The Crimes of Stephen Hawke

Infobox Film
name = The Crimes of Stephen Hawke


caption =
director = George King
producer = George King
writer = Jack Celestin
Frederick Hayward
H. F. Maltby
Tod Slaughter
Paul White
narrator =
starring = Tod Slaughter
Marjorie Taylor
D. J. Williams
Eric Portman
Graham Soutten
music = Colin Wark
cinematography = Ronald Neame
editing = John Seabourne Sr.
distributor =
released = May 1936
runtime = 69 Mins
country = UK
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0027481

"The Crimes of Stephen Hawke" (1936) is a British period film melodrama directed by George King and starring Tod Slaughter as the nefarious Stephen Hawke - who masquerades as the 'Spine-Breaker'. It also features Marjorie Taylor, D.J. Williams and Eric Portman.

This is the third of Tod Slaughter's film outings, billed as a 'new-old melodrama'. In the introduction Slaughter appears in person, in a BBC studio, where he describes with relish his murderous activities in his two previous films: "Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn" (1935) and "" (1936).

In the film Slaughter plays a seemingly kindly money-lender who dotes on his daughter Julia. He has however a double life as the notorious 'Spine-Breaker', Victorian England's most maniacal serial killer. His nefarious activities are eventually detected by his daughter's suitor Matthew Trimble, the son of one of his victims, who after pursuing and failing to catch him somewhat charitably opines to his daughter:

:'Julia, Julia, my darling, listen to me. I know that he's the notorious 'Spine-Breaker' and he ought to be dead a hundred times but I also know that his death cannot bring my father back to life. But alive or dead it cannot alter my love for you.'

In the end Slaughter comes out of hiding to kill another unwelcome suitor of his daughter, before falling to his death from the roof of his house in a dramatic final exit.

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