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The Crimes of Stephen Hawke is a 1936 British historical melodrama film directed by George King and starring Tod Slaughter as the nefarious Stephen Hawke - who masquerades as the 'Spine-Breaker'. It also features Marjorie Taylor, D. J. Williams and Eric Portman. It was made at Shepperton Studios, with sets designed by Philip Bawcombe. This is the third of Tod Slaughter's film outings, billed as a 'new-old melodrama'. In the introduction Slaughter appears in person, in a BBC studio, where he describes with relish his murderous activities in his two previous films: Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn (1935) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936). In the film Slaughter plays a seemingly kindly money-lender who dotes on his daughter Julia. He has however a double life as the notorious 'Spine-Breaker', Victorian England's most maniacal serial killer. His nefarious activities are eventually detected by his daughter's suitor Matthew Trimble, the son of one of his victims, who after pursuing and failing to catch him somewhat charitably opines to his daughter: In the end Slaughter comes out of hiding to kill another unwelcome suitor of his daughter, before falling to his death from the roof of his house in a dramatic final exit.
Original Release
04/30/1936
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Marjorie Taylor | Julia Hawke |
D.J. Williams | Joshua Trimble |
Eric Portman | Matthew Trimble |
Graham Soutten | Nathaniel |
Gerald Barry | Miles Archer |
George M. Slater | Lord Brickhaven |
Charles Penrose | Sir Franklin |
Norman Pierce | Landlord |
Flotsam and Jetsam | Themselves |
B.C. Hilliam | Self |
Directors
Writers
Tod Slaughter, Jack Celestin, Frederick Hayward, H.F. Maltby, Paul White
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Marjorie Taylor | Julia Hawke |
D.J. Williams | Joshua Trimble |
Eric Portman | Matthew Trimble |
Graham Soutten | Nathaniel |
Gerald Barry | Miles Archer |
George M. Slater | Lord Brickhaven |
Charles Penrose | Sir Franklin |
Norman Pierce | Landlord |
Flotsam and Jetsam | Themselves |
B.C. Hilliam | Self |
Malcolm 'Mr. Jetsam' McEachern | Self |
Cecil Bevan | Small Boy's Father |
Annie Esmond | Small Boy's Nanny |
Jack Sharp | Policeman |
Harry Terry | First Prisoner |
Ben Williams | Prison Warder |
Tod Slaughter | Stephen Hawke |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
George King | Producer |