John Lithgow plays a shy but clueless man who has gotten into a routine that keeps him from finding someone. One day he goes to the neighborhood doll shop and talks to his friend who is a master doll maker. He needs to purchase a present for his niece. He finds a beautiful female doll with a striking face. What he doesn't know is that his niece is 13 years old and has no interest in the doll. He is embarrassed, even though she courteously thanks him. After she goes out with her friends, he tells his sister that he will take the doll back and get her the wristwatch that she really wants. We are made aware from the start that he is really taken with the doll; perhaps, even in love with its countenance. He knows this is wrong but he pursues the name of the model who served as the inspiration for the doll. Then he goes through the should I, shouldn't I business. What eventually happens makes this a charming story, one of the better episodes in the series. Lithgow is so expressive and kind and can pull this off without making it too weird.
6 Reviews
Mr Liebemacher's magic dolls
sonnyschlaegel4 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
John, a lonely bachelor, visits the store of Mr Liebemacher, who sells handmade dolls. John praises him for not trying to talk his customers into buying something. Mr Liebemacher responds that his customers will find what's meant for them by themselves. John wants to buy a birthday present for his niece and chooses a doll that fascinates him. When his niece doesn't like it - she has obviously outgrown that kind of plaything - John takes it back home. It seems that the doll is magic: it communicates with John, and sometimes it even moves. More than ever before, John feels he doesn't want to be lonely any more. He wants to find a woman to love. He asks himself whether Mr Liebemacher used a model for the doll...
This is a charming little love story in my opinion. It's a sentimental story, so if you don't like that kind, better don't watch it. It's also simple and somewhat predictable - especially if you know what 'Liebemacher' means - but I think that that is not very important. I really liked the basic idea, the magic dolls. And I liked John Lithgow very much; I think he acts very well. The music is good, too; it's simple, but it creates just the right atmosphere for the story. It sometimes sounds like the melodies used for musical boxes; I like that kind of melody (for example the one in 'For a Few Dollars More'), and they are a good choice for this episode since toys are one of its themes.
I think if you liked 'Dorothy and Ben' (also a sentimental story), you will probably like this episode, too.
Footnote (skip this paragraph if you aren't interested in the theory of magic): Maybe the dolls are meant to be a kind of inversion of voodoo dolls; they are dolls that are meant to do good. I think, like voodoo dolls, they work on the principle of 'sympathetic magic'. So there's sympathetic magic in both this episode and in the previous one ('Hell Toupee'), but in this one it's based on the 'law of similarity', while in the previous one it is based on the 'law of contact'. (As far as I know, these terms were coined by James George Frazer (in his book 'The Golden Bough'). An example for the law of similarity: the voodoo magician thinks he can affect a person through a voodoo doll because the doll looks similar to the person.)
This is a charming little love story in my opinion. It's a sentimental story, so if you don't like that kind, better don't watch it. It's also simple and somewhat predictable - especially if you know what 'Liebemacher' means - but I think that that is not very important. I really liked the basic idea, the magic dolls. And I liked John Lithgow very much; I think he acts very well. The music is good, too; it's simple, but it creates just the right atmosphere for the story. It sometimes sounds like the melodies used for musical boxes; I like that kind of melody (for example the one in 'For a Few Dollars More'), and they are a good choice for this episode since toys are one of its themes.
I think if you liked 'Dorothy and Ben' (also a sentimental story), you will probably like this episode, too.
Footnote (skip this paragraph if you aren't interested in the theory of magic): Maybe the dolls are meant to be a kind of inversion of voodoo dolls; they are dolls that are meant to do good. I think, like voodoo dolls, they work on the principle of 'sympathetic magic'. So there's sympathetic magic in both this episode and in the previous one ('Hell Toupee'), but in this one it's based on the 'law of similarity', while in the previous one it is based on the 'law of contact'. (As far as I know, these terms were coined by James George Frazer (in his book 'The Golden Bough'). An example for the law of similarity: the voodoo magician thinks he can affect a person through a voodoo doll because the doll looks similar to the person.)
