December 27, 2011

Ring Out 2011 with Peter Lorre

2011 ends with a Peter Lorre triple feature on Turner Classic Movies and a showing of Peter’s episode of The Jack Benny Show.

And then continues on with TCM’s annual 31 Days of Oscar.

Peter Lorre's page on the TV Guide Channel website lists the Lorre films scheduled on various television channels over a 2-week period.



December, 2011

Dec. 27 (Tues.), 6 am, Turner Classic Movies channel – Passage to Marseille (1944)

Dec. 27 (Tues), 10:30 am, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Dec. 27 (Tues), 12:15 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942)

Dec. 31 (Sat.), 7:30 pm, Antenna TV – The Jack Benny Show, originally airing Jan. 22, 1963



January, 2012

Jan. 9 (Mon.), 1:30 am, Antenna TV – Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Man from the South". Originally scheduled to air Jan. 3, 1960, this episode was considered too gruesome for the holiday season and postponed until Mar. 13.

Jan. 22 (Sun.), 3 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

Jan. 30 (Mon.), 10 pm, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943)



February, 2012

TCM presents their annual “31 Days of Oscar”, Feb. 1 through March 2. This year's theme is "Around the World with Oscar", with movies grouped together by their setting.

Feb. 10 (Fri.), 2 pm, TCM – Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), with the afternoon's theme of "Nevada”.

Feb. 15 (Wed.), 11 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). The theme tonight is “Africa”.

Feb. 25 (Sat.), 12:30 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). The afternoon's theme is "California".



March, 2012

Mar. 2 (Fri.), 10:45 am, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). "All Over" is the theme for movies this morning.



These films and many other Lorre movies are now available on DVD and VHS – some remastered and packaged with extra features. For more information on the films of Peter Lorre released to home video, head to the DVD — VHS section of The Lost One website.

Happy viewing!

December 11, 2011

SiriusXM Radio Pays Tribute to Harry Morgan, "Voice of Mystery"

Radio Classics, channel 82 on the satellite radio providers XM and Sirius, will present a tribute this week to Harry Morgan, who passed on Dec. 7, 2011.

Included will be "The Queen of Spades" and "The Black Cat" from Peter Lorre’s 1947 summer series Mystery in the Air (1947) – for which Harry Morgan was the narrator – and a 1950 episode of This is Your FBI.

Peggy Webber, who played Peter’s love interest in many Mystery in the Air episodes, will join Radio Classics host Greg Bell by telephone with her recollections of working with the two actors on the series.

The “Wild About Harry” tribute will air these dates and times:

Sunday, Dec. 11:
5 am Pacific, 8 am Eastern
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

Tuesday, Dec. 13:
11 pm Pacific only

Wednesday, Dec. 14:
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern

Radio Classics will then kick off a schedule filled with Christmas episodes from various old-time radio series. Included is the Suspense episode “Back for Christmas” (Dec. 23, 1943), starring Peter Lorre as hen-pecked husband Hubert Schumacher, who discovers a way to dispose of his shrewish wife.

"Back for Christmas" will air on these dates and times:

Monday, Dec. 12:
11 pm Pacific

Tuesday, Dec. 13:
2 am Eastern
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Friday, Dec. 16:
1 am Pacific, 4 am Eastern
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern

Saturday, Dec. 17:
3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern

XM and Sirius radio subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the XM radio website.

The Lorre radio programs airing this week are available through many merchants, including Radio Showcase. The Appendix of The Lost One lists Peter’s many radio credits – as well as his appearances on stage, in movies, and on television.

Published in 2005 through University Press of Kentucky, The Lost One is now available in paperback, and as an eBook on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

December 8, 2011

"Voice of Mystery" Stilled

The film, radio, television, and stage actor Harry Morgan passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. He was 96.

As “The Voice of Mystery”, Morgan acted as narrator on Peter Lorre’s radio series Mystery in the Air, a replacement series for The Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Show in the summer of 1947.

Mystery in the Air presented tales of suspense “culled from the four corners of world literature”, adapted from such famous tales as Alexander Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”, as well as original radio dramas.

The final eight episodes are widely available through many dealers in old-time radio programs, as well as audio download on Amazon.com.

