Never Too Late To Mend (1937)

Never Too Late To Mend is a Tod Slaughter melodrama, and if you’re familiar with his movies you’ll know that there is going to be much fun to be had.

Like all his classic movies this one emanates from George King Productions and captures perfectly the spirit of Victorian melodrama.

This time Slaughter plays the wicked Squire Meadows. Squire Meadows wants to marry Susan, the beautiful daughter of Farmer Merton. Farmer Merton is not against the match, but Susan is in love with impecunious farmer George Fielding. Farmer Merton tells George that he will never gain his daughter’s hand until he can produce a thousand pounds.

George’s only chance of obtaining such a vast sum (and in mid-19th century England this was a very vast sum indeed) is by going to the colonies to seek his fortune. He intends to take ship for New South Wales.

This will leave the field open for Squire Meadows, but given that he is twice the age of George Fielding and that George Fielding is a handsome young man Squire Meadows decides it would be wise to take no chances. He concocts a scheme to have George arrested for poaching. The plan miscarries when George’s friend Tom bravely confesses to the crime to save his friend from prison.

While George is in his way to Australia the unfortunate Tom finds himself in the local prison, the administration of which is largely in the hands of the visiting Justices of the Peace, one of whom is none other than Squire Meadows. The brutal treatment of the prisoners is encouraged by the squire. He claims that he regards the prisoners as his children, but in reality they’re simply a convenient means for satisfying his sadistic impulses and his greed.

The only person at the prison who stands up to him is the prison chaplain, who was formerly the local parish priest.

Squire Meadows’ plotting is about to come undone however. He has finally, largely as a result of financial pressure exerted on her father persuaded Susan to marry him but on the eve of the wedding George Fielding suddenly reappears. And he has on his person not just one thousand pounds, but no less than seven thousand pounds. He has struck gold, literally, in New South Wales.

Of course Squire Meadows is not going to give up so easily and the stage is set for a classic melodramatic finish.

As with most of his movies there’s a bit of social comment, and a generous helping of sentimentality. It all works extremely well.

Tod Slaughter was always tremendous fun in these roles and in this one he’s at his wicked best, even indulging in actual moustache-twirling.

The support cast is perfectly competent but no-one is going to notice the support cast in a Tod Slaughter movie.

Tod Slaughter’s 1930s British movies are probably the purest cinematic expression you’ll ever find of Victorian melodrama. He played these roles on stage as well and having been born in 1885 and having made his stage debut in 1905 he must have had some first-hand experience of seeing the genuine article. He was almost 50 before he made his first movie so his whole acting style is very stagey. For this kind of material that’s a major asset.

If you’ve never seen a Tod Slaughter movie then you’ve missed out on a exceptionally enjoyable experience. Never Too Late To Mend is a good place to start, although Sweeney Todd is perhaps better.

Alpha Video’s DVD release (from their Tod Slaughter boxed set) is reasonable enough quality by Alpha Video standards - a bit faded and grainy but perfectly watchable.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936)

The 1936 British movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was the third film adaptation of the Sweeney Todd story, which originated as one of the Victorian “penny dreadfuls” under the title The String of Pearls (which is incidentally a great deal of fun) and later became a hugely successful play.

The plot adheres reasonably closely to the book although it had to be toned down somewhat given the incredibly strict film censorship in Britain at that time. Sweeney Todd has accumulated a fortune by murdering and robbing his customers, in league with Mrs Lovatt who runs the pie shop next door. The fate of the customers, who ended up as the ingredients in the pies, is alluded to but not specifically stated. Todd is also scheming to marry beautiful young Johanna Oakley, whose true love Mark Ingerstreet is trying to make his fortune as a seafarer and trader.

With the aptly named Tod Slaughter in the title role the movie plays the story exactly like a Victorian melodrama, which is of course exactly what it is. Tod Slaughter had played the role on stage literally thousands of times, and he overacts outrageously, and his excessively hammy and stagey performance works perfectly. In fact it has quite a bit in common with Tim Burton’s more recent version in that there is not the slightest attempt at realism. The audience is expected to respond the way an audience at a 19th century melodrama would react. The framing story reinforces the sense of unreality, and the feeling that it is all an elaborate joke in which the audience shares.

It’s a low budget movie but it has plenty of energy and it’s well paced for a 1930s British horror film. I found it a lot more entertaining than Burton’s version. Stella Rho is suitably creepy as Mrs Lovatt, Bruce Seton is a brave square-jawed hero and Eve Lister makes a likeable and resourceful heroine as Johanna.

Being a 1930s British horror movie there is of course no gore, but there are a few chills, there’s plenty of atmosphere and there’s a good deal of fun to be had.

It’s in the public domain and can be found online. It’s also available as part of the recently released Tod Slaughter DVD boxed set from Alpha

Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935)

I celebrated the arrival of my Tod Slaughter boxed set by watching Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn tonight. This 1935 British production is perhaps even closer to pure Victorian melodrama than the 1936 Sweeney Todd, and I loved every minute of it.

It was based loosely (very loosely I suspect) on a celebrated real-life murder case. It became a best-selling 19th century broadsheet and was inevitably adapted as a play. Tod Slaughter himself played the role on stage many times. And he plays the role of the wicked squire in the movie exactly as if he was on stage. None of this nonsense about toning down one’s performance for the screen!

Maria Marten is a farmer’s daughter in love with handsome gypsy Carlos. Naturally her strict father does not approve, but more misfortune is in store for Maria when she attracts the eye of the wicked Squire Corder at a village dance in the Red Barn owned by the squire. He seduces her, and of course she finds herself pregnant. Her father turns her out of the house for disgracing the family name. In desperation she turns to the one man she thinks has the power to help her - Squire Corder. Not surprisingly this does not turn out well for poor Maria.

Now that Maria has mysteriously disappeared her parents are having second thoughts about their behaviour, and start a search for their errant daughter. Squire Corder has tried to point the finger of suspicion at Carlos the gypsy, but he is also busily searching for Maria. He confronts the squire, is shot and wounded, and is pursued to the Red Barn by assorted gentry, townspeople, a pack of hounds and a party of Bow Street Runners. It appears that the squire’s plan has worked perfectly, until one of the hounds starts to take an interest in a patch of disturbed earth in the barn.

Eric Portman as Carlos and Sophie Stewart as Maria overact outrageously. In fact the entire cast enters into the melodramatic spirit of the piece. Tod Slaughter naturally dominates the movie, and if you enjoy this kind of extremely hammy acting then you’ll be in bliss. I certainly was.

The plot holds few surprises, but then that’s the whole point of melodrama I suppose. You’re expected to know what’s going to happen next. It adds to the fun, and offers the opportunity for hissing at the dastardly villainy of Squire Corder, and for sympathising with the tragic plight of poor doomed Maria. Considering the unbelievably strict censorship exercised in Britain in the 1930s, especially in respect of horror movies, this film is as gruesome as they were able ti get way with in 1935. Which isn’t very gruesome at all by modern standards, but contemporary audiences undoubtedly experienced a few frissons of pure horror. And the ending is suitably grim.

The movie benefits from a very short running time which makes it very fast-paced indeed for a 1930s British crime/horror offering. Despite a limited budget and something of the feel of a filmed play this is a skillfully made and very entertaining picture. You do need to have a taste for this sort of thing of course, and it’s a taste that won’t appeal to everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I adore deliciously over-ripe acting.

Alpha Video’s DVD presentation is what you expect from that company. The best thing that can be said about it is that it’s quite watchable. The big plus is the pricing - I picked up their six-movie boxed set of Tod Slaughter’s films for a mere eight dollars, and for that price it’s really too good to pass up.