Of Dolls & Murder

Susan Marks's documentary explores the science of crime and our fascination with violent death as she recalls the little-known work of Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962), the Chicago-born heiress to the International Harvester fortune who became a highly unlikely pioneer in forensic pathology through her construction of 18 miniature dioramas used in police training related to crime scenes. While Lee's wealth enabled her to endow a department of legal medicine at Harvard University in 1931 (the first of its kind in the U.S.), it was her talent for creating highly intricate miniatures (featuring working locks on the tiny doors) that was truly amazing. Even more remarkable is the fact that, despite advances such as computer-generated training and DNA-based research, the replicas—complete with 1930s-style clues such as knocked-over rotary telephones and bloodstained iceboxes—are still being used. The collection of macabre dollhouses, each depicting a different murder, is housed at the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore, but not on public display, which makes this presentation all the more alluring. As the camera pans slowly over the elaborate models—known as the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death (based on the idea that trainees could gather relevant facts in a proverbial nutshell)—assorted experts and commentators weigh in. Marks also includes visits to morgues and detective headquarters, as well as a discussion with CSI executive producer Naren Shankar. Underground filmmaker John Waters provides a slightly bemused narrative voice for this offbeat documentary that is sure to appeal to true crime aficionados. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)