The Crimes of Stephen Hawke
5.8 /10 1 Votes5.8
Duration Country United Kingdom | 5.6/10 IMDb Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date May 1936 Cast (Stephen Hawke), (Julia Hawke), D.J. Williams (Joshua Trimble), (Matthew Trimble), Graham Soutten (Nathaniel), (Miles Archer)Similar movies I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance is Mine , The Case of the Scorpion's Tail , Bloody Moon , W Delta Z , Mad Max: Fury Road , Untraceable |
The crimes of stephen hawke 1936 spine breaker strikes again
The Crimes of Stephen Hawke is a 1936 British historical melodrama film directed by George King and starring Tod Slaughter as the nefarious Stephen Hawke - who masquerades as the 'Spine-Breaker'. It also features Marjorie Taylor, D. J. Williams and Eric Portman. It was made at Shepperton Studios, with sets designed by Philip Bawcombe.
Contents

This is the third of Tod Slaughter's film outings, billed as a 'new-old melodrama'. In the introduction Slaughter appears in person, in a BBC studio, where he describes with relish his murderous activities in his two previous films: Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn (1935) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936).
In the film Slaughter plays a seemingly kindly money-lender who dotes on his daughter Julia. He has however a double life as the notorious 'Spine-Breaker', Victorian England's most maniacal serial killer. His nefarious activities are eventually detected by his daughter's suitor Matthew Trimble, the son of one of his victims, who after pursuing and failing to catch him somewhat charitably opines to his daughter:
'Julia, Julia, my darling, listen to me. I know that he's the notorious 'Spine-Breaker' and he ought to be dead a hundred times but I also know that his death cannot bring my father back to life. But alive or dead it cannot alter my love for you.'In the end Slaughter comes out of hiding to kill another unwelcome suitor of his daughter, before falling to his death from the roof of his house in a dramatic final exit.
Cast
References
The Crimes of Stephen Hawke WikipediaThe Crimes of Stephen Hawke IMDb The Crimes of Stephen Hawke themoviedb.org