Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror

When Granite Grant arrives at detective Blake Sexton's door on Baker Street, he has every intention of delivering news of the Black Quorum (the most powerful criminal organization of the century) and it's leader, the Hooded Terror. But he is garroted before Sexton's housekeeper, Mrs. Bardell, has time to answer the door. A clue on the body reveals the identity of the Hooded Terror to Sexton, who begins to pursue the Black Quorum, with the help of his faithful assistant Tinker and Mademoiselle Galley, a French secret service agent.

Yes, Sexton Blake outwardly bears some similarity to Sherlock Holmes such as being a genius detective, having a maid and living in Baker Street as well as having a sidekick, but character wise I didn't find Blake to be too similar with Sherlock as Sherlock tends to be more complex and up himself.

This is quite a fun B mystery thriller with a deliciously creepy performance by Tod Slaughter as the leader of the hooded terror, an odd and atmospheric sequence featuring dummies at the casino table, plenty of danger for our hero and a fast moving plot. Ok it's not as sharp as Basil Rathbone's Sherlock series and it can be a bit talky, but it's a decently entertaining film.

I've recently been on a Tod Slaughter binge and this was one of the films I saw along the way.

Fans of his may be surprised to know that he plays it totally straight here. He is The Snake, a supervillain along the lines of Moriarty, who runs some kind of group of gangsters who somehow control most of the crime in the world.

So, as you can probably guess, we're in solid pulp territory here. Our hero is the supremely bland Sexton Blake, whose interesting traits include whatever they nicked from Basil Rathbone's Holmes, but played with none of the charm.

And he ruins the film.

Blake is Holmes. He even lives on Baker Street. But even though the film desperately tries to portray him as this super intelligent hero, he's actually just a bit dim.

An early example of this is when he fails to recognise what co-ordinants are in a clue he comes across (despite being able to tell where a man is from just by looking).

Our hero then goes on to blow a French operative's cover while being a condescending jerk towards her.

"This is no place for a woman!" He says, even though she's already infiltrated the big baddie's organisation and he's JUST catching onto the fact that they exist.

His meddling gets him captured about halfway through the film in the most ridiculous way. The idiot runs towards the baddie (instead of shooting him) and falls down a hole into a net. He then has to be saved by the very woman who he said he had "rescued one too many times before".

It plays almost like a satire of the men's adventure story and hero. Blake bumbles along, not getting anywhere or generating any real evidence, and all along the female French operative played by the excellent Greta Gynt is just getting things done.

If Blake had kept his bleeding nose out of the whole affair, Greta would have captured the main villain without any trouble, since her plan was working until the idiot sexist that is Sexton Blake blew her darn cover.

And I know for a fact the movie isn't a satire, cause Blake somehow manages to bumble his way into saving Greta and his assistant, who were captured BECAUSE OF HIM.

This could have worked a lot better if we'd been followed Greta's character, and Blake had been the bumbling moron somehow just keeping pace with her. It could have been a fine satire of the sexism of the time.

Instead, we're forced to believe that Sexton Blake is some kind of hero and lady's man, even though he's useless at heroics and even worse at flirting.

Sod this film.

And sod Sexton Blake, the useless twit.

I'm sure that David Farrar could not conceive of later playing Sexton Blake in another film when as Granite Grant in Sexton Blake And The Hooded Terror he handed off a case to George Curzon as Sexton Blake in this story. I rather accepted Farrar better as a tough guy than I did Curzon.

Sexton Blake was a pulp fiction British detective who under various authors went for almost a century in adventures that entertained the British juvenile public. He's upper class like Sherlock Holmes, but more of a tough guy. In fact this thing is such a ripoff of Holmes stories it's ridiculous. He's got himself a housekeeper, a general factotum in Tony Gwynn, and he resides on Baker Street.

He's also got an arch nemesis called the Snake played here by Tod Slaughter who leads an army of criminals. Why Arthur Conan-Doyle didn't sue is beyond me. In any event the story takes place in London, Paris, and Cairo as Blake foils another dastardly plot.

Unlike Holmes, Blake gets a bit amorous in also helping French insurance detective Greta Gynt. Gwynn's character is not anything like Dr. Watson, he's more like Edward Brophy is to the Falcon.

One of those British quota quickies. Holmes fans might resent someone else moving on to Baker Street.

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.

Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Sexton Blake (George Curzon) is looking for some stolen stamps worth a fortune and soon he runs into the Hooded Terror, a group of men who wear black costumes with a snake on the front. It seems that millionaire Michael Larron (Tod Slaughter) might be the mastermind of the group.

You know, Tod Slaughter takes quite a beating from some people because his "horror" films are more melodrama than horror. It's important to remember that Britain pretty much put a ban on horror movies so that explains why their "horror" movies from this period contain more drama, mystery and romance than actual horror elements. With that said, SEXTONBLAKE AND THE HOODED TERROR is a pretty bland mystery and those wanting horror will have to wait until the very end of the picture.

The biggest problem is that there's simply way too much boring talking for the first hour of the picture and there's not enough happening to keep you entertained. Once the film finally picks up its pace at the end you finally get some entertainment and especially with the underground tomb where all sorts of creepy things lurk including some large snakes. I will say that Curzon was good in the lead role and even Slaughter manages to not overact in his typical fashion. Still, the movie is pretty forgettable and is only for die-hard fans of Slaughter.