Morgan hosted all 13 episodes, beginning with “The Tell-Tale Heart” on July 3 and continuing to the final program, “Crime and Punishment”, adapted from Peter’s 1935 Columbia Studios film, on Sept. 25.

In the image above, Morgan (in black suit) stands, looking over Hans Conried’s shoulder at his script, with Peter Lorre at the microphone.

On March 14, 1979, author Stephen Youngkin took an interview with Harry Morgan for his Lorre biography, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, published in Sept. 2005 through University Press of Kentucky. Morgan recalled working with Lorre on Mystery in the Air, describing the intensity of Peter’s performances as he played to the microphone, not the studio audience.

Rest in peace, Mr. Morgan. Like Peter Lorre, you live on through the recordings of your many radio, movie and television roles.

December 6, 2011

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at the Red Barn, Dec. 6, 2011

John Hardy will host a showing of the Walt Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) at the Red Barn Theater on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011.

The program begins at 7 p.m. The suggested donation is $5 at the door. Free popcorn is provided by the local Saugatuck company CNJ Popcorn Co. Other concessions are $1.

For more information, please call the theater at (269) 857-5300 or contact through eMail at lakeshorearts@comcast.net.

The Red Barn Theater is located in Saugatuck, Michigan, at 3657 63rd Street. Directions may be found on the theater’s website.

The filming of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is detailed in the pages of Stephen Youngkin’s Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. The author interviewed director Richard Fleischer and art director Harper Goff, as well as stars James Mason and Kirk Douglas, on their remembrances of working on the movie.

At a time when most filmmakers wanted only to trade on his character type of villain, Peter appreciated his casting against type and the opportunity to play a hero – as well as provide the film’s comic moments.

Peter also hoped he would win new fans with the movie’s release . . .

November 30, 2011

The Maltese Falcon Kicks Off Film Series in Ponte Vedra Beach

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, the Bogart mystery film The Maltese Falcon (1941) will be the initial offering in the Hollywood Legends 4-week series of classic movies at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall.

The program begins at 7 p.m., with the doors opening at 6 p.m. From 6 to 7 p.m., David Luckin will provide music. Luckin is the host of the local PBS station WJCT’s Electro Lounge.

Admission is $5 at the door, and any dollar amount over the requested $5 will be matched by an anonymous donor towards the support of the WJCT radio station 89.9 FM. Tickets may also be purchased on-line through Ticket Master by clicking the “Buy Tickets” button on the Maltese Falcon entry on the Events page.

The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall is located at 1050 A1A North in the heart of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Directions can be found on the venue’s website.

Parking is available on-site. The fee for this ticketed event is $5.

In his Peter Lorre biography, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen Youngkin details the making of The Maltese Falcon at Warner Bros. in the summer of 1941 through interviews with director John Huston and others who worked on the film. For Peter Lorre, the experience led to a contract with the studio and a lifelong friendship with star Humphrey Bogart.

The Lost One is now available in both paperback and e-Book formats, as well as hard-bound.

November 5, 2011

My Favorite Brunette at the Key West Public Library, Saturday, Nov. 5

The Key West Public Library will host a showing of My Favorite Brunette (1947) on Saturday, November 5, 2011.

The program begins at 10 a.m.

The library is located at 700 Fleming Street, Key West, Florida. For more information, please contact Robin Henderson, reference librarian, at (305) 809-5253.

To publicize the release of My Favorite Brunette (April 4, 1947), Peter Lorre appeared as a guest on Bob Hope’s radio program The Pepsodent Show on May 13. “How about a little creep music, Desi?” Bob Hope asks his bandleader, Desi Arnaz (real-life husband of Lucille Ball) – and Bob and Peter offered their own version of Inner Sanctum Mysteries.

The radio program is available for MP3 download through Amazon.com:

October 3, 2011

The Maltese Falcon at the Lark, Oct. 3, 2011

John Huston biographer Jeffrey Meyers will introduce a special showing of The Maltese Falcon at the historic Lark Theater, Monday evening on Oct. 3, 2011, in Larkspur, California. Autographed copies of John Huston: Courage and Art, available from Book Passage Bookstore and Café (Corte Madera, CA), will be on sale in the cinema lobby.

The program begins at 7 pm. For more information, please call (415) 924-5111.

