Here's a funny thing, now here is a funny thing (wish I could remember whose catchline that used to be)....
I've been watching a few of Our Tod's barnstormers lately and by a strange coincidence today I listened to an episode of the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce 'New Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes' radio series which they made concurrently with the Universal films. In this story they're at the theatre watching a performance of 'that classic English melodrama' Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (or 'Demon Barmer' as Bruce's fluffed line has it). The fellow portraying the actor playing Todd gives an uncanny imitation of Slaughter delivering lines like 'where are you going, Tobias?', 'come here, my little man' with the exact same accent and intonations as Slaughter in the film version and similar cackling like a loon. Watson comments that the fellow is a bit OTT and Holmes replies ' playing such a role with restraint would be unthinkable'. His impersonation seems even better when compared to Rathbone's later perfomance as Holmes playing the actor playing Todd (far fetched plots were a staple of these wireless adventures) and he's just lousy at it.
I'm rather fond of those, especially the mental image of Holmes and Watson settling down at the end of each case for a nice glass of the sponsor's Petri Wine (made by Nayland Smith's erstwhile sidekick? 😉) That sounds very intriguing - I'll have to track that one down. Given that old Todd's films were largely quota quickies, and probably never made it onto the other side of the Atlantic, it seems remarkable that they'd include such a spot-on impersonation, as well as a knowing line about his acting abilities!