The Crimes of Stephen Hawke

A deranged killer, "The Spine-Breaker", is on the loose, throwing London into a panic. He is in reality Stephen Hawke, a kindly banker who lives with his daughter, Julia. His murderous rampage goes unchecked until he slays the father of Julia's fiance, Matthew Trimble. The bereaved young man discovers the Spine-Breaker's true identity and vows to bring the madman to justice...even if it costs him the woman he loves!

Tod Slaughter's remarkable talent for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre Victorian settings is once again on full display in The Crimes of Stephen Hawke. His delightful grin and mad glee at "polishing off" his victims is a trademark of the British actor, who never quite gained the fame of his Hollywood horror counterparts Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, but has a large cult following nonetheless. Directed with a smart tongue-in-cheek flair by George King, The Crimes of Stephen Hawke has an unusual opening unique in Slaughter's filmography. The film begins with Slaughter (playing himself) being interviewed on a BBC radio show and speaking of how he "murdered hundreds and hundreds of people" in his prior movies Murder in the Red Barn (1935) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936).

• horror