Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror

I have never seen a Sexton Blake movie before, but I was struck by the many ways that he seemed to be a ripoff of Sherlock Holmes. Apparently, the stories began appearing in magazines in the 1890s--and were deliberate copies of the Conan Doyle stories. Like Sherlock Holmes, Sexton is an amateur detective that lives on Baker Street, has a landlady and assistant who is a bit of a loser. And, in many ways in this film, he just seemed like Holmes with a different name.

So is the film worth seeing? Yes--but I must warn you that it's all a bit silly--like a B-mystery or movie serial. Yes, this detective does not seek out your garden variety baddie but a guy in a hood and an international gang of criminals...a bit like Moriarty, actually. So why did I give it a respectable 6? Well, it was fun and the ending was VERY, VERY unconventional and very unexpected--and I liked that. Worth seeing if you love Bs.

George King directed a series of Victorian melodramas starring Tod Slaughter in a variety of dastardly roles. This film, also from King, is a little bit different from the others. In it Slaughter again is a gleeful villain but this time he shares billing with the hero of the piece, namely Sexton Blake who is clearly a different version of Sherlock Holmes. The Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone were very popular at the time so perhaps this is not so surprising but the similarities are massive, even extending to both detectives living on the same street! But in any case, this is the lower rent version for sure.

Slaughter is always an entertaining presence and here is no exception. However, because he is not the sole star of the show he doesn't get as much screen time as usual. This means that the film's trump card isn't utilised as well as it could be. Much of the running time is dedicated to the detective story, rather than Slaughter hamming it up big time and that's a shame. For this reason Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror cannot be described as vintage Slaughter. Still, like all the other King/Slaughter films it does have some entertainment value. Unlike those films, this one has a very enigmatic ending, clearly designed as such to allow for future adventures starring the villainous Hooded Terror. Well, these films never materialised so the ending here remains simply a little unusual.

In SEXTON BLAKE AND THE HOODED SHADOW, the titular, London-based Private Detective (George Curzon) is brought in on the case of an underworld crime syndicate and its mysterious leader, The Snake. Meanwhile, multi-millionaire, Michael Larron (Tod Slaughter) is seemingly up to no good. Could he be involved in the case?

If you detect some similarities, and even some direct lifts from a certain Mr. Holmes, don't be surprised. Mr. Curzon plays Blake in a very Sherlock-like manner. Tony Sympson is his goofy assistant, Tinker. You guessed it, they even live on Baker Street! And don't forget the housekeeper!

Mr. Slaughter plays the diabolical Moriarty-type of the piece.

An altogether harmless, entertaining yarn...

Sexton Blake (George Curzon) and his sidekick Tinker (Tony Sympson) try to unmask the head of a crime syndicate in "The Hooded Terror," a 1938 B British film. Sexton lives on Baker Street, I guess up the road a bit from Sherlock, whom he takes after with his scientific experiments, his assistant, his landlady, and his amateur status.

Somehwat slow-moving, this film is a combination of suspense with a touch of horror. Tod Slaughter plays the villainous Michael Larron, and Greta Gynt is Mademoiselle Julie.

If you're a Slaughter fan, you will enjoy this perhaps better than I did. Curzon and Sympson are pleasant, but they just don't have the panache and bite of Sherlock and Watson.

Tod Slaughter makes this film great fun to watch. If you ever want to see a Slaughter film out of curiousity of whom this forgotten horror actor is, well...this is one to see. SEXTON BLAKE AND THE HODDED TERROR is made on a low budget, but pulls off with both class and suspense. The actors takes their assignment serious and a variety of scenes makes it fast paced and exciting. The leading lady is Greta Gynt who also played against Bela Lugosi in DARK EYES OF LONDON. This time she is menaced by Slaughter and entrapped in his house of horrors where there is plenty to enjoy for horror fans. Perhaps the film uses too much time to establish the story, but once it gets going there are plenty to enjoy. Some people compare simularities between Bela Lugosi and Tod Slaughter. If there are any, it must be in their enthusiasm and "over the top" performance in low budget horror films. But in many ways that saves the show. Have fun with this "gem" from British cinema and lets hope it will be available restored on dvd asap.