Of Dolls and Murder (2012)

Before forensics DNA and CSI we had dollhouses an unimaginable collection of miniature crime scenes known as the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death Created in the 1930s and 1940s by a crimefighting grandmother Frances Glessner Lee created the Nutshells to help homicide detectives hone their investigative skills These surreal dollhouses reveal a dystopic and disturbing slice of domestic life with doll corpses representing actual murder victims or perhaps something that just looks like murder Despite all the advances in forensics the Nutshells are still used today to train detectives Documentary film Of Dolls and Murder explores the dioramas the woman who created them and their relationship to modern day forensics From the iconic CSI television show to the Body Farm and criminally minded college students legendary filmmaker and true crime aficionado John Waters narrates the tiny world of big time murder