In the film Slaughter plays a seemingly kindly money-lender who dotes on his daughter Julia. He has however a double life as the notorious 'Spine-Breaker', Victorian England's most maniacal serial killer. His nefarious activities are eventually detected by his daughter's suitor Matthew Trimble, the son of one of his victims, who after pursuing and failing to catch him somewhat charitably opines to his daughter:
'Julia, Julia, my darling, listen to me. I know that he's the notorious 'Spine-Breaker' and he ought to be dead a hundred times but I also know that his death cannot bring my father back to life. But alive or dead it cannot alter my love for you.'
In the end Slaughter comes out of hiding to kill another unwelcome suitor of his daughter, before falling to his death from the roof of his house in a dramatic final exit.
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media.
East Lynne is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have been numerous stage and film adaptations.
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a documentary. He has also written three novels and one graphic novel. He made his film debut with the 1985 science fiction feature Explorers, before making a breakthrough appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society. He appeared in various films before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites, for which he received critical praise. Hawke starred alongside Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). More recently, he has starred in Sinister (2012), and The Black Phone (2021)
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill stereotypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers cues to the audience of the drama being presented..
Eric Harold Portman was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in several films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s.
Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam were an Anglo-Australian musical comedy duo of the 1920s and 1930s. Mr. Flotsam's real name was Bentley Collingwood Hilliam (1890–1968) and Mr. Jetsam's real name was Malcolm McEachern (1883–1945). Hilliam wrote most of their songs, played the piano and sang in a light, high tenor voice. By contrast, McEachern had one of the deepest bass voices on record. Their material consisted of comic songs with rapid-fire delivery and songs with mild social commentary, as well as sentimental songs.
Christine Vachon is an American film producer active in the American independent film sector.
Norman Carter Slaughter, also known as Tod Slaughter, was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas.
George King was an English actors' agent, film director, producer and screenplay writer. He is associated with the production of quota quickies. He helmed several of Tod Slaughter's melodramas, including 1936's The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn is a 1935 British film melodrama film starring Tod Slaughter and Eric Portman. It was directed by Milton Rosmer. It is based on the true story of the 1827 Red Barn Murder where a 25 year old mother is shot dead by her lover and her stepmother claims to have dreamt of the murder the night of the event, before the young woman's body was discovered. The film is also known as Murder in the Red Barn.
Deadfall is a 1968 British neo noir crime film written and directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Michael Caine, Eric Portman, Giovanna Ralli and Forbes's wife Nanette Newman, with music by John Barry in his final collaboration with Forbes. Barry also plays a musical conductor in the film. It is based on Desmond Cory's 1965 thriller and shot in and around Majorca, Spain. The film's theme song, "My Love Has Two Faces", was performed by Shirley Bassey.
Great Day is a 1945 British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Eric Portman, Flora Robson and Sheila Sim. It is based on the play of the same name by Lesley Storm.
Wanted for Murder is a 1946 British crime film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, and Roland Culver.
Squadron Leader X is a 1943 British World War II spy drama directed by Lance Comfort and starring Eric Portman and Ann Dvorak. The screenplay was adapted by Miles Malleson and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger.
The Chaperone is a 2011 American crime comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, and also produced by WWE Studios. It stars Triple H, Yeardley Smith, Ariel Winter, Kevin Corrigan, José Zúñiga, Kevin Rankin, Enrico Colantoni, and Israel Broussard.
It's Never Too Late to Mend is a 1937 British melodrama film directed by David MacDonald and starring Tod Slaughter, Jack Livesey and Marjorie Taylor. In the film, a villainous squire and Justice of the Peace conspires to have his rival in love arrested on false charges.
Benjamin Percy Williams was a British character actor from the 1930s to the late 1950s. During his career he appeared in 137 films. In 1954 Williams acted in the BBC Radio play Under Milk Wood that won the Prix Italia award for radio drama that year.
Bentley Collingwood Hilliam, usually credited as B. C. Hilliam, was an English singer, songwriter and musician, and the first-named member of the comedy duo Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam.
The Ticket-of-Leave Man is an 1863 stage melodrama in four acts by the British writer Tom Taylor, based on a French drama, Le Retour de Melun. It takes its name from the Ticket of Leave issued to convicts when they were released from jail on parole. A recently returned convict is blackmailed by another man into committing a robbery, but is rescued thanks to the intervention of a detective. It has been described as probably being the first play about a detective.
Marjorie Taylor (1912–1974) was a British stage and film actress. She played the female lead in several Tod Slaughter films during the 1930s.
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