It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Prior to Snidely Whiplash and Dick Dasterdly, there was Tod Slaughter, the mustache twirling, snickering Englishman who slit throats, shot young ladies whose virginity he stole and buried them in a barn, strangled innocent children, hammered spikes into brains, and here, is a back breaker. At least those cartoon villains didn't get to do that; They were too concerned with tying the heroine to the tracks or stealing state secrets (or a bag of loot) and too insipid to really get away with their crimes. With Tod Slaughter, we know from the moment he appears on the screen that he is the guilty party, and here, he's nasty from the start, breaking the back of a chunky rich kid who demands that he get out of their garden. More enemies follow suit, and in one of the creepiest scenes in a Slaughter film, he's confronted by the alleged ghost of one of his victims, sitting up in the morgue, and scarring the crap out of him. But once his crimes are exposed, he's sent out on the lam, to run through the countryside with the threat of being hunted, only because the person who exposed him is in love with Slaughter's daughter, and doesn't want to see her hurt.In a Slaughter film, the supporting cast never really matters. These barn stormers focused on Slaughter's nefarious laugh coming either before he kills somebody brutally, as he confronts them with their impending doom, and usually after the crime has been committed. Subtlety is never utilized in a Slaughter film, even if he does appear to genuinely be in love with the young heroine or devoted to a daughter, as he seems to be here. These films all have a formula: Introduce Slaughter as the culprit of a crime spree, have him commit a few of those crimes to give the viewer some chills, expose himself (usually by someone he's trying to frame) and the ultimate pay-off which always follows a mad scene. Slaughter gives his all to these types of roles, hysterically over the top. His films, usually directed by independent producer George King, look cheap, and the prints available aren't usually the best. The creakiness of those prints, though, is what makes him stand the test of time, and if his acting method is long dated, the films are fun to watch for their formula, the shear audacity of their ridiculousness, and cartoon like characterizations. When an actor makes Karloff and Lugosi look subtle, that's enough to warrant their place in the camp hall of fame, and if the films themselves are hardly classics, they are a heck of a lot of fun!

In Victorian England there lives a kindly moneylender called Stephen Hawke. But underneath his public mask he is an underhand cad. Aided by his hunchback henchmen, he is also the serial killer known as The Spine Breaker. He is so evil he even begins the movie by murdering a child!This film unusually opens at a BBC radio station, where we are introduced to lead actor Tod Slaughter. We also get a song and, of all things, a comedy butcher act. Slaughter pitches up and speaks briefly about the upcoming movie. I am guessing that this extra material was quite typical of its day where we had cinematic programmes that ran for hours encompassing all manner of things beyond the main feature, such as newsreels, cartoons, etc. Whatever the case, it's a strange way to open the movie now but does offer up a time capsule to an earlier era which is quite interesting.The film itself is one of several British Victorian melodramas directed by George King, starring Slaughter. I have a soft spot for these movies as their lurid plot-lines and period detail make them more interesting than most B-movies from the time. And, most of all, they have the charismatic Slaughter as the villain in the main role. He really is a fun actor to watch and no one chews up the scenery quite like him it has to be said. This one follows a similar template to all the rest of these films where he is a pillar of the community who secretly is a ghastly criminal. While this one is basically the same, I don't think it is among his best. The plot-line is a little too uncoordinated and doesn't make use of Slaughter as well as it could. Nevertheless, it's one that should still appeal to most of his fans and I still liked it.

Todd Slaughter is at it again folks,, this time playing a well -mannered banker by day, and being a father to his adopted daughter , but by night folks he becomes...... wait for it..... the Spinebreaker.. very gruesome killer. he kills the rich I guess because he figures that they don't need it. In the Daytime he plays a successful banker, and he also protects his adopted daughter from a potential suitor whom he doesn't really like that much,, I really liked this one because it moved quickly , there was very good dialogue between the characters, and there was some action and mystery,, very good film for the time period.. and Todd Slaughter continues to shine in this horror film.

This time around Tod Slaughter plays Mr. Stephen Hawke, a limping, kind-hearted bespectacled money lender by day with a beautiful, faithful daughter and the friendship of a local shipping agent and son, and by night he is the "spine-breaker," cruelest of all killers as he kills the rich for their money and treasure in a serial-like fashion. As with any Slaughter film, Slaughter is the main focal point of the film. The film is barely over an hour in length, but it has much to offer in plot. We have Slaughter kill a spoiled rich kid, trick a man into bringing an emerald to his home, kill his friend, and run from the vengeance of his son. Throw in some lecherous guy that wants to force Hawke's daughter into marriage and a hunchback for extra measure. The rest of the actors are adequate(or less than so) but they do not detract at all from the presence of Slaughter on film. His build, his speech, his whole demeanor brings life to each and every scene he is in. Is he a great actor? No, but he sure can grab your attention and keep a "grip" on it. As with many other Slaughter films, George King directs in workman-like style if nothing else. The beginning is set up like a radio play with some "entertainers" doing some kind of real bad vocal act prior to Slaughter coming on talking about his "new" old melodrama. Good old-fashioned fun!