Tickets are $10 for all seats and may be purchased at the box office or in advance by fax. Fax orders are accepted until 9 pm the day before the event; a fax order form may be downloaded from the theater’s website and sent to (415) 924-5459.

Parking is available on the streets near the theater.

The Lark Theater is located at 549 Magnolia Avenue in the Marin County town of Larkspur, California.

Built in 1936, the Lark remained a single-screen cinema in downtown Larkspur before threatened by the wrecking ball after years of closure. In 2004, Bernice Baeza and Heidi Hillenbrand led a group of dedicated volunteers in restoring the Lark to its 1936 glory. The Lark is now on the list of National Register of Historic Places and winner of the Art Deco Society Preservation Award.

In his authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, author Stephen D. Youngkin interviewed director John Huston on the making of The Maltese Falcon in the summer of 1941. Falcon was the first film Peter Lorre made at Warner Brothers. The resulting contract with the studio in 1943 ended Peter’s nomadic existence from studio to studio in the early 1940s – plus a lifelong friendship with Humphrey Bogart and an on-screen 9-film partnership with Sydney Greenstreet.

"The stuff that dreams are made of."

August 23, 2011

Der Verlorene at the Tribeca, Aug. 23

As part of their “Overdue” series, movie critics Nick Pinkerton and Nic Rapold will introduce Peter Lorre’s only directorial effort Der Verlorene (1951) on Tuesday night, Aug. 23, 2011, at 92YTribeca in New York City.

The program begins at 7 pm.

Tickets may be purchased through the Tribeca website, by fax, by mail, or in person at the box office on Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street, between 9 am and 5 pm. For more information, please call (212) 601-1000.

92YTribeca is located at 200 Hudson Street at Canal Street, convenient to city subway routes. Parking is available at the Varick Street Garage, located at 111 Varick Street, and the Central Parking Garage, 296 Hudson Street.

The making of Der Verlorene (The Lost One) is detailed in Chapter 8, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, in Stephen D. Youngkin’s authorized biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005). In November of 2007, Kinowelt Home Entertainment released a 2-disc DVD of the movie, including many extras, available in Region 2 only.

August 21, 2011

Peter Lorre Movies in the Fall

September and October bring numerous treats to Peter Lorre fans this year – in particular, the Turner Classic Movies channel debut of The Constant Nymph (1943).

Peter Lorre's page on the TV Guide Channel website lists the Lorre films scheduled on various television channels over a 2-week period.




September, 2011

Sept. 11 (Sun.), 8 pm, Turner Classic Movies channel – Casablanca (1942). Guest programmers Patrick McNally and Vernon Webb were two of the many responders to the tragedy that Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. McNally selects Casablanca because he and wife Liz were married on Sept. 11 and “As Time Goes By” was their wedding song. For their 20th anniversary in 2001, they had planned a golf date – abruptly cancelled when McNally, Chief of Operations at the New York City Fire Department, got the emergency call to the Twin Towers.

Sept. 28 (Wed.), 8 pm, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943). TCM salutes the film preservation work of the Library of Congress Film Archive with 13 movies and 6 shorts over 24 hours. Host Robert Osborne is joined by Dr. Patrick Loughney, Chief of Archive’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation, located in Culpepper, Virginia.




October, 2011

Oct. 12 (Wed.), 10:30 am, TCM – Mr. Moto’s Last Warning (1939). The only entry in the 8-film mystery series in the public domain, Mr. Moto’s Last Warning was nonetheless remastered in 2007 and packaged in a DVD set with Mr. Moto’s Gamble, Danger Island, and Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation.

Oct. 15 (Sat.), 9:30 am, TCM – The Beast With Five Fingers (1946).

Oct. 20 (Thurs.), 8 pm, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). This first movie for actor Zachary Scott kicks off an evening of Scott-starring films.

Oct. 27 (Thurs.), 4:15 pm, TCM – “No. 5 Checked Out”. This episode of Screen Director’s Playhouse originally aired Jan. 18, 1956 over NBC. Ida Lupino directed Peter Lorre, William Talman, Theresa Wright, and Ralph Moody in this drama involving two crooks on the lam and hiding out in a cabin in a deaf woman’s remote mountain resort.

