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Crimes at the Dark House
Crimes at the Dark House
Actors: Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Eaves, Geoffrey Wardwell, Hay Petrie
Director: George King
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
NR     2004     1hr 9min

Platform:  DVD MOVIE Publisher:  ALPHA VIDEO Packaging:  DVD STYLE BOX Percival Glyde is murdered in his sleep with a wooden spike that is hammered into his skull. His killer (Tod Slaughter) steals his identity and moves i...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Eaves, Geoffrey Wardwell, Hay Petrie
Director: George King
Creators: Hone Glendinning, George King, Odette King, Edward Dryhurst, Frederick Hayward, H.F. Maltby, Wilkie Collins
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Alpha Video
Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 11/23/2004
Original Release Date: 01/01/1943
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/1943
Release Year: 2004
Run Time: 1hr 9min
Screens: Black and White
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 2
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

Little Known Horror Thrill is really Good.
Tim Janson | Michigan | 11/23/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all it's written by one of the great horror writers Wilkie Collins and based on his story "Woman in White". If you've never seen a Slaughter film, Lugosi had nothing on him when it came to ham, over-the-top acting and scenery chewing. He is a madman who kills percival Glyde and then impersonates his victim to take over the estate he had just inherited. he then goes on to terrorize all those around him in a seething role of madness and says things like "I`ll feed you`re entrails to the pigs!"

This is a very atmospheric movie and the overall mood is quite chilling and a bit stifling. Slaughter is really fantastic in his portrayal of the madman. It's a fine, if rather unknown British supporting cast that lends itself to making this movie so good."
Tod Slaughter is the perfect villain
Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 01/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though largely forgotten over the course of time, Tod Slaughter was one of cinema's greatest "bad guy" actors, playing the role of the villain to the very hilt. Crimes at the Dark House is a showcase of his talents-the "up to no good" expression, the gleefully evil hand-rubbing, the overt stroking of the mustache, and, best of all, the laugh. Only Vincent Price rivals Slaughter in the deviously evil cackle department. Slaughter enjoyed being the villain, cackling his way from one dastardly deed to another. Maybe he hams it up a little bit, but that was the style of the times. Nobody did it better, and I hope that Slaughter's work will continue to reemerge and be appreciated by today's audiences. Crimes at the Dark House opens with a murder. In the gold territories of Australia, Tod Slaughter's character sneaks into a tent and kills its occupant by driving a tent peg through his head. Going through the man's papers, he discovers that the dead man is Sir Henry Glyde and has just been called home upon the death of his wealthy father. Slaughter's character (we never learn his real name) goes to London and passes himself off as Glyde. To his dismay, he finds out that he has "inherited" a debt rather than a fortune, but his "father" has chosen a wealthy bride for his "son." (His marriage to the unwilling lass doesn't stop him from giving the chambermaid new "duties," of course.) Things are complicated by the fact that the real Sir Glyde married and fathered a child before leaving for Australia two decades earlier, and the fruit of that union has escaped an institution with twenty years of hatred for Glyde built up inside her. Naturally, Glyde's plans begin to unravel, and a string of murders only makes things worse. Even the reliable old "switcheroo" ruse blows up in his face. I liked the plot of this movie, despite its dependence in part on two individuals looking very much like each other. The story, based on Wilkie Collins' 1860 novel The Woman in White, was good enough to be adapted a second time in 1948 as The Woman in White. Even if the story didn't work at all, though, Tod Slaughter's performance would make this film fun to watch; he is the prototypical villain, and it is a pleasure to watch him work."
Tod Slaughter On A Rampage!...
Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein | under the rubble | 07/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've never seen Tod Slaughter in action, I highly recommend this movie (along w/ the glorious SWEENEY TODD of course!). Slaughter truly lives up to his name, as he drives a stake through a sleeping victim's cranium in the opening scene! He quickly assumes the dead man's identity after learning that he's just inherited an estate! Once he arrives at his new home, our "hero" sets out to live the life of ease and debauchery w/ one of the cute chambermaids. Alas, his life gets complicated, forcing him to kill nearly everyone in sight! Watch as he gleefully strangles, then dumps the bodies of those who dare get in his way! Listen, as he chuckles, chortles, and cackles his way through his horrible crimes! Yes, Tod Slaughter is fun to watch. Buy immediately..."
Tod Slaughter and Delicious Taste of Evil ... and look at th
Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 01/09/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"`I will feed your entrails to the pigs!' This is one of the memorable lines you can hear in this lurid Victorian melodrama starring Tod Slaughter, whose character as ruthless killer drives a wooded spike into the skull of an unsuspecting gold digger in the Australian field. He impersonates his victim after knowing that the murdered man has inherited a large estate in England. He arrives there as fasle Sir Percival Glyde and look! he now keeps looking at one of the maids with his leering eyes!

All these things above occur in the opening 10 minutes of the film. The story takes unexpected turn at every 10 minutes, and the body counts keep rising. The acting is all hammy, often hilariously so, and the costumes the female characters are wearing sometimes look too modern. Still we enjoy watching this Victorian melodrama.

The film's centerpiece is star Tod Slaughter, who easily grabs our attention with his over-the-top acting as villainous "Glyde." The way touches his beards, or kills his victims so gleefully reminds that he belongs to the era when Bella Lugosi could be a big star in film. And sadly like Lugosi, stars like him were soon to be forgotten after the 40s and 50s.

The film is loosely based on Wilkie Collins famous classic novel `The Woman in White' (1860), but the story (or the point of view) is largely changed so as to give the central place to Tod Slaughter's villain in the film's world. In the book there is a formidable villain named Count Fosco, who is more sinister presence than Glyde, but in the film their relations are reversed. No one can manipulate Tod Slaughter, not even Doctor Fosco (his occupation is changed). Their partnership in crime leads to the fantastic sequences at the end of the film, which comes with one great quip no one but Tod Slaughter can utter with so much wicked humor.

Watch this Victorian melodrama and enjoy the delightfully evil character played by Tod Slaughter. They don't make films like this any more these days."