British films
1071:How Sleep the Brave
505:Morgan Zabroff for
166:September 1964
67:Lance Z. Hargreaves
953:Films directed by
918:TCM Movie Database
441:Critical reception
394:Frederick E. Smith
284:hypnotic control.
221:is a 1964 British
1099:1964 horror films
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855:on 3 August 2014.
806:978-0-452-28978-9
319:as Magda Cardenas
305:William Sylvester
235:William Sylvester
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129:Ernest Bullingham
102:William Sylvester
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983:Licensed to Kill
955:Lindsay Shonteff
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421:Lindsay Shonteff
313:as Marianne Horn
227:Lindsay Shonteff
210:est. $ 60-75,000
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853:the original
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772:"Devil Doll"
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751:(3013): 10.
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681:Weaver, Tom
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317:Sandra Dorne
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182:Running time
159:Release date
144:Gordon Films
120:Gerald Gibbs
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21:Tod Browning
744:Kine Weekly
600:Killer toys
456:Kine Weekly
325:as Aunt Eva
223:horror film
82:Produced by
52:Directed by
1094:1964 films
1088:Categories
1031:Big Zapper
1007:Permissive
967:Devil Doll
913:Devil Doll
902:Devil Doll
891:Devil Doll
757:2859070611
728:1305835739
636:Devil Doll
606:References
587:Svengoolie
569:Devil Doll
532:Home media
471:Cavalcanti
396:wrote for
388:Production
344:Philip Ray
218:Devil Doll
186:81 minutes
135:Production
35:Devil Doll
1047:Spy Story
799:. Plume.
638:DVD notes
544:in 1985.
427:from the
392:In 1955,
371:Guy Deghy
247:hypnotist
137:companies
126:Edited by
896:AllMovie
872:Fangoria
782:Archived
753:ProQuest
724:ProQuest
698:Fangoria
594:See also
526:Svengali
425:X rating
249:and his
199:Language
90:Starring
72:Story by
916:at the
777:Variety
500:sleeper
498:edited
465:Variety
202:English
191:Country
170:1964-09
168: (
1074:(1982)
1066:(1979)
1058:(1977)
1050:(1976)
1042:(1974)
1034:(1973)
1026:(1972)
1018:(1971)
1010:(1970)
1002:(1970)
994:(1967)
986:(1965)
978:(1965)
970:(1964)
803:
755:
726:
564:Legacy
553:Canada
483:– and
253:Hugo.
207:Budget
23:, see
999:Clegg
267:twist
251:dummy
907:IMDb
801:ISBN
551:and
473:and
411:NFFC
292:Cast
257:Plot
237:and
905:at
894:at
749:577
557:DVD
540:by
538:VHS
502:."
1090::
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845:.
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720:32
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614:^
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549:UK
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233:,
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172:)
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