Trailer—The Crimes of Stephen Hawke

source: The Crimes of Stephen Hawke

THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE opens with a rather lengthy radio program featuring the creaky musical duo, "Flotsam and Jetsam", and a man telling a story. Then, finally, Mr. Tod Slaughter himself arrives to recount some of his most devilish film roles. When the actual story begins, we are introduced to the title character, known by the public at large as: The Spine Breaker (Mr. Slaughter). True to form, a victim is claimed within a few minutes. Hawke is presented as insidious right out of the gate! Mr. Slaughter once again portrays his villain as the embodiment of murderous glee. Hawke also has a contrived persona as a kindly moneylender. No one suspects him of actually being a cackling psychopath, not even his daughter. This ruse helps to keep the entertainment level high, as we know full well what this monster is up to. There are some fun, sinister double entendres from Mr. Hawke about his crimes. Fans of Tod Slaughter will love this film. The uninitiated will marvel at his ability to chew through scenery like a nuclear-powered buzz saw!...

Tod Slaughter was as different as could be from his American counter parts Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. He was part of the British tradition of barn storming stage melodramas that toured the provinces in the gas light era. The audience would boo and hiss the villain, sigh over the heroine and cheer the hero. In Sydney, Australia, in the 1960s and 70s theatre restaurants came into fashion and Neutral Bay Music Hall changed it's program every few months. I remember seeing "The Springheeled Terror of Putney Green" (which Slaughter also made into a film), "Fleet Footed Jack" and "Her First False Step" - they were all great fun. Tod Slaughter was straight out of that gas light tradition, in fact the beginning of "The Crimes of Stephen Hawke" is at pains to point out that the plays the thing and it's all make believe. For the first ten minutes it is like a radio program with an odd novelty act "Flotsam and Jetsam" who seem to look at the daily papers for inspiration for their satirical songs. Then the announcer introduces Slaughter as having "murdered thousands of people and been hanged thousands of times" then Slaughter continues "yes and I'm still alive to tell the tale"!!! He then proceeds to tell listeners about his strangest role - Stephen Hawke, who is kindly yet a fiend. Within minutes "kindly" Stephen Hawke has left his trademark on a small boy who dared to order him from the gardens - "my garden isn't for people like you" the snotty nose brat tells him. Yes, Stephen Hawke is the "Spine Breaker", although to everyone in the village he is a kindly money lender who gives generously to his friends. Slaughter may not have been able to match his Hollywood co-horts as far as production values, but in evilness he was second to none. The thought of killing a child in the first few minutes would have been unthinkable to Karloff or Lugosi. His one joy in life is his ward, Julia, and it is at her party that the "Spinebreaker" strikes again. Only Nathanial, Hawkes down trodden clerk knows his real identity and also that his generous reputation hides a mean and cowardly nature - he gleefully turns a widow and six children out onto the street, all for owing 10 pounds!!! Suspicion now starts to fall on Hawkes, especially as people begin to notice his extremely strong hands and when his good friend, Mr. Trimble, dies, his son Matthew finally gets to the bottom of the hunt for the killer, who has escaped from prison by changing identities with a poor man who has just stolen a loaf of bread!!! Surprising to see that Eric Portman, such a distinguished actor of the 1940s, specialising in introspective, urbane villains, got his start playing the young hero in Tod Slaughter movies, this one and "Maria Marten". This definitely isn't my favourite Tod Slaughter movie, for anyone wanting an introduction I would recommend "The Face at the Window" (1939).

Stephen Hawke is a kindly money lender with a nice home and a sweet daughter. He is also 'The Spinebreaker' who steals and murders in old London town. He is eventually stopped but not before melodramatic incidents like more murders, a police official lusting after his daughter, a jail sentence etc. This is a Tod Slaughter film and it's full of those barn storming ingredients that make a tasty cinematic dish, if you like this sort of thing. Tod Slaughter is a choice and succulent ham of course and is ably supported by a young Eric Portman as the nice young man who loves his daughter and Graham Soutten as his one-legged sidekick. His daughter is played prettily by Marjorie Taylor who appeared in other Slaughter films. It is plainly filmed and all the spine breaking is done off camera but no matter. Seeing his Tod-ness in full villainous mode is all that matters. Nobody did jocular wickedness like him. The film is strangely bookended by sequences in a contemporary radio studio before going into the Victorian age story which doesn't add anything to the film apart from extra running time. Flotsam and Jetsam in a Tod Slaughter film? Bizarre.

