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 (1846–1847). 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-era bestseller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot centering on infidelity and double identities. There have been numerous stage and film adaptations.
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a very 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 established character archetypes. 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 further cues to the audience of the dramatic beats being presented.
Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, who used the pseudonyms Marjorie Bowen, George R. Preedy, Joseph Shearing, Robert Paye, John Winch, and Margaret Campbell or Mrs. Vere Campbell, was a British author who wrote historical romances and supernatural horror stories, as well as works of popular history and biography.
Eric Harold Portman was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s.
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 directed several of Tod Slaughter's melodramas, including 1936's The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British drama film produced and directed by George King, and written by Frederick Hayward, H. F. Maltby, and George Dibdin-Pitt. The film features actor Tod Slaughter as the barber Sweeney Todd.
Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn is a 1935 British film melodrama film directed by Milton Rosmer and starring Tod Slaughter and Eric Portman. It is based on the true story of the 1827 Red Barn Murder, in which a 25-year-old woman was killed by her lover and her stepmother claimed to have dreamt of the murder the night of the event.
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. Unfortunately, the BFI National Archive currently considered this film as "missing, believed lost".
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. The plot involves a villainous squire and justice of the peace who conspires to have his rival 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 apparently being the first play to give a truly significant role to 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.
William Nelson Austin was a Canadian-American film editor. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Film Editing for the film Flat Top.
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