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 byGeorge King
Produced byGeorge King
Written byA.R. Rawlinson (scenario and dialogue)
Randall Faye (treatment)
Based onthe "Famous Melodrama", The Face at the Window by F. Brooke Warren
StarringTod Slaughter
Music byJack Beaver
CinematographyHone Glendinning
Edited byJack Harris
Production
company
George King Productions
Distributed byBritish Lion Film Corporation (UK)
Arthur Ziehm (U.S.)
Release date
  • April 1939 (1939-04)
Running time
70 minutes
65 minutes (USA)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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

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

  1. http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9bf86d
  2. Pitts, Michael R. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929–1956, pp. 100-01 (2015)
  3. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  4. http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbe35d077
  5. http://www.radiotimes.com/film/jfm25/the-face-at-the-window
  6. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/467176/
  7. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/The-Face-at-the-Window/listType/alpha
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