Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.