Dr. Coppelius (1968) today @ TCM

[Dave Monroe]

A mysterious inventor passes off an animated doll as his daughter.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/559120/Dr-Coppelius/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(short_story)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny

Also, e.g., ...

Translatlantic Tunnel (a.k.a. The Tunnel; 1935)

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93824/Tunnel-The/
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l