On 20 November (UK), and 21 November (USA/Canada), Indicator is proud to showcase the terrifying talents of Newcastle’s Norman Carter Slaughter (aka Tod Slaughter) – the first true icon of British horror cinema – in a long-overdue box set. Available to pre-order from powerhousefilms.co.uk
Featuring the eight films which “The Horror Man of Europe” made in collaboration with British producer-director George King (Tomorrow We Live), The Criminal Acts of Tod Salughter: Eight Blood-and-Thunder Entertainments, 1935–1940 is a comprehensive collection which also includes a number of rare shorts and newsreel items.
Unlike his contemporaries, such as Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton, Tod Slaughter never left his native shores. Instead, he chose to make his mark in Britain by transferring his most sensational theatrical performances to the screen. Portraying every kind of cruel and cunning criminal – from petty thief to mass murderer – he became the first great villain of British horror, at a time before the Grand Guignol of Hammer Films began to take hold, without once donning monster make-up.
Criminally overlooked by film historians, and only previously seen in compromised versions, these fascinating films have been newly restored using original film materials preserved at the BFI National Archive, and are accompanied by an array of essential contextualising extras, including archival short films and radio plays presented with optional soundtracks by British music legends Current 93, newly recorded commentaries, critical appreciations and personal recollections, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 individually numbered units for the UK and USA.
In addition, Indicator are delighted to be able to offer paperback copies of Mr Murder: The Life and Times of Tod Slaughter, the definitive, lavishly illustrated biography by Denis Meikle, Kip Xool, and Doug Young.
