Probably the pinnacle of Tod Slaughter's film career before he returned to the boards for the duration of the war is this succulent Victorian melodrama which begins in Australia with Slaughter first seen cackling with glee having driven a tent peg into the head of the real Sir Percival Glyde as he slept; and back in Blighty the fun never stops as the fake Sir Percival wallows deeper and deeper in sin.
The sets by Bernard Robinson amply demonstrate the ability to suggest expense on a shoestring that he later brought to fruition on his work in colour for Hammer; while it's also good to see Hay Petrie in one of his most substantial screen roles as 'Doctor' Fosco (although one would like to have seen what Slaughter would have made of Count Fosco in a more straightforward adaptation of the original novel).
The sets by Bernard Robinson amply demonstrate the ability to suggest expense on a shoestring that he later brought to fruition on his work in colour for Hammer; while it's also good to see Hay Petrie in one of his most substantial screen roles as 'Doctor' Fosco (although one would like to have seen what Slaughter would have made of Count Fosco in a more straightforward adaptation of the original novel).