The Crimes of Stephen Hawke kicks off with a tune from Flotsam and Jetsam - sadly, not the '80s thrash band (that would be cool!), but rather a musical comedy duo, Mr. Flotsam sat at the piano singing like George Formby, with Mr. Jetsam, a heftier dude with a deeper voice, standing. They're performing as part of the radio show that is the pre-amble to the film's main story. After Flotsam and Jetsam, we get a comedic butcher called Henry Hopkins, who sells cat meat, followed by an interview with actor Tod Slaughter, who talks about the many murders he has committed on screen, playing characters such as the infamous barber Sweeney Todd, and this film's maniac, crazed 'spine-breaker' Stephen Hawke. Mr. Hawke is a seemingly affable moneylender who secretly makes extra cash on the side by snapping the backs of the wealthy with his bare hands and stealing their valuables. He is aided in his nefarious work by one of the best sidekicks I have seen in an old black and white horror: the guy not only has a hunchback (standard issue for drooling horror henchmen of the day), but he also has only one leg and one eye. Unlucky for him, but great for fans of cheesy B-movies. When Hawke's friend Joshua Trimble discovers the terrible truth about the evil moneylender, he also has his spine snapped, leaving Trimble's son Matthew (Eric Portman), who is in love with Hawke's adopted daughter Julia (Marjorie Taylor), to take revenge. After pursuing Hawke across the country with no success, Matthew gives up and returns to London in time to save Julia from scoundrel Miles Archer, who has blackmailed the poor girl into marrying him. Meanwhile, Hawke returns to London, ready for the film's finalé, which, in time-honoured fashion, sees the villain take to the rooftops and fall to his death - right in front of poor Julia's eyes. Tod Slaughter, Britain's answer to the likes of Boris Karloff and George Zucco, puts in another wonderful theatrical performance - all wild eyes, evil leers, and exaggerated movements - that is perfect for the occasion. He doesn't have a moustache to twirl or a cape to swish, but if he did, he would. It almost feels mandatory to boo and hiss at the screen whenever he makes an entrance. While not the greatest story ever told, The Crimes of Stephen Hawke is still a lot of fun thanks to its star's special brand of ham/cheeze, the likes of which I doubt we will ever see again, and the rather strange wraparound radio broadcast that is just too bizarre not to be entertaining.

Prior to Snidely Whiplash and Dick Dasterdly, there was Tod Slaughter, the mustache twirling, snickering Englishman who slit throats, shot young ladies whose virginity he stole and buried them in a barn, strangled innocent children, hammered spikes into brains, and here, is a back breaker. At least those cartoon villains didn't get to do that; They were too concerned with tying the heroine to the tracks or stealing state secrets (or a bag of loot) and too insipid to really get away with their crimes. With Tod Slaughter, we know from the moment he appears on the screen that he is the guilty party, and here, he's nasty from the start, breaking the back of a chunky rich kid who demands that he get out of their garden. More enemies follow suit, and in one of the creepiest scenes in a Slaughter film, he's confronted by the alleged ghost of one of his victims, sitting up in the morgue, and scarring the crap out of him. But once his crimes are exposed, he's sent out on the lam, to run through the countryside with the threat of being hunted, only because the person who exposed him is in love with Slaughter's daughter, and doesn't want to see her hurt. In a Slaughter film, the supporting cast never really matters. These barn stormers focused on Slaughter's nefarious laugh coming either before he kills somebody brutally, as he confronts them with their impending doom, and usually after the crime has been committed. Subtlety is never utilized in a Slaughter film, even if he does appear to genuinely be in love with the young heroine or devoted to a daughter, as he seems to be here. These films all have a formula: Introduce Slaughter as the culprit of a crime spree, have him commit a few of those crimes to give the viewer some chills, expose himself (usually by someone he's trying to frame) and the ultimate pay-off which always follows a mad scene. Slaughter gives his all to these types of roles, hysterically over the top. His films, usually directed by independent producer George King, look cheap, and the prints available aren't usually the best. The creakiness of those prints, though, is what makes him stand the test of time, and if his acting method is long dated, the films are fun to watch for their formula, the shear audacity of their ridiculousness, and cartoon like characterizations. When an actor makes Karloff and Lugosi look subtle, that's enough to warrant their place in the camp hall of fame, and if the films themselves are hardly classics, they are a heck of a lot of fun!

I'll admit it - I quickly became a Tod Slaughter fan. I *think* I first saw him as a kid but I can't really recall - I know about 3 years ago I started becoming very familiar with him and quickly became a fan. Like most people, I watch Tod Slaughter films for Tod Slaughter's performances. He's quite good - very theatrical and lively on film so he makes an otherwise mediocre film entertaining. Now this film is more than just Tod Slaughter being an entertaining, it's actually a pretty good story on top of it. One of Slaughter's best films. I love the atmosphere in this one. It's very much of a Victorian Gothic film - it's no masterpiece but it's one that really enjoyed watching. 9/10

In Victorian England there lives a kindly moneylender called Stephen Hawke. But underneath his public mask he is an underhand cad. Aided by his hunchback henchmen, he is also the serial killer known as The Spine Breaker. He is so evil he even begins the movie by murdering a child! This film unusually opens at a BBC radio station, where we are introduced to lead actor Tod Slaughter. We also get a song and, of all things, a comedy butcher act. Slaughter pitches up and speaks briefly about the upcoming movie. I am guessing that this extra material was quite typical of its day where we had cinematic programmes that ran for hours encompassing all manner of things beyond the main feature, such as newsreels, cartoons, etc. Whatever the case, it's a strange way to open the movie now but does offer up a time capsule to an earlier era which is quite interesting. The film itself is one of several British Victorian melodramas directed by George King, starring Slaughter. I have a soft spot for these movies as their lurid plot-lines and period detail make them more interesting than most B-movies from the time. And, most of all, they have the charismatic Slaughter as the villain in the main role. He really is a fun actor to watch and no one chews up the scenery quite like him it has to be said. This one follows a similar template to all the rest of these films where he is a pillar of the community who secretly is a ghastly criminal. While this one is basically the same, I don't think it is among his best. The plot-line is a little too uncoordinated and doesn't make use of Slaughter as well as it could. Nevertheless, it's one that should still appeal to most of his fans and I still liked it.

This is one very scary movie. It has great acting. It also has a great story line. It also has great special effects. It is a great horror movie. It is true classic. I can not believe people are give it 5 out 10. It is a not a 5 out of 10. It is a 9 out of 10.