Unless you have a taste for old school, heavy-handed, unashamedly red blooded Victorian melodrama, then I would steer clear of this or any other Tod Slaughter movie that you might run across. However if you enjoy English history and would like to see what the Victorians considered a good time, then you owe it to yourself to check out this double feature starring the inestimable Mister Slaughter (1885-1956). Already well known for touring throughout the country in the 1910s and 20s (with time off to fight in World War I), Slaughter teamed up with “Quota Quickie” producer George King to make film versions of Slaughter’s best known and most successful melodramas (FYI a “quota quickie” referred to an English film made for very little money to help offset the rising imports of Hollywood movies). His signature role was as SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (where do you think the idea for the musical came from?) which is also available but this double feature contains his other signature role, Squire Corder in MURDER IN THE RED BARN as well as his most frightening film THE FACE AT THE WINDOW and in the best quality prints available so far. This Arcanum Entertainment (Johnny Legend) release is the way to go to get a proper introduction to Tod who was to British horror what Karloff & Lugosi were to American horror. The informative liner notes by horror film specialist Ken Hanke are also a big plus. There are quality prints out there but they British and therefore Region 2.
MARIA MARTEN OR MURDER IN THE RED BARN was Slaughter’s first film and was made in 1935 when he was already 50 years old and had been barnstorming up and down the U.K. for years. It is based on a stage melodrama which is based on a ballad that was based on actual events that took place in 1827. It would have been well known to British audiences of the time, second only to SWEENEY TODD which Slaughter & King would film after the success of this movie. Slaughter plays William Corder, a local squire who promises country girl Maria Marten that he will marry her only to murder her in the title structure so that he can marry a wealthy spinster. Maria’s mother has a dream for several nights running that her daughter was murdered and buried in the barn. When Corder is finally forced to dig in the barn, he cracks up and then breaks down and is taken away to be executed. In classic 19th century style, Slaughter rubs his hands, leers lasciviously, and invites the audience to boo and hiss him which, apparently, they did wholeheartedly. The movie opens in a provincial theater where we are formally introduced to the characters who are about to perform the play and then the movie proper begins. A nice touch. As someone who spent 20 years doing regional theater and who once worked on that most classic of melodramas. THE DRUNKARD OR THE FALLEN SAVED, I had no trouble relating to the very theatrical goings on.
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW is a rather different affair made 4 years later in 1939. While Slaughter is up to his old tricks, relishing his misdeeds and lusting after the heroine, he is also a serial murderer known as “The Wolf” who is terrorizing all of 19th century Paris. Just before each murder occurs, a hideous face appears outside the window of each victim. This visage is truly disturbing and steers the film toward outright horror. That and a sequence of reanimating a corpse to reveal the true identity of the murderer makes THE FACE AT THE WINDOW the best of Slaughter’s “quota quickies”. Only THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART made after World War II and based on the exploits of real life grave robbers Burke & Hare can lay claim to being Slaughter’s best film. While I am a huge Tod Slaughter fan, it’s hard to recommend him to a modern day audience. If they laugh at the original DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, they should find Tod hysterical. Instead they would probably find him very boring. Old school melodrama was never meant to be taken seriously and today’s horror fans want their horror straight and as boringly realistic as possible. So if you enjoy all things British, don’t mind some obvious theatricality, and are a fan of old school 1930s horror films, this double bill will be a treat. If you’re not, then it’s your loss.
The Capsule Critic 