''The Face at the Window'' is a 1939 British horror film directed by
George King George King may refer to:
Politics
* George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician
* George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon
* George Clift King (18 ...
. It was the second sound film adaptation of
the 1897 stage melodrama by F. Brooke Warren after the 1932 version.
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
Norman Carter Slaughter (19 March 1885 – 19 February 1956), also known as Tod Slaughter, was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas.
Early life
Slaughter was born o ...
– Chevalier Lucio del Gardo
*
Marjorie Taylor
Marjorie Taylor (1912–1974) was a British stage and film actress.Goble p.491 She played the female lead in several Tod Slaughter films during the 1930s.
Filmography
* '' The Heirloom Mystery'' (1936)
* '' The Crimes of Stephen Hawke'' (1936)
...
– Cecile de Brisson
*
John Warwick
John McIntosh Beattie (4 January 1905 – 10 January 1972), known professionally as John Warwick, was an Australian actor, and television dramatist.
Early life
He was born John McIntosh Beattie (many sources give "Beattle") at Bellingen, New S ...
– Lucien Cortier
*Leonard Henry – Gaston, the Cook
*
Aubrey Mallalieu
Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...
– M. de Brisson
*
Robert Adair – Police Inspector Gouffert
*Wallace Evennett – Professor LeBlanc
*Kay Lewis – Babette, the Maid
*
Bill Shine
William Shine (born July 4, 1963) is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. He spent most of his career as a producer and executive at Fox News. Most recently, he was c ...
– Pierre, Babette's Beau
*
Margaret Yarde
Margaret Yarde (2 April 1878 – 11 March 1944) was a British actress. Initially training to be an opera singer, she made her London stage debut in 1907. She often played domestics, landladies and mothers.
Filmography
* '' A Cigarette-Maker's ...
– La Pinan
*
Harry Terry
Harry Terry (born 1887, date of death unknown) was an English stage and film actor. He made his stage debut in 1900, and appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1952, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He was born in Londo ...
– The Face at the Window
Critical reception
In a contemporary review, ''
Film Weekly
''Film Weekly'' was one of the leading popular film magazines published in the United Kingdom during the late 1920s and 1930s.
Background
Launched in 1928, the magazine became known for its gossipy interest in contemporary film stars. Columnist ...
'' called the film "a vintage thriller, put over in the right, rich spirit of years ago";
while more recently ''Britmovie'' praised "a sinister Tod Slaughter hamming it up marvellously."
and the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' 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."
[
]
References
External links
*
''Face at the Window'' at BFI Screenonline
1939 horror films
1930s historical horror films
British historical horror films
British black-and-white films
Films directed by George King
Films scored by Jack Beaver
Films set in 1880
Films set in Paris
British werewolf films
Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios
British Lion Films films
1930s English-language films
1930s British films
{{1930s-horror-film-stub