The Face at the Window

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. Chavalier proposes to the owner M. de Brisson (Aubrey Mallalieu) to deposit a large amount of gold, but in return he would like to marry his daughter Cecile (Marjorie Taylor). However, Cecile is in love with the efficient clerk Lucien Cortier (John Warwick) that belongs to the lower classes and refuses the engagement. In order to get rid off the rival, Chavalier uses evidences to incriminate Lucien, manipulating the incompetent Parisian chief of police.

"The Face at the Window" is dated and delightfully naive, but is also a great entertainment. The story has a despicable villain; the good guy is unfairly accused and has to prove his innocence; the heroine is extremely naive, but has strength to fight for her love; the chief of police is a complete stupid. Tod Slaughter performs another villain with his usual efficiency. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Vulto da Janela" ("A Face at the Window")

Yes, this film is dated. Yes, it is muddled with every possible plot contrivance imaginable in a mystery-melodrama. But, this film stars one of the kings of the horror screen - a forgotten king named Tod Slaughter. And if you have never had the opportunity and privilege to see him on screen, then you are missing out on a pure cinematic joy. He is the hammiest of the hams with his eyes rolling incessantly, his mischievous leers, his over-pronounced dialogue, and his bombastic gestures. He makes Vincent Price look like an actor accustomed to giving understated performances. Plainly put - he is fun to watch! Slaughter was a British actor known primarily for his stage work but he made several pictures. As with all his films, he is the primary focal-point of attention, and A Face at the Window is no exception. This is a fun movie to watch and should make you a Tod Slaughter fan. The story of the movie is complicated and stretches credibility at times, but is to be taken in fun....that is apparent as soon as you see Slaughter say something and gesture about.

Forget Karloff & Lugosi. Forget Cushing & Lee, even Price and the Chaneys. Tod is king of horror for one very important reason - he quite evidently enjoys his work. This was the first Tod film I saw and - having heard so much about him prior to this - I feared disappointment. No worries. Despite the cardboard settings and woeful support cast, from the moment he strides masterfully in, we are in the capable hands of a classic film villain. The opening murder with the eerie wolf howl on the soundtracks sets the scene perfectly and then we are treated to an acting masterclass from the great man himself. Whether innocently acting the concerned friend, lecherously trying to sneak a kiss from the heroine, threatening his low-life confederates with a grisly end if they cross him or, worst of all, holding somewhat one-sided conversations with his demented foster brother, Tod holds the film together. The Chevalier is underplayed by Tod compared to Sweeney Todd - but seldom has one man wiggled his eyebrows to more sinister effect. It's a great pity that Universal studios didn't try to to entice him over for their classic horror cycle - Tod would've made a far more spirited Dracula than John Carradine in the later sequels and can't you just see him going toe to toe with Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes. Shame nobody thought of putting him up against Arthur Wontner's in the UK. The double-exposure effects for the appearance of the "face" are well done for their time and the whole film compares favourably with the Universal classics of the period.

The production values are far higher than is normal for a British quota quickie of the period. The contrast between the spacious elegant rooms of the moneyed classes and the clutter of the Blind Rat - with a wealth of extras and charming Parisian detail such as the dancers - more than foreshadows the class-consciousness Hammer brought to its gothics a few decades later. So does the violent action with Lucien using an oil lamp to devastating effect - his disguise as "Renard" could have been a bit more convincing - and Tod making a sudden getaway by leaping from the window of the scientist's house and swimming the Seine to safety. John Warwick and Marjorie Taylor make an appealing couple - although Warwick is no match for Eric Portman in the earlier melodramas - and George King is improving as a director with a tightly edited montage of tense faces as the "corpse" slowly stirs into action to write its incriminating message. Tod is less of a central figure with whom we are expected to side with - even through his setbacks - as Stephen Hawke and Sir Percival Glyde were, but is still a marvellously blackhearted villain, as seen in his unsporting behaviour at the duel with pistols with Lucien. This is his finest film.

Tod Slaughter (1885-1956) was an unabashed and unapologetic purveyor of Victorian style stage melodrama. He had barnstormed throughout the English provinces during the early days of the Twentieth Century before serving in World War I.

By 1930, to stem the ever growing influx of Hollywood movies into England, a law was passed saying that 20% of all films had to be British made. In order to meet this goal, the "Quota Quickie" was established. These were essentially British B movies quickly and cheaply made to keep British artists and technicians employed. How they performed at the box office was of little concern.

Tod Slaughter's 8 QQ movies, shot between 1935-1940, were tailor made for that system. These were essentially his stage shows turned into film productions which were a cinematic capturing of a type of material and a style of performance that had flourished during the Victorian Era. This allows the viewer a glimpse into that time.

For those who have never seen him, think of Tod as a live action Snidely Whiplash (Dudley Do-Right's nemesis in ROCKY & BULLWINKLE). His most renowned film is SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (1936) which served as the basis of the Stephen Sondheim musical (1979) and the Tim Burton movie with Johnny Depp (2007). Slaughter's most highly regarded movie (originally and today) is THE FACE IN THE WINDOW (1939).

The setting is 1880 Paris and a series of unsolved killings are committed by a criminal known only as "The Wolf" so called because right before a murder occurs the howl of a wolf is heard and a horrible visage is seen through a window. Could the mustache twirling, hand rubbing Chevalier Delgado be behind it all? We all know the answer to that question so it becomes a matter of going along for the ride and waiting for him to get his "just desserts".

This new restoration of FACE is part of a multi disc set. THE CRIMES OF TOD SLAUGHTER. Never has it or any of his other movies ever looked this good. If you would like to see the textbook definition of the word "Melodrama" then look no further. As Slaughter liked to say of his movies "They are full of "strong meat"...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

In THE FACE AT THE WINDOW, a murderer known as "The Wolf" is on the prowl in Paris, robbing and killing at will. Meanwhile, Chevalier. Lucio del Gardo (Tod Slaughter) sets out to marry a banker's daughter (Marjorie Taylor), who is much younger than he is.

No one plays these lecherous, wretched roles better than Mr. Slaughter! He's the Van Gogh of histrionic villainy! When del Gardo isn't busy killing people, he's framing his rival, so that he can wed the beautiful Cecile de Brisson (Marjorie Taylor).

Is this movie melodramatic to the extreme? Yes, but it's supposed to be. Mr. Slaughter's ham 'n' cheeeze approach fits in perfectly. We're treated to one of the Maestro's finest performances. This is highly entertaining stuff, complete with a nice mad science angle that comes in handy for the finale...