THE BLACK DOLL

Donald Woods

THE BLACK DOLL (1938). Director: Otis Garrett.

Nelson Rood (C. Henry Gordon) discovers a sinister black doll in his study and figures it has something to do with a man he murdered many years ago. He calls his former partners to his lavish estate where he lives with his daughter, Marian (Nan Grey), his sister Laura (Doris Lloyd), her son, Rex (William Lundigan), and the maid Rosita and butler Esteban (Fred Malatesta and Inez Palange). Rood's former partners include Mallison (Addison Richards) and the highly nervous, near-hysterical Walling (John Wray). When Rudd gets a knife thrown in his back, Sheriff Renick (Edgar Kennedy) takes charge of the investigation, but the one who solves the case will be Marion's boyfriend and former private eye, Nick Halstead (Donald Woods of The Lost Volcano).

Nan Grey in a tense moment

The Black Doll is a typical thirties murder mystery with bodies dropping out of closets and the like, stereotypes like the ne-er-do-well nephew who cashes bad checks and the idiotic, dyspeptic police officer, helpless, dumb deputy and so on. As leading man, Donald Woods is pleasant if a trifle bland, but the other performances are all adept enough. I suppose Edgar Kennedy does his comic schtick quite well but it just isn't that funny. Nick seems to come to conclusions without their being a shred of supporting evidence. I confess when the killer is revealed I hadn't the vaguest idea of why he done it. Based on a Crime Club novel that is even more forgotten than this movie.

Verdict: You really won't care who done it. **. 

FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS

Lee Powell and Herman Brix/Bruce Bennett

FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS (12 chapter Republic serial/1938). Directors: William Witney; John English. COLORIZED. 

Lt. Tom Grayson (Lee Powell) and Lt. Frank Corby (Bruce Bennett AKA Herman Brix) of the United States Marine Corps discover that their colleagues at a base in Linchuria have been completely wiped out by a mysterious weapon. This infernal machine, called the Thunderbolt, is an "aerial torpedo charged with massive amounts of electricity" and is aimed via a radio-controlled gyroscope. The villain of the piece, who calls himself the Lightning, and whose motives are rather obscure, operates from a flying craft called the Wing (which first appeared, I believe, in the first Dick Tracy serial). 

Did the Lightning's appearance influence Darth Vader?

Grayson, Corby and General White (Montagu Love) work with scientist Ben Warfield (Hugh Sothern) to come up with something that can stop the deadly Thunderbolt, which is being used to wipe out fighting ships at sea and entire villages. Characters suspected of being the Lightning include assistant Crenshaw (Perry Ivins), butler Benson (Forrest Taylor), and even Warfield's gardener, Sam (Henry Otho), but the truth might be much more startling. Most serial villains don't actually chew the scenery that much, but the actor playing the Lightning is initially very hokey until apparently someone told him to tone it down for the later chapters. 

Lee Powell

There is no love interest in the film, but Warfield's daughter, Janet, is played by the colorless Eleanor Stewart, who appeared mostly in B features. Lee Powell was the first actor to portray the Lone Ranger and also had a big part in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. During WW2 after surviving a bloody Japanese attack on his unit, he ironically and tragically died from alcohol poisoning after celebrating with his buddies and some rotgut liquor. Herman Brix went on to play Joan Crawford's husband in Mildred Pierce as Bruce Bennett. He had a solid career as second lead in several features and also appeared in many television episodes. 

Colorized but colorless: Eleanor Stewart

Fighting Devil Dogs has several exciting and suspenseful sequences, chief of which is a bit when Grayson, Corby and others are trapped in a locked room into which cardon dioxide is slowly being pumped. A big iron bar hovers over Tom and falls, nearly crushing him, and he has a desperate battle aboard a careening plane. He and Corby aim their own plane towards one of the Thunderbolt missiles before it can smash into a dirigible, but first jump out via parachute. The serial has a mediocre score, but plenty of action.  

Verdict: The Lightning is a nasty bad guy with a formidable weapon. ***.