MARIO GAUCI This is only the second Tod Slaughter vehicle I watched after the superior THE FACE AT THE WINDOW (1939), which I had come across during my tenure in Hollywood; I became even more interested in acquiring it after checking out Tim Burton's excellent 2007 filmization of the Stephen Sondheim musical rendition of the popular "barnstormer".While the plot (which, for what it's worth, is given a contemporary framework in this case) is obviously similar, here, the titular figure is unsurprisingly depicted as an out-and-out villain – which the star (Britain's answer to Bela Lugosi rather than Slaughter's own more versatile countryman Boris Karloff) approaches with trademark hamminess, rubbing his hands together and laughing maniacally when about to indulge in his nefarious deeds. Typically, too, he covets a young girl (daughter of a merchant) in love with a poor boy (a sailor on one of his ships) and isn't above blackmailing her father in order to guarantee the mismatched union! Incidentally, when the film opens, barber Todd (and the female owner of a neighboring pie-shop) is already well into the habit of disposing of his customers – his motive being simply greed rather than revenge as in the later film version. By the way, the fact that the victims end up as ingredients in the woman's 'recipe' (via a rotating chair in his shop which sends them tumbling down her cellar!) is merely intimated here – but it's perfectly understandable for a product from 1936. The climax, then, is a bit contrived as both hero and heroine don disguises in order to expose Todd – however, it all leads to a nicely ironic twist when, amidst the flames which have engulfed his establishment, the demon barber gets to make use himself of the very contraption he had devised! In the end, this is watchable – if essentially crude and stodgy – fare which, however, isn't helped by the annoying practice of excessively cleaning up the soundtrack i.e. virtually all noise apart from the dialogue is bafflingly eliminated…except that the former, undercut as it is by relentless hiss and crackle, comes across as muffled most of the time and, thus, rendering the ensuing digital manipulation all the more blatant!

Michael_Elliott The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A man sits down in a chair for a clean shave and notices a painting hanging up. He asks who it is and the barber tells him the sadistic story of Sweeney Todd (Tod Slaughter). Todd became a legend as a barber who slit the throats of his clients, threw their bodies into a basement and used them for meat pies.The British were extremely strict on what could or couldn't be seen in horror films so one should keep that in mind as they watch THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. If you're expecting anything bad then you're going to be disappointed and this horror film is rather tame even when compared to what was going on in American horror films of the era.With that said, there's something strange about this film that makes it mildly entertaining. Slaughter has been called Britain's Bela Lugosi, which I've always found as an insult to Lugosi since Slaughter just wasn't in the same league. At the same time, his over-the-top and in-your-face style is something that you don't see too often so that strange performance helps draw you to the character. There's no question that Slaughter could bring a certain madness to the role and that was entertaining.The film is a bit too talky and I'd also argue that it's way too dull in spots. With that said, the scenes in the basement have a nice atmosphere to them and this is where the horror elements work the best. The majority of the running time is more melodrama than anything else but these scenes in the basement are effective for what they are.

rixrex A nice gem from England done in a very Dickensian style, with Tod Slaughter performing in such a way as to rest all doubts about his great ability to make a cardboard villain into a full-blooded character that we both despise and delight in at the same moment. There can be no false assumption that this is not the work of a group of talented stage performers, which is how the infamous Mr Slaughter made his living in travels about the country, performing in plays of the macabre. He would seem to be a person who'd scare you upon first introduction without really trying. Unfortunate that he never performed in a Hitchcock film, for that would have been a grand collaboration.

Schweinkatz Was fortunate to get a copy of Sweeney Todd in a set of classic horror movies on DVD. Loved it! I think the meat pie contents were plainly implied. Old time movies left so much more to imagination. That way you could take the kids to the movies if you couldn't afford a baby sitter and the adult stuff just went over their heads. These types of movies are probably not to everyone's taste but for us fans, this one is tops. It just goes to show what can be done with small budgets and no technical effects. And just as an aside, has anyone noticed the resemblance Michael Palin (Monty Python Show) has to Tod Slaughter? I'm wondering if they are related to each other.