Oct. 30 (Sun.), 4 am, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). The final film on TCM's roster for "Star of the Month" Buster Keaton.




These films and many other Lorre movies are now available on DVD and VHS – some remastered and packaged with extra features. For more information on the films of Peter Lorre released to home video, head to the DVD — VHS section of The Lost One website.

Happy viewing!

"The flicker of a film is like a heartbeat. Movies are in my blood. They're part of who I am." That's the new opening for TCM weekend host Ben Mankiewicz – and among the film clips is a nice close-up of Peter Lorre as Ugarte in Casablanca!

July 27, 2011

The Constant Nymph Comes to TCM in September, 2011

Peter Lorre fans have something very special to look forward to next month.

Newly-restored and freed from years of legal limbo, The Constant Nymph (1943) will make its Turner Classic Movies channel debut on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, at 8 pm EST.

The film kicks off an evening of movies in tribute to the Library of Congress Film Archive – including Baby Face (1933) and Two Heads on a Pillow (1934).

No word yet on The Constant Nymph coming to DVD.

July 10, 2011

Casablanca by Moonlight in Albany, Oregon, July 22


The Albany Downtown Association’s “Movies by Moonlight” returns this month for a ninth summer of classic movies projected outdoors on the back wall of the Eagles Club, located at 127 Broadalbin Street NW, in Albany, Oregon.

Preceding each of the seven films in the series will be a classic cartoon, plus an installment of the 1937 serial Dick Tracy. Casablanca (1942) is the featured attraction on July 22, 2011.

The program begins at dusk, approximately 9 pm. Admission is free. Popcorn, ice cream, soda, and water will be available for purchase.

Parking is available in the lot behind Cappies Brewhouse, 211 First Avenue West.

“Movies by Moonlight” is sponsored by Pizza King, the Pix Theater, Cappie’s Brewhouse, and Pacific Power. The complete film schedule may be found on the Albany Downtown Association’s website.

Casablanca was the third film Peter Lorre made with his off-screen buddy Humphrey Bogart. They would make one more film together at Warner Bros – Passage to Marseille (1944) – before Peter would leave the studio in 1946.

The making of Casablanca is chronicled in the authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, by Stephen D. Youngkin. Now available on the Kindle and Nook, The Lost One will soon be released in a soft-bound edition.

June 26, 2011

Happy Birthday, Peter Lorre! – From XM and Sirius Radio

Radio Classics, channel 82 on the satellite radio providers XM and Sirius, will present a birthday tribute to Peter this week, born June 26, 1904.

For two hours, Lorre fans can enjoy Inner Sanctum, "The Black Seagull" (Mar. 7, 1943); Suspense, "Of Maestro and Man" (July 20, 1944), and two episodes of Peter’s own radio series Mystery in the Air, "The Lodger" (Aug. 14, 1947) and "The Horla" (Aug. 21, 1947).

An interview with Roger Corman will precede the four radio shows. Corman directed Peter in two Edgar Allan Poe films in the early 1960s, Tales of Terror (1962) and The Raven (1963), which co-starred Vincent Price.

The Lorre tribute will air these dates and times:

Sunday, June 26:
1 am Pacific, 4 am Eastern
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern

Wednesday, June 29:
3 am Pacific, 6 am Eastern
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Saturday, July 2:
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

XM and Sirius radio subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the XM radio website.

The life and career of Peter Lorre is chronicled in the pages of his authorized biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin, who interviewed many of Peter’s family members, friends, fellow actors, and the directors, producers and crew who worked with him during his career.

The Lorre radio programs airing this week in honor of Peter’s 107th birthday are available through many merchants, including Radio Showcase. The Appendix of The Lost One lists Peter’s many radio credits – in addition to his appearances on stage, in movies, and on television.

Published in 2005 through University Press of Kentucky, The Lost One is now available on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

June 25, 2011

Casablanca On-Screen in New Orleans, Tampa Summer Film Festivals

Summer means classic film festivals, and Casablanca (1942) is on the schedule in two historic cinemas this summer – the Prytania in New Orleans and the Tampa Theatre in Tampa, Florida.


