THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE (1936)
Article #1350 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-24-2004
Posting Date: 4-23-2005
Directed by George King
Featuring Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, D.J. Williams

A series of brutal murders is being committed by a criminal known as The Spinebreaker, who is in reality a moneylender intent on making sure his daughter marries the right man.

It was only yesterday that I mentioned Eric Portman’s performance as one of the better things in the arty, pretentious CORRIDOR OF MIRRORS, and by coincidence, here he is again today, only in a movie that is the polar opposite of anything arty and pretentious. This is a Tod Slaughter film, and it’s pure, unadulterated barnstorming mellerdrammer. I’ve seen several of Tod’s movies so far, and up to this point, I would have found it hard to choose between them. That changes with this movie. Tod plays a moneylender (who really enjoys throwing women and children out of their homes and into the street) who moonlights as a serial killer; he has extra-powerful hands with which he can snap a man’s spine. Yet, somehow, this amoral fiend becomes the “hero” of the movie, as he ends up putting himself in peril in order to save his daughter (the one true love of his life) from being forced into marriage with a man she loathes. I even found myself almost cheering as he makes his stand near the end of the movie, and when he makes his final revelation to his daughter, a tear almost came to my eye. Yet, the movie never once denies its stagey origins, with its creaky direction, hammy acting, and hilariously campy dialogue. It even has a framing story about a radio broadcast, which eventually introduces Tod Slaughter as himself talking about his new old melodrama, and ends with an actually very amusing punch line. Really, there’s something rather deliciously perverse and almost subversive about the whole movie.

Never seen a Tod Slaughter movie? This is the one I’d recommend you try. Quite frankly, I’ve seen this sort of thing many times before without ever having seen anything quite like it. Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself.

(Talk about arty and pretentious; quoting Walt Whitman while reviewing a Tod Slaughter movie?)

CORRIDOR OF MIRRORS (1948)
Article #1349 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-23-2004
Posting Date: 4-22-2005
Directed by Terence Young
Featuring Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Joan Maude

A woman remembers her tragic romance with an artist who lives in the past.

Fantastic content: Before the story is through, both reincarnation and madness enter into the mix.

For me, the high point in the movie comes about ten minutes in; a woman leaves her husband and children for a trip to London to meet her lover in Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and it turns out her lover is one of the exhibits. This discovery was intriguing enough that I found myself forgiving the somewhat pretentious, arty style that led up to that moment. The story itself that follows is actually quite good, but it’s the style of the direction that drives me up the wall; there is too much self-consciously subtle dialogue, too many contrived camera angles, and too many “poetically evocative” scenes that only serve to distract me and distance me from the action. I’d forgive it all if it helped me to warm up to the central characters; as it is, Eric Portman comes out all right because he manages to deliver his lines with enough conviction to win me over, but Edana Romney just comes across as shallow and pretentious. I ended up disliking her character intensely; unfortunately, I think we’re supposed to like her. Things loosen up a little in the last half hour, but once the story was over, I was left with the feeling that it would have all worked better with a more straightforward style; I don’t think it warranted the arty approach it was given. The director would later go on to direct some of the James Bond films, and the movie features one of the earliest appearances of Christopher Lee.

CASTLE IN THE AIR (1952)
Article #1348 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-22-2004
Posting Date: 4-21-2005
Directed by Henry Cass
Featuring David Tomlinson, Helen Cherry, Margaret Rutherford

An impoverished Scottish Earl has his hands full trying to fend off creditors while simultaneously discouraging a socialist coal board representative from requisitioning his castle while encouraging a rich American widow to buy the castle.

Fantastic content: The castle is also haunted by a ghost named Ermyntrude, who takes an occasional role in the proceedings.

I found this British comedy consistently enjoyable. It’s energetic, well-paced and peopled with all sorts of eccentric characters. Among the latter are a butler who refuses to allow himself to be fired, a dotty old woman who is convinced that the Earl is the true and rightful king of Scotland (Margaret Rutherford, of course), and the harried coal board representative, who is forced to stay in the coldest room of the castle, must pay for every little service, and is left holding the fish when the constable arrives. There are more accents than you can shake your stick at, but that just adds more color to the proceedings. All in all, a delightful comedy, though for those interested in the fantastic content, the ghost largely exists to contribute to the occasional gag.