Post by diane on Mar 25, 2009 15:41:07 GMT -6
Has anyone heard of Tod Slaughter? He was an English character
actor that specialised in villains of the most dastardly kind!!!
In the early 1970s, where I lived in Sydney, there were a couple of
theatres where you could go and see plays like "The Villain Still
Pursued Her", "Sweeny Todd" and "The Spring Heeled Terror of
Putney Green". You were encourage to boo and hiss the villain, cheer
the hero and sigh at the heroine. Gaslight theatres were very popular
in England around the early 1900s.
Anyway Todd Slaughter bought all that splendid villainry back in the
late 1930s.In "Murder in the Red Barn" (1935) the players are first
introduced as if they were on stage. In that film Slaughter played the
evil Squire Corder (hiss hiss) who is determined to have his way with
the farmer's daughter !!!!
There is never any doubt that Slaughter is playing the villain - he usually
leers into the camera - just as if he was on the stage. "The Face at the
Window" (1939) is the best one I have seen so far - and I haven't seen
many!!! He plays a highly respected businessman, who of course by
night is the Wolf , a daring robber. As is usual in his films, he always
manages to convince people that the real villain is the hero. In this film
as well there is a mad half brother, who is kept in a cage!!! Tod
Slaughter keeps it thoroughly entertaining. In "Murder in the Red Barn"
I was suprised to see Eric Portman play Carlos the gypsy, in I think his
first film. He was a very distinguished actor in the 40s - often playing
villains himself - and he owes his start to Tod Slaughter!!!
actor that specialised in villains of the most dastardly kind!!!
In the early 1970s, where I lived in Sydney, there were a couple of
theatres where you could go and see plays like "The Villain Still
Pursued Her", "Sweeny Todd" and "The Spring Heeled Terror of
Putney Green". You were encourage to boo and hiss the villain, cheer
the hero and sigh at the heroine. Gaslight theatres were very popular
in England around the early 1900s.
Anyway Todd Slaughter bought all that splendid villainry back in the
late 1930s.In "Murder in the Red Barn" (1935) the players are first
introduced as if they were on stage. In that film Slaughter played the
evil Squire Corder (hiss hiss) who is determined to have his way with
the farmer's daughter !!!!
There is never any doubt that Slaughter is playing the villain - he usually
leers into the camera - just as if he was on the stage. "The Face at the
Window" (1939) is the best one I have seen so far - and I haven't seen
many!!! He plays a highly respected businessman, who of course by
night is the Wolf , a daring robber. As is usual in his films, he always
manages to convince people that the real villain is the hero. In this film
as well there is a mad half brother, who is kept in a cage!!! Tod
Slaughter keeps it thoroughly entertaining. In "Murder in the Red Barn"
I was suprised to see Eric Portman play Carlos the gypsy, in I think his
first film. He was a very distinguished actor in the 40s - often playing
villains himself - and he owes his start to Tod Slaughter!!!
Thanks for introducing us to him, Diane. If his name ever turns up on a cast list, I will be sure to check him out. 
