The Face at the Window (1940)

It was a night full of heavy rain and thunderstorms yesterday. We decided to watch some scary films from 1939 with the lights down low while our dog hid by us from the thunder. The first one we watched was 'The Face at the Window' (1939). The second was 'Human Monster' also from that same year.'The Face at the Window' takes place in Paris probably in 1880s. The story concerns grisly murders that are committed right after the victim sees a gruesome werewolf-like face in their window. Soon after that vision they're found with a knife in their back accompanied by an eery howling sound. While these murders are being investigated another side story is going on. The partner of a rich banker has eyes for his associate's much younger daughter. This creepy and lecherous character is played with gusto by actor Tod Slaughter. The daughter he wants for his wife is in love with a young penniless bank clerk in her fathers employe. The evil older man must find a way to get rid of his young rival. The story is slow at times, still most fans of 1930s crime/horror films should enjoy it like we did. I would not call it a great film; it is entertaining with some genuinely scary scenes.

In 1880, the criminal called The Face is responsible for a murderous rampage in France. When the Brisson Bank is robbed in Paris and the employee Michelle is murdered, the wealthy Chevalier Lucio del Gardo (Tod Slaughter) is the only chance to save the bank.Another team-up between actor Tod Slaughter and director George King (who expertly told the tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street). This dynamic duo really nailed it and for that I thank them.This is something of a horror film, though it tends to be more along the lines of a crime story. There is little about it that is outright terrifying or scary. That in no way takes away from the picture and all those involved should be proud.

Getting home late at night,I decided to take a look at some IMDb reviews,in the hope of finding a quick,and easy going title that I could watch for the IMDb Horror Challenge.As I got near the end of a fellow IMDb'ers first page of reviews,I noticed that they appeared to be a fan of an actor called Tod Slaughter,which led to me deciding that it would be a good time to enter the "slaughterhouse" for the first time.The plot:With the family's bank facing near closure,the Brisson's decide that they must take drastic measures to stop their bank from going bust.Being contacted by a strange man called Chevalier Lucio del Gardo,M.de Brisson initially breaths a sigh of relief,when Gardo tells him that he would be more than happy to invest in the Brisson's bank.Sadly for M.de Brisson his moment of happiness is torn to shreds,when a strange wolf man brutally kills him,shortly after Gardo had discovered that M de. Brisson's sweet daughter Ceclie de Brisson,had a secret boyfriend.View on the film:Whilst their adaptation of Brooke Warren's play never quite breaks away from its Victorian roots,the screenplay by A.R. Rawlinson and Ronald Fayre crafts a delightful mixture of Gothic Horror influence's,with the underwritten Wolfman subplot being counted by a wonderfully strange nod to Frankenstein,and some off-beat dashing heroes,which include Ceclie's boyfriend,who is more than happy to burn the local's pub to the ground!.Matching Rawlinson and Fayre's Gothic riffs,director George King soaks the movie in a thick,smoke-fulled fog,which helps to give the movie an extra bite,and also allows for Kings "unique" Horror moments in the film (a Frankenstein's monster hand!) to stand out with a real chill in the air.Entering the movie with an almost Dick Dastardly relish,Tod Slaughter gives a terrific,wild performance that lights up the entire film,with Slaughter showing Gardo go from a conniving player into a deranged maniac,as he starts to fear that Ceclie and her boyfriend may be about to discover the face at the window.

When I lived in Sydney in the '70s it was the vogue of the "music hall restaurants". There were quite a few around - you could go out to tea and then be entertained by a blood curdling melodrama where you had to boo and hiss the villain and make appropriate sounds for the hero and heroine. Neutral Bay had a very good one and with plays like "Sweet Nell of Old Drury" and "The Spring Heeled Terror of Putney Green" you knew you were in for an entertaining night.This is exactly what this film is like - it is thoroughly entertaining. Tod Slaughter is the whole show - he acts and gestures everyone else off the screen. That you know at once he is the villain makes no difference.Paris 1880: there is a killer on the loose called the Wolf, who is also responsible for a string of daring robberies. M. de Brisson's bank has just been robbed and Lucio del Gardo (Tod Slaughter) arrives on the scene to try to solve the mystery. He has just seen Cecile, the banker's daughter and is determined to make her his own. The only thing that stands in his way (he has already talked her father around) is her fiancée, Lucien Cortier, a clerk at the bank.By subtle innuendo (and much leering and ogling) he starts suspicions that Lucien is the Wolf. It is up to Lucien to clear his name and win Cecile back. But wait - there's more. Del Gardo has a monstrous half brother (who is the face at the window!!!). Del Gardo has made a promise to his mother (40 years before!!!) that he will always keep his brother in a cage in the cellar - never letting him be seen by anyone.At 65 minutes it is blood curdling entertainment!!!!!