Cute little tale that shows everyone must have a friend in some form!
blanbrn25 January 2016
This "Amazing Stories" episode called "The Doll" is touching and sentimental a heart warming tale of finding happiness. It stars the terrific character actor John Lithgow as a educated and nice yet lonely unmarried guy who passes his time visiting a doll shop and talking with the owner. Only the Lithgow character decides to purchase a doll for his little niece. Only he feels guilt and takes the doll home for himself and as he expected this is no ordinary doll! As after play dinners and talk with the doll it's like things are taking off in a very different form. Soon he discovers that this doll can be a real person as it's true a doll and person can be all in one. And his lonely days are over as he's found love in a doll making love for him to so he can love a real woman in the same form.
Lithgow steals the show
Leofwine_draca2 November 2016
THE DOLL is one of the better AMAZING STORIES episodes I've watched and the success is down to the fine and underrated actor John Lithgow. The tale is about an eccentric guy in his 40s who falls in love with a doll and becomes obsessed with tracking down the model who posed for it. In essence this is a story that requires Lithgow to talk to himself for nearly the entire running time and he does very well in the part.
Lithgow's trademark eccentricity is in full force here and he manages to summon up tragedy, humour, and warmth in his character. The ending offers some sentimental stuff but it's not as cloying as in, say, a Spielberg-directed or written story. My only real problem with AMAZING STORIES as a show is that it's always light, family friendly fare, avoiding the darkness of touch seen elsewhere in MONSTERS or TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. Had it been a little darker I would have liked it better.
Lithgow's trademark eccentricity is in full force here and he manages to summon up tragedy, humour, and warmth in his character. The ending offers some sentimental stuff but it's not as cloying as in, say, a Spielberg-directed or written story. My only real problem with AMAZING STORIES as a show is that it's always light, family friendly fare, avoiding the darkness of touch seen elsewhere in MONSTERS or TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. Had it been a little darker I would have liked it better.
Very Touching Story, Nice Job By Lithgow
ccthemovieman-13 September 2007
This was a change of pace....and one for the good; a wonderful story. Many viewers might find this a lot slower than the normal fare, but I really enjoyed and was touched by the sentiment. It's by far the best thing I've seen John Lithgow do. I'm not a fan of his but fair is fair, and he was absolutely terrific in this. He plays a meek, sad and lonely 42-year-old who finds love in the strangest of ways.
Saying too much more will spoil the ending. You almost can't describe this story without giving something away. Suffice to say single, older people might be moved by this story more than most but anyone who has the slightest sentimental streak in them should find themselves captivated.
Note: This was Anne Helm's last screen performance. She played "Mary Dickenson."
Saying too much more will spoil the ending. You almost can't describe this story without giving something away. Suffice to say single, older people might be moved by this story more than most but anyone who has the slightest sentimental streak in them should find themselves captivated.
Note: This was Anne Helm's last screen performance. She played "Mary Dickenson."
Probably the best episode in an otherwise shabbily written series.
planktonrules23 June 2015
"The Doll" is a treat and probably the best episode of "Amazing Stories". If all the shows had been written like this one, it probably would have lasted many seasons and gone on to be a classic. Sadly, the average show was shabbily written--with nothing in the way of subtlety or finesse. Fortunately, somehow "The Doll" ended up being what the other shows SHOULD have been like.
The show is about a painfully shy but sweet man. He buys a beautiful doll from a nice German toymaker but the doll ends up having some very magical qualities--magic that might just make the guy (John Lithgow) live happily ever after.
The show is very sensitive, sweet and entertaining. Watch this one with a box of Kleenex nearby--you might just need it. A classic.
The show is about a painfully shy but sweet man. He buys a beautiful doll from a nice German toymaker but the doll ends up having some very magical qualities--magic that might just make the guy (John Lithgow) live happily ever after.
The show is very sensitive, sweet and entertaining. Watch this one with a box of Kleenex nearby--you might just need it. A classic.
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