Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror
Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by George King and starring George Curzon, Tod Slaughter and Greta Gynt.[1] It was George Curzon's third and final outing as the fictional detective Sexton Blake.[2]
| Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George King |
| Screenplay by | A.R. Rawlinson (screenplay & dialogue) |
| Based on | The Mystery of No 13. Caversham Square by Pierre Quiroule |
| Produced by | George King |
| Starring | George Curzon Tod Slaughter |
| Cinematography | Hone Glendinning |
| Edited by | John Seabourne |
| Music by | Jack Beaver (as 'music director') Bretton Byrd (uncredited) |
Production company | George King Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot summary
The film - described as the best in the Blake series of 1930s movies[3][4] - features the character of Sexton Blake and his efforts to defeat a major crime organisation headed by Michael Larron, a 'sort of Moriarty figure'.[5]
Cast
- George Curzon as Sexton Blake
- Tod Slaughter as Michael Larron
- Greta Gynt as Madamoiselle Julie
- Tony Sympson as Tinker
- Charles Oliver as Max Fleming
- Marie Wright as Mrs. Bardell
- David Farrar as Granite Grant
- Norman Pierce as Inspector Bramley
- H.B. Hallam as Monsieur Bertrand
- Bradley Watts as Paul Duvall
Critical reception
Of the film's villain, Leonard Maltin concluded, "Slaughter plays it basically straight in this passable low-budget outing";[6] while Dennis Schwartz wrote, "Tod Slaughter is a trip as the perverse villain drooling over both stamps and Julie (Greta Gynt), and decked out when meeting gang members in a spiffy black robe with a snake embroidered on its front and a fashionable KKK-like hood. Like Vincent Price, Slaughter can make a not too original low-budget B film fun to watch."[7]
References
- "Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
- "Sexton Blake And The Hooded Terror". TVGuide.com.
- The BFI Companion to Crime, ed Phil Hardy, Cassell (1997), p. 53
- Famous Movie Detectives II, Michael R Pitts (1991), p.123
- The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929- 1939, edited by Jeffrey Richards, IB Tauris (1998), pp.92-93
- "Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- Schwartz, Dennis. "hoodedterror". homepages.sover.net.