The Face at the Window is a 1939 British horror thriller starring screen legend Tod Slaughter, along with Marjorie Taylor and John Warwick. It is something I would classify as a low-budget one-hour wonder which, in this case is not necessarily a bad thing!
Taking place in Paris in 1880, The Face at the Window is a story about a series of murders caused by a creature, called “Le Loip “ , meaning The Wolf who shows his hideous face at his victims’ windows before murdering them. While the murders are occurring, the wealthy, charming , but sinister Chevalier Del Gardo (Tod Slaughter, Crimes at the Dark House) has his sights set on marrying the lovely Cecile De Brisson (Marjorie Taylor, Three Silent Men), the daughter of his friend and business partner M. de Brisson (Aubrey Mallalieu, The Door with Seven Locks). While talking to her in private he makes a move on her, but pushes him back, saying she is going to be married to her lover Lucien Carter (John Warwick, Pool of London). Jilted and determined to have her, he stops at nothing to prevent Lucien from marrying Cecile. He frames him for robbing a bank, attempts to murder him and even accuses him of being the murderous wolf. These two plots come together at this point, resulting in the identity of the Wolf Man.
This is a fun low budget picture. Director King did a fantastic job keeping the two plots separate until the climax. The actors all gave professional performances. Tod Slaughter, known for his over-the-top roles, gives no less than a magnificent performance as the maniacal Chevalier Del Gardo. His role as Del Gardo was about as sleazy as I have seen him, as he both schemes against Lucien and constantly putting his hands on Cecile whenever an opportunity arises. The way she keeps removing his hands each time and her facial expressions of how utterly she is repulsed by him are priceless. This was an effective, well-done use of sexual suggestion and what Del Gardo really wanted. He probably only wanted to marry her to make it decent. Del Gardo’s advances to her are annoying, as any woman being touched by a man she isn’t interested would be, that you wish someone would just finally off him!
In addition to the great acting, The Face at the Window boasts some lavish sets, and the use of fog and darkness gives it a shot of atmosphere. Even though it is classified as a horror film, the horror elements are minimal, as the movie tends to be more of a crime /melodrama type of film. This movie can be compared to horror films directed by John Brahm such as The Undying Monster and The Lodger, where the horror is mostly absent in the movie until the finale.
The Face at the Window arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. First, I will mention that previous DVD releases of this film by public domain labels such as Alpha Video (which I did own) also looked strong. Kino has surprisingly given a 4K master for this release, which made the already superb SD transfer to look a tenfold better. The Face at the Window now looks the best that it ever has. Even though there are a few minor blemishes such as speckles here and there, this is a well-polished, ultra-smooth release. The presentation has a lot of details and deep textures, along with a balanced greyscale and rich black levels.
The English DTS-HD Master dual mono-track that is used overall is good with no drop-offs, hissing or other serious, distracting audio issues detected. Dialog, the gripping musical score by Jack Beaver and the various sounds in the film come in clear. English subtitles are available for this release.
The is an audio commentary by film historian Jean-Claude Michel. Because his English is not the best, the commentary was read by Brett Wood, the man who wrote Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film and does various projects for Kino Lorber. It does make for an interesting commentary. Everything you would want to know about The Face at the Window is covered.
Trailers for Supernatural, The Undying Monster, The Lodger, The Spiral Staircase and The Queen of Spades round out the supplemental materials for this release.
The Face at the Window is such a great release. I would never have thought this movie would wind up on Blu-ray. The film makes for a nice early morning on a cold winter day viewing and even as a late night special. Kudos to Kino Lorber for giving this movie a Blu-ray release and would love to see more classic thirties like this in the future. Highly recommended!
The Face at the Window
Director- George King
Cast- Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, John Warwick
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-11/29/20