THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE (1936)

[The Burgomaster]

This movie is included in Mill Creek's TALES OF TERROR 50 MOVIE PACK.  It was my first experience watching a movie starring British actor Tod Slaughter.

The movie starts out with two guys named Flotsam and Jetsam signing a song with piano accompaniment.  It turns out that they are singing on a live radio show.  Tod Slaughter (playing himself) shows up as a guest and starts talking to the host about horror movies.  Slaughter starts telling the story of "The Spine Breaker" . . . dissolve to: THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE.

Slaughter stars as Stephen Hawke, a moneylender who is also the feared "Spine Breaker,"  a serial killer who has managed to repeatedly elude the police.  His assistant is a hunchback with an eye patch.

This movie is very talky and slow, has very little music, includes a romantic subplot involving Stephen Hawke's daughter, and runs only 69 minutes.  As with most movies of it's time, the murders primarily occur off-screen.

This one just doesn't stand the test of time and isn't as fun as some of old Karloff and Lugosi films.  But you might want to watch it anyway if you are a fan of movies from the 1930s. 

***SPOILER***

The first murder, although off-screen, is a bit surprising because the victim is a little boy.  Hawke briefly gains the boy's confidence, almost like a pedophile, and then kills him. 

[Raffine]

All of the Tod Slaughter films are pretty much variations on a theme: lustful, socially respected Slaughter (rubbing his hands together and cackling with glee and generally acting like Snidley Whiplash) tries to woo the daughter of a kindly man in finacial straights by hold a mortage or a loan over their heads. He's never opposed to polishing off a few revials, usually laughing hysterically as he does so. THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE varies a bit from that and is probably the least interesting of the ones I've seen. Granted all of them were hopelessly old-fashioned even when they were made. Several of them even poke fun at themselves for being old-fashioned with prologues, like you mentioned THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE does.

None of the Slaughter are what you'd call good films, but I think several are a lot more fun.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET The Sondheim musical version is currently being filmed by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp, Helena Bohnam Carter, and Sasha Baron Cohen
THE MURDER IN THE RED BARN This has a surprising "unwed mother" subplot. Based on a true story!
THE FACE IN THE WINDOW Feature a werewolf-like creature, with some odd sci-fi elements

I think these are a bit more entertaining than HAWKES, with Slaughter at his hand-rubbing, cackling, conniving best.
Also: all are only about one hour long.

An amusing aspect of all of Slaughter's films is they are so rushed he comes across as a most unsuccessful villian, going into his "Curses! Foiled again!" routine at the fist sign of trouble.

Slaughter's films are definitely not for most modern tastes, but I think they're a hoot. As a matter of fact this thread prompted me to rewatch IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND when I came in from doing yard work this afternoon! Plot: Slaughter indulges in some gleeful torture of inmates as the Squire in charge of the county jail, while leering after the daughter of a finacially troubled farmer.

Some good info on Slaughter and his films:
http://www.horror-wood.com/slaughter.htm