Tod Slaughter Movies

When evil Ternce Riley (Tod Slaughter) steals some jewels, a secret formula and has a hand in a blackmail scheme, Scotland Yard Inspector Morley (Patrick Barr) is called in to solve the baffling case. ~ Rovi

This early film treatment of the tale of Burke and Hare stars the notoriously flamboyant Tod Slaughter as the title grave-robber who, with accomplice Mr. Moore (Henry Oscar), purloins corpses from the mortuaries and graveyards of Edinburgh (and other questionable locations) for sale to the medical academy. When demand begins to exceed supply, Hart and Moore turn to the living, murdering drunks, transients and prostitutes to obtain fresh cadavers. Their plan is ultimately undone when their next victim, whom they mistake for a feeble-minded drunkard, turns out to be a well-known member of the community. Although originally filmed as a fairly loyal account of Burke and Hare's legendary exploits (titled The Crimes of Burke and Hare), the film's release was blocked by British censors, who insisted the producers remove all references to the actual grave-robbing duo. The film underwent a title change and all dialogue was re-looped to feature the alternate character names of Hart and Moore. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

So since when have crimes been committed in a house with all the lights on? This chop-licking British melodrama stars the gloriously uninhibited Tod Slaughter, playing the unspeakable Sir Henry Glyde. Disposing of his wealthy wife, Glyde replaces her with a look-alike, a recent "graduate" from the local insane asylum. This may sound vaguely familiar to you if you've seen the 1948 Warner Bros. Gothic drama The Woman in White. Indeed, both the Warner film and Crimes in the Dark House were based on the same 1860 novel by Wilkie Collins -- and both are good gory fun in their own separate ways. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sexton Blake, a British pulp-novel rip-off of Sherlock Holmes, was the principal character in several fast-paced programmers of the 1930s. George Curzon stars as Blake in Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror, but the histrionic honors go to chop-licking Tod Slaughter as "The Snake," the elusive head of a group of masked criminals. The scriptwriters contrive to allow the perfidious Slaughter to escape scot-free at the climax, paving the way for a sequel (that, worse luck, was never filmed). Greta Gynt plays another of the distressed-damsel roles she was saddled with before graduating to bigger-budgeted productions in the 1940s. Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror represented the last of George Curzon's three appearances as Blake; the character would resurface on screen in 1944 in the person of David Farrar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from an 1863 melodrama, The Ticket of Leave Man stars Tod Slaughter as Tiger Dalton, a notorious criminal mastermind who is in love with May Edwards (Marjorie Taylor), fiancée of a young bank clerk named Bob Brierly (John Warwick). Tiger frames Bob by concocting a plan involving counterfeit money. Bob serves out his prison sentence, getting an early release. May still loves him, but Bob soon discovers that life is difficult for a "ticket of leave man" (i.e., an ex-con), as no employers are willing to take a chance on him. He resorts to using an alias and is able to gain employment at a bank, but Tiger threatens to expose him if he doesn't help him rob the bank. All looks black until May takes things into her own hands, telling the police about Tiger's plans. The police quickly set out in pursuit of the master villain, who gets his comeuppance in an appropriate manner. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

In this melodrama, an old fashioned bad guy is determined to have an innocent young maiden for himself. To do so, he frames her beloved fiance and gets him sent to jail. His wicked plot is foiled when the man is freed and the lovers get back together. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Crimes of Stephen Hawke opens at a BBC radio studio, where a variety program is being broadcast. After the singing duo of Flotsam and Jetsom and a comic butcher perform, Tod Slaughter appears as himself to perform a radio play about Stephen Hawkes. Hawkes is, to all appearances, a model of kindliness and decorum. A money-lender, he is compassionate and caring toward his clients, and extremely attentive to his lovely daughter, Julia, whose beauty and innocence make her attractive to many suitors. But Hawkes is not all that he appears. In his guise as he Spine Breaker, he is a merciless and notorious murderer, viciously killing his victims in a gory and painful manner. Aided by his assistant, a strange hunchback, the first killing the audience sees involves an obnoxious but otherwise undeserving child. Eventually, Hawkes even kills his best friend; when the friend's son, Matthew discovers the truth, he vows to hunt down Hawkes himself. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

The film opens on a theatrical stage where the principal players are introduced in a manner that suggests the audience already knows the story about to be played out. It begins inside the Red Barn in Polstead, Suffolk, where local girl Maria Marten (Sophie Stewart) dances with local, middle-aged squire and magistrate William Corder (Tod Slaughter) during a merry barn dance. Stealing a moment from the festivities, Carlos, a gypsy (Eric Portman) declares his love for Maria, but she rebuffs him and does not disclaim her interest in Corder. Corder is angered when a gypsy palm reader gives him a bad fortune and all of the gypsies are ejected from the party. Maria catches up with Corder later and shares a drink with him at his home; meanwhile, her father (D.J. Williams) notes Maria's absence and suspects her out with the gypsy. Corder, in the meantime, has become intimate with Maria and sends her home, promising marriage. A chance encounter with Carlos is interrupted by Maria's father, who pleads with Corder to have the gypsy barred from the locality. Corder then travels to London and loses big with a disastrous tumble of the dice; Corder schemes to recoup his losses through wooing a local widow of means, plans that do not include Maria.

Over time, Maria's delicate condition becomes apparent and her father casts her out of the family home. Maria approaches Corder for help, but becoming aware of her dire situation threatens to tell her father the truth. Corder renews his pledge to marry Maria and tells her to meet him at the Red Barn in couple of hours. Once there, Corder shoots Maria with a pistol and buries her body under the floor, but misplaces a damning piece of evidence at the scene. Disarmed by the pleas of Maria's grieving mother (Clare Greet, a favorite actress of Alfred Hitchcock's), Maria's father resumes the search for her. Carlos appears at Corder's and begins to pressure him about Maria's whereabouts; they are interrupted and Corder sets a trap for the gypsy which he barely escapes. Carlos, Corder, Mr. Marten and a number of police constables all end up at the Red Barn; at first it looks bad for Carlos, but when Corder's own dog begins sniffing around in the barn, Corder finds himself facing a spell of misfortune that will make his poor luck at the dice table seem insignificant by comparison.
~ David Lewis, Rovi