Celebrate Peter Lorre’s birthday this weekend at the Prytania Theatre in New Orleans, where Casablanca (1942) will be shown Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, June 25, 26, and 29. Curtains go up at 11:45 a.m. with a pre-show program. The main feature begins promptly at noon.

Ticket prices for the classic film festival are $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for seniors over 62 and children under 12. Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or on-line through Yahoo, linked with the Prytania’s website. For more information, please call (504) 891-2787.

Built in 1915 and the only one-screen cinema left in New Orleans, the Prytania Theatre is located uptown at 5339 Prytania Street. Parking is available on the street near the cinema.


The Tampa Theatre is the venue for Casablanca on July 9 and 10, Saturday and Sunday, as part of that cinema’s popular Summer Classics series.

The doors open at 2 pm, at which time interested moviegoers may join a volunteer “Tampa Theatreologist” for a free guided mini-tour of the historic theater. (The theater’s regular “Backstage to Balcony” guided tour is scheduled for Saturday, June 25 and July 9, 11:30 am to 1 pm. Tickets for this tour are $5 for visitors 13 and older, $2 for children 2 to 12 years, and free for kids under 2 and Tampa Theatre members.)

A 20-minute musical program of popular tunes on the cinema’s restored Wurlitzer Theatre Organ will begin at approximately 2:40, followed by Looney Tunes cartoons and the movie at 3 pm.

And following selected movies this summer, moviegoers may stay for the “Post Film Talks”, presented by Professors Harriet Deer and Michael Foley. After Casablanca on Sunday, July 10, Professor Deer will discuss the movie’s cast, production, themes, and cultural significance.

Ticket prices for Casablanca and other Summer Classic films are $9 for all ages and $7 for Tampa Theatre members. Tickets may be purchased at the box-office. For more information, please call (813) 274-8981.

The Tampa Theatre is located at 711 Franklin Street. Parking is available on-street and close to the cinema.


The background and making of Casablanca is discussed in the authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, by Stephen D. Youngkin. Peter almost didn’t make it to Casablanca, being under contract to Universal Studios for Invisible Agent. Over his four days on-set – May 28-29 (Thursday and Friday) and June 1-2 (Monday and Tuesday), 1942 – Peter claimed he made more money at the set’s roulette wheel than he did working before the cameras.

The Lost One is now available in electronic format on the Kindle and the Nook.

June 11, 2011

The Maltese Falcon at the Lincoln This Weekend

The historic Lincoln Theatre in Massillon, Ohio, will present The Maltese Falcon (1941) this weekend, June 10, 11 and 12, 2011.

Show times are 7 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 6 pm on Sunday.

Admission is $3.

The Lincoln Theatre is located at 156 Lincoln Way East, in Massillon, Ohio. Originally built in 1915 as a silent movie theater, the Lincoln was saved from the wrecking ball in 1982 by the local Lions Club, who now act as volunteers during the weekly showings of classic films.

The Lincoln is also the home of the annual Fall Cinesation, a film convention featuring silent (with live accompaniment) and sound movies through the 1940s, many from restored archival prints. This year, the festival will be held on Sept. 22 to 25, 2011.

The Maltese Falcon was the first film Peter Lorre made with Humphrey Bogart and led to a lifelong friendship between the two actors, who would go on to make three more movies at Warner Bros: All Through the Night (1942), Casablanca (1942), and Passage to Marseille (1944). Their final film together came in Italy in 1954 – Beat the Devil.

Peter and Bogie’s friendship, both on- and off-screen, is detailed in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005) by Stephen D. Youngkin, who interviewed many of the people who knew and worked with the actors – including John Huston, who directed both The Maltese Falcon and Beat the Devil.

Photos of Lorre and Bogart, as well as posters and lobby cards from their movies, can be found on the official website of The Lost One. DVDs of their work may be found in the site's DVD section.

June 10, 2011

Casablanca at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA

Beginning Friday, June 10, Casablanca (1942) is one of three films to be shown outdoors at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, this summer. The Trout Gallery, located on campus on the first floor of the Weiss Center for the Arts, will host the film program in association with a special Gallery exhibit – “Image! Text! Action! Posters and Newsreels from the American Home Front: 1941-1945”.

Admission to the films and the exhibit is free.

