August 8, 2009

Peter Lorre Films in Two Venues on August 8, 2009

Two of Peter Lorre’s Warner Brothers classics – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and Casablanca (1942) will be shown in different cities this Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009.

Arsenic and Old Lace at the Palace Theater in Cleveland, OH

The Palace Theatre, one of four grand old theaters built in the 1920s, rescued from demolition and lovingly restored in Cleveland’s historic Playhouse Square, will be showing a number of classic and modern films in August as part of their annual “Cinema at the Square” festival, now in its 12th year.

On Saturday, Aug. 8, Arsenic and Old Lace is on the schedule, with a showtime of 8:30 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults, and $4 for students, seniors, and children under 12. A series pass, good for 6 movies, is available for $15. The ticket office is located in the lobby of the State Theater and opens from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on show days. Tickets may also be ordered by calling (216) 241-6000 or (866) 546-1353, or online through the Playhouse Square website.

The Palace Theatre is located at 1501 Euclid Avenue, in Cleveland, Ohio. Parking is available at E. 15th and Chester Avenue, with an enclosed walkway from the garage to the theater. Prepaid parking passes may be purchased for $7.50 at the ticket office.

Arsenic and Old Lace was Peter Lorre’s second film for Warner Brothers; he began work on the picture shortly after wrapping on The Maltese Falcon in the fall of 1941. However, the movie would not be released until October 1944, when the play ended its run on Broadway. By then, Peter Lorre was under contract at Warners and a valued member of their stock company.

Casablanca at a Secret “Drive-In” in Stamford, CT

The Lehrfield’s Stamford “Drive-In” Theater will be running their summer film series from June until Labor Day weekend. Not actually a “Drive-In Theater”, but a recreation of the drive-in theater experience of yesteryear by a small group of film-lovers, with a huge outdoor screen and film projectors, not DVD players. Attendees bring blankets and lawn chairs to sit on the grass.

Refreshments include free popcorn, popped in a movie theater style popcorn machine, and any chips, dip, and other snacks brought by the other moviegoers. Beverages, such as soda, beer, or wine, are “bring your own”.

On Saturday, August 8, Casablanca (1943) will be shown at 8 p.m., preceded by movie trailers of coming attractions, cartoons, and a short subject.

Attendance is by invitation only. To join the mailing list and receive directions, complete the form located on the “theater’s” Home Page and here.

Casablanca was the third movie Peter Lorre made at Warner Bros. with his pal Humphrey Bogart. Peter later claimed he made more money playing the set’s roulette wheel between takes than he did in the small, but pivotal role of Ugarte, who begins the film’s main action by leaving with Rick Blaine (Bogart) a pair of valuable exit visas.