Sweeney Tod is a fictional character who first appeared as one of the protagonists of a penny part serial entitled The String of Pearls (1846-7). In the most common versions of the story, he is an English barber who murders his customers with a cut-throat razor (or "straight razor" in American English), and turns their remains into meat pies. His establishment is situated in Fleet Street, London. The story became a staple of Victorian melodrama and a hit Broadway musical in 1979. Sweeney Todd has also featured in several films, the most recent being Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), directed by Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp in the lead role.