“The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is a 1936 British crime-horror film directed by George King. The film is based on the story of Sweeney Todd, a fictional character who murders his customers and then sends their bodies to be turned into meat pies by his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett.
The film follows Todd, a barber who has returned to London after being wrongly imprisoned in Australia for 15 years. Todd sets up his barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop and begins luring his customers into a trap, killing them with a razor and then disposing of their bodies. Mrs. Lovett then uses the corpses to make her meat pies, which quickly become popular in the neighborhood.
Todd’s crimes are eventually discovered by a young sailor named Mark Ingerstreet, who has fallen in love with Todd’s daughter, Johanna. Mark sets out to expose Todd and put an end to his reign of terror, but Todd has other plans for Mark and Johanna.
“The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is a dark and suspenseful film, featuring strong performances by Tod Slaughter as Sweeney Todd and Stella Rho as Mrs. Lovett. The film’s blend of horror and crime elements has made it a cult classic and a notable adaptation of the Sweeney Todd legend.
Directors:
George King
Writer:
Frederick Hayward, H.F. Maltby, George Dibdin-Pitt
Stars:
Tod Slaughter, Stella Rho, John Singer
