The Face at the Window (1939 film)
The Face at the Window is a 1939 British horror film directed by George King.[1] It was the second sound film adaptation of the 1897 stage melodrama by F. Brooke Warren after the 1932 version.[2][3][4][5]
| The Face at the Window | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | George King |
| Produced by | George King |
| Written by | A.R. Rawlinson (scenario and dialogue) Randall Faye (treatment) |
| Based on | the "Famous Melodrama", The Face at the Window by F. Brooke Warren |
| Starring | Tod Slaughter |
| Music by | Jack Beaver |
| Cinematography | Hone Glendinning |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
Production company | George King Productions |
| Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation (UK) Arthur Ziehm (U.S.) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes 65 minutes (USA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
In Paris in 1880, a series of murders involving a grotesque face appearing at victims' windows, is attributed to a mysterious Wolf Man. After being accused of being the perpetrator, bank clerk Lucien Cortier (John Warwick) seeks to uncover the true identity of the murderer. Chevalier Lucio del Gardo seems determined to successfully prosecute Cortier for the murders.
Cast
- Tod Slaughter as Chevalier Lucio del Gardo
- Marjorie Taylor as Cecile de Brisson
- John Warwick as Lucien Cortier
- Leonard Henry as Gaston, the Cook
- Aubrey Mallalieu as M. de Brisson
- Robert Adair as Police Inspector Gouffert
- Wallace Evennett as Professor LeBlanc
- Kay Lewis as Babette, the Maid
- Bill Shine as Pierre, Babette's Beau
- Margaret Yarde as La Pinan
- Harry Terry as The Face at the Window
Critical reception
In a contemporary review, Film Weekly called the film "a vintage thriller, put over in the right, rich spirit of years ago";[6] while more recently Britmovie praised "a sinister Tod Slaughter hamming it up marvellously." [7] and the Radio Times wrote, "As with any film featuring the outrageously operatic antics of early horror star Tod Slaughter, this slow, stagebound murder-mystery would be completely unwatchable without the producer-star's presence."[5]
References
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9bf86d
- Pitts, Michael R. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929–1956, pp. 100-01 (2015)
- Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbe35d077
- http://www.radiotimes.com/film/jfm25/the-face-at-the-window
- http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/467176/
- http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/The-Face-at-the-Window/listType/alpha