This is the tale of "The Tiger" (Tod Slaughter), a notorious British criminal who is actually a seemingly kind nobleman aiding convicted felons in finding jobs and framing them for crimes he committed. It's up to one of them to expose him as the nasty, foul villain he is, and that's where the fun comes in watching this sometimes slow, but memorable entry in the small number of films that Slaughter made in the 1930's and 40's. Like other ones, it is complete formula. The audience sees Slaughter from the start committing these nefarious acts, and then he's seen being a society do-gooder, trying to charm the young heroine away from the handsome hero (one of the "ticket of leave men") who gets the evidence to expose Slaughter. This leads to the inevitable revelation and the clever way in which villainous Slaughter meets his fate. He gets a great line, too, at that point, ironic considering what happens afterwards.
Of course, there's the large number of sinister laughs Slaughter gets to bust out with, especially when dealing with one of his own group whom he leaves behind to face a horrific fate. That's the key scene of his villainy here, and Slaughter is having a blast. He's the type of actor who seems to be twirling his mustache even if he doesn't have one, and as badly made as his films are, they are a lot of fun. This isn't quite as sinister as some of his other films (outside the one scene where he plots a horrific murder with the unknowing victim), having been quite more evil in "Sweeney Todd" and "Crimes at Dark House", a low budget version of "The Woman in White". Some of Slaughter's films are only available in their public domain badly deteriorated prints, but this one seems to have been restored, so it looks pristine, and almost lavish. Hopefully the others will follow suit.
Of course, there's the large number of sinister laughs Slaughter gets to bust out with, especially when dealing with one of his own group whom he leaves behind to face a horrific fate. That's the key scene of his villainy here, and Slaughter is having a blast. He's the type of actor who seems to be twirling his mustache even if he doesn't have one, and as badly made as his films are, they are a lot of fun. This isn't quite as sinister as some of his other films (outside the one scene where he plots a horrific murder with the unknowing victim), having been quite more evil in "Sweeney Todd" and "Crimes at Dark House", a low budget version of "The Woman in White". Some of Slaughter's films are only available in their public domain badly deteriorated prints, but this one seems to have been restored, so it looks pristine, and almost lavish. Hopefully the others will follow suit.