The Ticket of Leave Man

Pudgy screen presence Tod Slaughter deliciously plays a killer named the Tiger, famed for his thieving, murder, and anonimity. Slaughter, as with all his films it seems, sets his sights on the fiancée of a young bank clerk. Tod practically drools as he leers at the young lady and then sets up a plan with a dishonest moneylender to set the boyfriend up with some counterfeit bank notes. The plan works and the young man serves his term in prison. He gets out early and finds that no one will give a second chance to a Ticket of Leave man, that is a man who has been released from prison. Slaughter, still with designs on the pretty young lady, must find new ways now to deal with the man she still loves. Maybe if the young man becomes too desperate he will go to a life of crime. Slaughter is wonderful in this film. When we first see him, he is wearing a striped outfit with a bowler hat that makes him look truly ridiculous. Even when he disguises himself as an older man trying to help ticket of leave men(this is done to impress the young lady), Slaughter still forces the young lady to kiss him for his favors. His screen time is a joy to behold. He leers better than any other actor ever has on the screen. If you doubt it...watch his films. Slaughter makes leering an art form. This is a nicely directed film and lots of fun. Director George King does a serviceable job with an above-average cast, but make no mistake...this is Tod's film all the way!

On the positive aspect of the film, there is a villain who thinks on his feet in addition to planning his way to the financial top. There's something to be said about society's notion of 'good character' and credit as well as a quickly wrapped up moral at the end.

Dialogue was laborious both in detail and cliché. Motivations and execution are certainly questionable. Maybe some of this style of theatre got lost in translation from stage to film. All characters were pretty much static and stereotypical. I'm not sure who the target audience for the film would be. Maybe a young couple afraid of the rich and/or powerful?

The oh so hammy Tod Slaughter is good as usual in this mediocre crime thriller - it's more of a crime drama than a thriller. The film is a bit dry to me - it's missing something... darker elements. The film seems to "bright" or a bit "cheery" for a crime thriller. If it was meant to be comedy then this film would be perfect for that but the film is not a comedy. It doesn't have the elements of twisted darkness that one would expect from a Tod Slaughter film.

The movie is exactly what the description says: an innocent man is falsely accused of counterfeiting, put in prison and must prove he is innocent. "The Tiger" is actually responsible for the murders.

It's not a horrible film - but it's not all that great. I'll have to rate this one somewhere in the middle ground.

4.5/10

This is one of the scariest movies I have seen. If you want to see a really good horror movie see this movie. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. If it does not scary you know movie will. This is better then A Nightmare on elm street.

"A criminal mastermind known as 'The Tiger' has set his sights upon the beautiful fiancée of a bank teller. Hoping to eliminate his rival, the criminal plots to frame the young man for passing counterfeit money, thus have him sent to prison and freeing him to pursue the girl. After the man serves his time for the crime he didn't commit, he returns home to win his love over and stop 'The Tiger'," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Barnstorming Tod Slaughter (as James "The Tiger" Dalton) breathes some life into this old English chestnut. Earnest John Warwick and soprano Marjorie Taylor are the pretty fiancée and bank teller. The men wear phony sideburns. Mr. Slaughter kissing the fainted body of Ms. Taylor is a memorable moment. And, both "The Tiger" and hawk-nosed "moneylender" Frank Cochran (as Melter Moss) are more properly disposed of than in the original play.

***** The Ticket of Leave Man (10/37) George King ~ Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Marjorie Taylor