The extraordinarily popular novel THE WOMAN IN WHITE, written in the mid-to-late 19th century by Wilkie Collins, is the basis of this loose adaptation that serves as an opportunity for British horror actor Tod Slaughter to give another barnstorming performance as a moustache-twirling villain. Now, I've read TWIW and studied the novel at university, so I'm pretty familiar with the complex plot. CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE tears that plot to shreds. Sure, some of the names are the same, and events do loosely resemble those found in the Collins novel, but don't go in expecting the script to slavishly follow the original storyline. For example, the fire in the church is moved to the film's end, while another major sub-plot is a virtual retread of MURDER IN THE RED BARN! This is melodrama at its best and the most entertaining I've seen of Slaughter's films – in fact, it rivals SWEENEY TODD as his best work! Slaughter is at his hammy best and not a scene goes by when he isn't cackling with mad glee or giving his sinister trademark throaty chuckle. The film begins with him hammering a stake into a poor soul's head (eat your heart out Peter Cushing!) and throughout he commits acts of villainy time and time again. When it comes to the ladies Slaughter is a particular cad here. The script also provides him with great lines, the best of which is undoubtedly "I'll feed your entrails to the pigs!".The supporting cast is pretty decent, especially Hat Petrie playing Dr. Fosco. This slimy professional is such a creep that he almost rivals Slaughter and the ending provides him with a fitting send-off. You can tell that British films had become more Hollywood-ised by his period, as there are moments of comedy (intentional for a change) and even a reel of serial-style punch-ups. Camera-work and music are great and director George King handles the proceedings with aplomb. All in all a great B-movie, one of Slaughter's very best!

Callous thief and murderer kills the real Sir Percival Glyde whose gone bush down under for more than a decade, then returns to England impersonating his victim to inherit the vast estate. With a litany of perjury to maintain, things soon begin to unravel for the "false" Sir Percival, as his lechery and lies quickly catch-up leading to ever more desperate and depraved crimes.Tod Slaughter is suitably nasty as the greedy deviant whose unsophisticated ruse barely adheres through a mutually beneficial alliance with crooked Doctor (Petrie) who catches on to the deceit early in the piece, then becomes complicit through escalating blackmail. The sheer abhorrence of the imposter's crimes is breathtaking for a film made in 1940, and he surely ranks as one of the most unconscionable villains of that decade (his dismissive immorality is right up there with Richard Widmark's giggling killer from "Kiss of Death"). His vulgar disposal of one of the victims in particular really is quite shocking when you consider the motive.Memorable dialogue ("double cross me and I'll feed your entrails to the pigs") and plot twists (the apparently illegitimate daughter who's a basket case, and just so happens to be a dobbleganger for Sir Percival's reluctant wife), keep the momentum constant, and combined with Slaughter's wicked characterisation, it's worth hanging in just to anticipate his comeuppance.

Crimes at the Dark House (1940) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A psycho (Tod Slaughter) kills a man and takes over his identity thinking the man has riches. When it turns out the man actually owed money, Slaughter marries a woman to murder her for her money. Sometimes silly film has some nice moments, including some raunchy (for the time) death scenes including one pregnant woman being murdered, which is strange considering how strict the British censors were around this time. Slaughter's performance is way over the top and I can't help but wonder why he always gives that stupid laugh.

This movie is pretty darn delightful, right from the first scene where Mr. Tod Slaughter is seen hammering a spike into an unsuspectingly asleep man's head! He then impersonates the man, gaining admittance into the man's estate that had just been willed to him. You get to hear Tod say, "I'll feed your entrails to the pigs!"!! Don't pass up a chance to see it.