THE LIFE AND CAREER OF A MASTER OF MENACE

It occurred to me that out of over 6,00 posts, I only have one on the outré British actor Tod Slaughter. Known as one of the last performing barnstormers, he starred in a string of 30's and 40's horror/mystery movies, including THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, THE FACE AT THE WINDOW, HORROR MANIACS and others.

A Blu-ray boxed set of eight Tod Slaughter films is currently available from various online retailers.

Following is a concise, informative article covering the life and career of Mr. Murder himself written by Steve Green, a journalist and editor based in England. It appeared in the UK newsstand magazine, YOURS RETRO #71 (February 2024). A good piece to acquaint or re-acquaint yourself with a criminally (no pun intended) overlooked master of menace.

You can visit Steve's site HERE.

A PORTRAIT OF "MR. MURDER"

At home in his study sits the British actor, Tod Slaughter, who became so well-known playing the villain in his movies that he was dubbed, "Mr. Murder". His most famous role was Sweeney Todd in THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (1936).

The photographer of this rare portrait is unknown, but it was processed by Zanton Studios Ltd. in London. The autograph reads: "Thanks chum!" Let's hope the poor fellow didn't turn his back on him!