The Face Behind the Mask

press release:

USA | 1941 | 35mm | 69 min.; Director: Robert Florey

Cast: Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe

Hungarian immigrant Janos Szabo (Lorre) is horribly burned in a NYC rooming house. Unable to find work and seeking the funds for plastic surgery, he soon becomes a mask-donning master thief. When he finds love with a blind girl (Keyes), Szabo has second thoughts about his criminal activities. Lorre’s remarkable performance in this terrific horror/noir hybrid displays his full range of talent. "A marvelous little film...Florey's subtly stylized direction, Planer's superb camerawork and first-rate performances (Lorre, cleverly made up, has rarely been better) weave it into a miracle of tenderness” (Phil Hardy, The Encyclopedia of Horror Films). Preceded by Bugs Bunny in Hare-Raising Hare (1947, 6 min.)

followed by:

WEDS., 6/20, 8:30 p.m. ISLAND OF DOOMED MEN

USA | 1940 | 35mm | 68 min.;Director: Charles Barton

Cast: Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, Don Beddoe

A secret service agent infiltrates a Pacific island prison that is actually a slave racket run by the sadistic and cruel Stephen Danel (Lorre). Lorre brings a touch of Dr. Moreau to this Columbia B-movie treat.

Peter Lorre: The Mad and the Bad

On Wednesdays beginning June 20, we will pay tribute to one of cinema history’s most fascinating and compelling performers, the great Peter Lorre (1904-1964). Hungarian born, the naturally intense Lorre exploded onto movie screens as a haunted and hunted child killer in Fritz Lang’s German masterpiece M in 1931. Emigrating to the U.S. in the mid-1930s, Lorre used his large, expressive eyes and uniquely accented speech to his advantage, appearing in dozens of Hollywood productions over 30 years as both leading man and supporting player. This selection of quintessential Lorre roles demonstrates his oft-caricatured, yet inimitable style of transforming traditionally two-dimensional movie villains into recognizable and frequently sympathetic humans with equal doses of dry, sardonic humor and passionate outbursts. The series also includes Lorre’s lone directorial effort, The Lost One.

All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.