The Face at the Curtain

The Man, down on his luck, breaks into the home of a wealthy clubman to burglarize the place. The sudden dropping of a book which the man has displaced, arouses the wife who has been sitting up waiting for her husband. Ignorant of the fact that there is a burglar in the house, she telephones her husband at the club and asks him to come home. He refuses to do so until he is ready. When he arrives home, he is intoxicated. Her refusal to kiss him sends him into a drunken rage. He mistreats her. The Man has watched the whole domestic tragedy. He rescues the wife but while she is thanking him, the husband gets the "drop" on him and calls the police. The wife tells him that if the Man is arrested she will say he is her friend. The husband then comes to a realization of what he has done and begs forgiveness.

Directed by Gilbert M. Anderson, The Face at the Curtain leans on a strong ensemble — Gilbert M. Anderson, Marguerite Clayton, Lee Willard — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 1915.