Enjoyment of The Black Doll -- which is less a voodoo thriller than it is a comedic whodunit -- depends largely on the viewer's tolerance of veteran second banana Edgar Kennedy. More verbal this time than usual, Kennedy plays one of those dumb Irish cops that no low-budget thriller apparently couldn't be without but who usually comes across as a dated oaf. To his credit, Kennedy nevertheless manage to squeeze a chuckle or two from material that quite frankly is older than the ubiquitous hills. Cinematographer Stanley Cortez, meanwhile, adds at least a modicum of atmosphere to the otherwise humdrum goings-on, but The Black Doll, which was produced for Universal by Gower Gulch entrepreneur Walter Futter, still doesn't have the polish of most routine studio efforts.
The Black Doll (1938)
Directed by Otis Garrett / Otis M. Garrett
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