| The Face at the Window | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Charles Villiers |
| Written by | Gertrude Lockwood |
| Produced by | David B. O'Connor |
| Starring | David B. O'Connor |
| Cinematography | Lacey Percival |
Production company | D.B. O'Connor Feature Films |
Release date | 8 November 1919 |
Running time | 5 reels[1] |
| Country | Australia |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
The Face at the Window is a 1919 Australian silent film about a master criminal and murderer chased after by the police. It was based on a popular 1897 play.[2]
In Paris, a thief and murderer known as Le Loup (actually Lucio Delgrade) hides his identity behind a mask and howls before he kills his victims. He has killed 36 people in all. He kills a caretaker while rifling a safe. Then he stabs a banker, M. de Brison, whose daughter Marie has spurned his advances. Detective Paul Gouffet investigates but Le Loup kills him. However the detective is revived from the dead through a device invented from a mad doctor and his hand writes the name of Le Loup's real identity. The police go after him and Le Loup is shot while trying to escape.[3]
The movie was one of several based on a popular stage play. It was shot in the Rushcutters Bay study in March and April 1918. Censors requested the deletion of a scene where a policemen is stabbed by Le Loup.[2]
It was the film debut of popular stage actor Agnes Dobson.[4] She later reprised the role on stage.[5]
The film was a popular success and was widely seen[2]
Variety called it "the rankest kind of melodrama... might do as burlesque."[6]