Casablanca will be shown on an outdoor screen, set up on the lawn beside the Weiss Center, located at N. College Street and West High Street in Carlisle, PA. Lawn chairs and blankets – and picnic dinners! – are welcome. The movie will begin at dusk, approximately 9 pm. In case of rain, the film will be shown indoors in the Weiss Center, room 235.

The Trout Gallery’s regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, but for these showings, the Gallery will open at 7 pm. Visit the Trout Gallery before the movie and receive a voucher for free popcorn!

Dickinson College is located at 20 South College Street, in Carlisle, PA. Parking is available on the street and in the campus lots.

Parking for the film festival is available beside the Weiss Center, in the lot off Church Avenue.

For more information, call (717) 245-1711.

Running from June 3 to Aug. 13, 2011, the gallery exhibit “Image! Text! Action! Posters and Newsreels from the American Homefront: 1941-1945” illustrates the development of new printing technologies and popular cinema and the way they compelled U.S. citizens to support the war effort. The works in the exhibit are part of a larger gift of World War II posters given to the Trout Gallery by Robert and Francisca Kan.

More information about the exhibit and film festival can be found on the Trout Gallery website.

Peter Lorre, who considered Casablanca unimportant, claimed he made more money playing the “Café American” set’s roulette wheel between takes than he did actually working on the film. This and more reminiscences by cast and crew, plus background on the making of Casablanca, are described in the Warner Brothers chapter of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, by Stephen D. Youngkin.

June 8, 2011

Arsenic and Old Lace in Gettysburg, June 8, 2011

The historic Majestic Theater in downtown Gettysburg kicks off its fifth summer of classic movies with a showing of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

The show begins at 7:30 pm. Admission is $6 for all seats.

Ticket packages for the classic film season are also available. The Deluxe Offer includes 10 movies for $60, with 3 free movies. The Special Offer includes 6 movies for $36, with 1 free movie.

The complete list of films this summer can be found in the Calendar section of the theater's website.

The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle Street in Gettysburg, PA. Metered parking is available on the street in front of the theater, with a parking garage located in Race Horse Alley, directly behind the theater.

For more information, please call (717) 337-8200.

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005), Stephen Youngkin details the making of Arsenic and Old Lace, with personal reminiscences of cast members Peter Lorre and Cary Grant by the director Frank Capra. The official website for The Lost One includes behind-the-scenes photos – including Peter’s personal copy of a photo of the entire cast standing amongst the tombstones of the graveyard set.

Next week’s film: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – with a Nazi villain whose resemblance to Lorre is not by accident. Ronald Lacey was cast in the role specifically because he reminded Raiders director Steven Spielberg of Peter Lorre. Catch it at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.

June 5, 2011

Lorre Films This Summer



A summer of Peter Lorre films on TV begins with a showing of Arsenic and Old Lace on Turner Classic Movies – Sunday, June 5, 1:45 pm EST.

And then continues on with many Lorre films through July and August.

Peter Lorre's page on the TV Guide Channel website lists the Lorre films scheduled on various television channels over a 2-week period.


June, 2011

June 5 (Sun.), 1:45 pm, Turner Classic Movies channel – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

June 11 (Sat.), 9:30 am, Fox Movie Channel – I Was an Adventuress (1940)

June 15 (Wed.), 9 am, Hallmark Movie Channel – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

June 20 (Mon.), 5:15 am, Action Cinemax – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)


July, 2011

July 2 (Sat.), 5:15 am, More Max – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961).

July 4 (Mon.), 4:10 pm, MGM Movie Channel – Muscle Beach Party (1964).

July 6 (Wed.), 3 am, TCM – Three Strangers (1946). A rare romantic role for Peter. His leading lady, Joan Lorring, also played his love interest in The Verdict (1946).

July 7 (Thurs.), 8:35 am, Flix East – The Patsy (1964).

July 8 (Fri.), 12 midnight, THIS channel – Black Angel (1946).

July 10 (Sun.), 6 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942).

July 11 (Mon.), 6:45 am, Flix East – The Patsy (1964).

July 14 (Thurs.), 1:30 pm, THIS channel – The Comedy of Terrors (1964).

July 14 (Thurs.), 2:30 am, TCM – The Sad Sack (1957). An entry in TCM’s month-long look at Arab Images on Film, this Jerry Lewis starrer with Peter Lorre as Sergeant Abdul ends an evening of “Arabs as a Subject of Ridicule”.

