The Face at the Window (play)

Last updated

The Face at the Window is a melodramatic detective play written by F. Brooke Warren and first produced in 1897. [1]

Contents

Plot

Set in Paris, the play's villain is a serial killer named Le Loup, who precedes his killings with a loud wolf-howl. He is pursued by the master detective Paul Gouffet. In an iconic scene, Gouffet causes a dead victim to complete the act of writing his murderer's name by passing an electric current through the arm muscles.

Adaptations

The 1897 play gave rise to a succession of film versions. The 1939 adaptation is the best known, but the list of adaptations includes: [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert W. Chambers</span> American artist, novelist, short story writer (1865–1933)

Robert William Chambers was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled The King in Yellow, published in 1895.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery film</span> Sub-genre of crime film

A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Keene (actor)</span> American actor (1896–1963)

Tom Keene was an American actor known mostly for his roles in B Westerns. During his almost 40-year career in motion pictures Tom Keene worked under three different names. From 1923, when he made his first picture, until 1930 he worked under his birth name George Duryea. The last film he made under this name was Pardon My Gun. Beginning with the 1930 film Tol'able David, he used Tom Keene as his moniker. This name he used up to 1944 when he changed it to Richard Powers. The first film he used this name in was Up in Arms. He continued to use this name for the rest of his film career.

<i>The Strange World of Planet X</i> 1957 novel by René Ray

The Strange World of Planet X (1957) is a British science fiction horror novel, written by actress Rene Ray, a novelization of her 1956 TV serial of the same name. It is a cautionary tale about science.

<i>The Ace of Scotland Yard</i> 1929 film by Ray Taylor

The Ace of Scotland Yard is a 1929 Universal movie serial. It was the first partial sound serial released by Universal Pictures. The film was released in September 1929. It was a part-talkie serial using music and sound effects.

Port Sinister is a 1953 American independently made black-and-white adventure science fiction film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Albert Zugsmith, and directed by Harold Daniels. The film was written by Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg and stars James Warren, Lynne Roberts, and Paul Cavanagh. Port Sinister was theatrically distributed by RKO Radio Pictures.

The Face at the Window is a 1932 British drama film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Raymond Massey, Claude Hulbert and Isla Bevan. It was made at Twickenham Studios as a quota quickie. It is based on a play of the same name by F. Brooke Warren first performed in 1897.

<i>The Face at the Window</i> (1939 film) 1939 British film

The Face at the Window is a 1939 British horror film directed by George King. It was the second sound film adaptation of the 1897 stage melodrama by F. Brooke Warren after the 1932 version.

<i>The Monkeys Paw</i> (1933 film) 1933 American horror film

The Monkey's Paw is a 1933 American pre-Code horror film co-directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (prologue) and Wesley Ruggles, based on the short story, "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) by W. W. Jacobs. The film was considered lost until pictures from it were posted online in 2016; the extant copy is dubbed in French.

<i>Seven Footprints to Satan</i> 1929 American mystery film

Seven Footprints to Satan is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen. Based on the 1928 story of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, William V. Mong and Sheldon Lewis. It was first released as a silent film and later as a part-talkie.

The Face at the Window is a 1920 British silent crime film directed by Wilfred Noy and starring C. Aubrey Smith, Gladys Jennings and Jack Hobbs It is based on a play of the same name by Brooke Warren first performed in 1897. Its plot concerns a British criminologist who helps the French police to solve a murder in Paris.

<i>The Pillar of Fire</i> 1899 French film

The Pillar of Fire, initially released in America and Britain as Haggard's "She"—The Pillar of Fire and also known as La Colonne de feu, is an 1899 short silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès.

<i>Seven Keys to Baldpate</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Edward Killy

Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1935 film directed by William Hamilton and Edward Killy and starring Gene Raymond and Eric Blore. It is one of several filmed versions based on the popular 1913 play.

Desmond Marquette was a film editor for Crime Ring and others. In 1996 he was co-winner of the American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award.

<i>Seven Keys to Baldpate</i> (novel)

Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.

Marcel Le Picard (1887–1952) was a French cinematographer known for his work on American films. He shot around two hundred films between 1916 and 1953. He did much of his prolific work for low-budget studios such as Republic Pictures, Monogram Pictures and Producers Releasing Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broderick O'Farrell</span> American actor

George William Broderick O'Farrell was an American film and stage actor who appeared in both silent and sound films. He began his career at age 14, appearing onstage with the Baker Stock Company in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. He subsequently appeared in several locally-produced films, such as The Golden Trail (1920), before pursuing a film career in Los Angeles. He appeared in numerous silent films throughout the 1920s, and later had minor roles in several Laurel and Hardy films, including Beau Hunks (1931).

Alphone Martell was a French actor who wrote and directed Gigolettes of Paris (1933). He portrayed a director in the 1934 film I'll Be Suing You. He often portrayed a waiter as in the 1946 film Falcon's Alibi, in which he is murdered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Keating (magician)</span> American magician

Frederic Serrano Keating, best known as Fred Keating, was an American magician, stage and film actor.

References

  1. Pitts, Michael R. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929–1956, pp. 100–01 (2015)
  2. 1 2 Pitts, Michael R. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929–1956, pp. 100–01 (2015) (with some details on 1919, 1920, 1932, and 1939 films)