It’s Never Too Late to Mend *** (1937, Tod Slaughter, Jack Livesey, Marjorie Taylor) – Classic Movie Review 10,873

Director David MacDonald’s 1937 black and white Victorian melodramas It’s Never Too Late to Mend stars Tod Slaughter, who extravagantly holds the attention as Squire John Meadows, the wicked Victorian lord of the manor (and magistrate) who plans to possess the farmer Merton (D J Williams)’s daughter Susan (Marjorie Taylor) by sending her fiancé to prison.

Tod Slaughter played Sweeney Todd 2,000 times on stage.

This effectively filmed chiller is a goodish example of Slaughter’s extraordinary barnstorming art, showcased with a decent plot and a well-handled sub-text about the corruption of Victorian society and the horrors of the prison system in Britain.

H F Maltby’s screenplay is taken from Charles Reade’s and Arthur Shirley’s play.

It is made by George King Productions at Sound City, Shepperton, Surrey, England.

Also in the cast are Lawrence Hanray, Ian Colin, D J Williams, Roy Russell, John Singer and Leonard Sharp.

Tod Slaughter played the title character in Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2,000 times on stage, and Sweeney Todd and Maria Marten were his biggest stage hits, happily both filmed: Sweeney Todd (1936) and Maria Marten (1935).

After a performance of Maria Marten in Derby on 19 February 1956, Slaughter died of coronary thrombosis at the age of 70.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,873

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