July 19 (Tues.), 6 am, Flix East – The Patsy (1964).

July 24 (Sun.), 7:30 am, Fox Movie Channel – I Was an Adventuress (1940)

July 27 (Wed.), 4:30 pm, Flix East – The Patsy (1964).



August, 2011
TCM presents their annual Summer Under the Stars – No special day for Peter Lorre, but several days for Lorre co-stars.

Aug. 10 (Wed.), 4:15 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Shirley MacLaine Day – As a Japanese steward on a ship bound for Yokohama, Peter Lorre joined dozens of Hollywood actors in this all-star extravaganza filmed around the world. He also appeared in the animated closing credits – as a sword-wielding samurai warrior.

Aug. 17 (Wed.), 8 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). Humphrey Bogart Day, featuring the first film Peter made with his long-time buddy.

Aug. 17 (Wed.), 12 midnight, TCM – Beat the Devil (1954). Humphrey Bogart Day continues with the final film Peter and Bogie made together.

Aug. 23 (Tues.), 9:30 am, TCM – All Through the Night (1942). Conrad Veidt Day features the second film Lorre made with Bogart.

Aug. 23 (Tues.), 12 midnight, TCM – Casablanca (1942): Conrad Veidt Day ends with another Lorre and Bogart film.



These films and many other Lorre movies are now available on DVD and VHS – some remastered and packaged with extra features. For more information on the films of Peter Lorre released to home video, head to the DVD — VHS section of The Lost One website.

Happy viewing!

April 28, 2011

TCM Sets Schedule for The Constant Nymph

Peter Lorre fans attending Turner Classic Movies' Classic Film Festival this weekend – The time and place for the Constant Nymph screening has been announced.

The Constant Nymph will be shown on Friday, Apr. 29, 2011, at the Chinese Multiplex, auditorium number 1. The program begins at 10 a.m. The Chinese Multiplex is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., next door to Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The complete schedule may be found on the festival's website.

Although all levels of festival passes are now sold out, tickets for individual events may be purchased on the day, for cash only on a first-come, first-served basis. Most events are priced at $20.

Parking is available at the Hollywood & Highland Center retail complex. Festival attendees can get a discount of $2 for up to four hours with festival validation, and up to $10 for a full day. The Hollywood & Highland Center is located on Hollywood Blvd., between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive.

The Constant Nymph (Warner Bros., 1943) featured Peter in a purely romantic role. As the wealthy Fritz Bercovy, he loves and marries Toni Sanger, one of the Sanger sisters and played by Brenda Marshall.

With a restored print and the legal issues resolved, Lorre fans can look forward to Constant Nymph added to TCM’s regular TV schedule, as well as released to DVD later this year.

April 8, 2011

Peter Lorre on XM Radio, April 10 to 16, 2011

Harry Morgan’s 96th birthday on April 10 is the occasion for two episodes of Peter Lorre’s 1947 radio series Mystery in the Air on the satellite radio channel Radio Classics – channel 164 on the XM dial and channel 118 on the Sirius dial.

Mystery in the Air was an NBC summer replacement series for The Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Show. On June 26, 1947 – his 43rd birthday – Peter appeared at the close of Bud and Lou’s final show of the season to announce his upcoming series.

Beginning July 3, and for 12 weeks following, Lorre starred in mystery and suspense stories "culled from the four corners of world literature", as well as some original radio scripts, such as "The Marvelous Barastro". The series ended on Sept. 25, 1947, with an adaptation of Peter’s own film version of Crime and Punishment (Columbia, 1935).

As the "Voice of Mystery", Harry Morgan introduced and narrated each week’s episode. Airing in honor of his birthday will be "The Queen of Spades", from the short story by Russian author Alexander Pushkin; and "The Black Cat", from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, one of Peter’s favorite writers. "The Queen of Spades" aired originally on Sept. 11, 1947, and "The Black Cat" a week later on Sept. 18, 1947.

