The Face at the Window (play)

The Face at the Window is a melodramatic detective play written by F. Brooke Warren and first produced in 1897. Set in Paris, its 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.A movie was made based on this book in 1939 directed by George King. A London performance in February 2002 was reported to last almost three hours and was accorded a most unflattering review.

The play gave rise to a succession of film versions.