The full Radio Classics schedule can be found on the Radio Classics website. Mystery in the Air will air on the following dates and times. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Sunday, Apr. 10:
4 am and 4:30 am
4 pm and 4:30 pm

Wednesday, Apr. 13:
6 am and 6:30 am
2 pm and 2:30 pm

Saturday, Apr. 16:
8 pm and 8:30 pm

For his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005), Stephen Youngkin interviewed Harry Morgan about his experiences working with Lorre on the show.

"I have never seen in front of a microphone anybody throw himself into a performance in every which way, including physically, which was to me so astounding, as Peter," Mr. Morgan remembered. Peter Lorre was an actor who played to the microphone, not the small studio audience attending the broadcasts – ending each program bathed in perspiration from the effort of his fantastic vocal performance.

In the Appendix, The Lost One also includes a list of Peter Lorre’s radio credits, many of which are available for purchase through internet dealers such as Radio Showcase.

April 5, 2011

Casablanca in Sri Lanka, Apr. 5, 2011

In Casablanca, Peter Lorre profited from selling exit visas to refugees anxious to escape the North African city. On Tuesday, April 5, residents of Sri Lanka can escape to the American Embassy for a free showing of Casablanca.

Free Movie Tuesday returns to the American Center Auditorium in the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The full schedule can be found on the Embassy’s website.

The program begins at 6 p.m. Parking is not available.

The U.S. Embassy is located at 210 Galle Road, in Sri Lanka.

For more information, please contact the American Center at their eMail address – amcentersl@state.gov – or by telephone at (11) 249-8100.

March 27, 2011

The Constant Nymph Scheduled for the TCM Classic Film Festival

Peter Lorre fans attending Turner Classic Movies’ second annual film festival in Hollywood are in for a special treat this year – a showing of Warner Brothers’ The Constant Nymph.

The 1943 movie, starring Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer, has been caught in a legal limbo for years and unavailable except for rare viewings at film archives, such as the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus Theater in Culpepper, VA, in August 2010.

The TCM Classic Film Festival will be held from April 28 to May 1, 2011, Thursday to Sunday.

Although the location of The Constant Nymph’s showing has not yet been announced, the festival theaters include these 1920s movie palaces located along Hollywood Boulevard – Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (1927), The Egyptian Theatre (1922), and the Music Box (1926) – as well as two screens in the Chinese Multiplex, a modern 6-screen cinema next door to Grauman’s Chinese.

Attendees are encouraged to book room reservations at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (1927), conveniently located to all festival theaters and the venue of Club TCM, panel discussions, fan gatherings, and more. Please call the hotel direct at (800) 950-7667.

Other hotels offering special festival rates are:

There are four levels of festival passes – the Matinee, the Classic, the Essential, and the Spotlight. To date, the Matinee is the only pass still available.

Walk-up tickets for individual events may be available on the day, immediately before show-time. A complete list of the film schedule can be found on the festival's website.

The Constant Nymph featured Peter Lorre in a purely romantic role. As the wealthy Fritz Bercovy, he loves and marries Toni Sanger, one of the Sanger sisters and played by Brenda Marshall. Peter would later appear with Ms. Marshall in the spy thriller Background to Danger (1943) – as brother and sister Russian agents.

With the rights issues now resolved, Lorre fans can look forward to The Constant Nymph being added to TCM’s regular TV schedule, as well as a release to DVD later this year.

March 7, 2011

Sanibel Island’s Own Oscar Night With Casablanca

The Academy Awards are over in Los Angeles, but on Monday, March 7, 2011, the BIG ARTS Film Society on Florida’s Sanibel Island will host their own Oscar ceremony – complete with stars on the red carpet, Oscar ballots, a champagne reception, and a special showing of Casablanca (1942).

The event will be held at the Schein Performance Hall, located in the BIG ARTS Center, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel, Florida, and between the City Hall and the Historical Museum.

Parking is available in the BIG ARTS Center lot, beside the Historical Village and Museum, as well as the City Hall lot, the Sanibel Library lots, and the north end of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.

The program begins at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $7, and include the Oscar ceremony, the showing of Casablanca, and the champagne reception. Tickets may be purchased at the BIG ARTS Center at 900 Dunlop Road. For more information, please call (239) 395-0900.

Hosting the event will be Sidney Picker, with Master of Ceremony Albert Hann.

Peter O’Toole and Dame Judi Dench are rumored to appear on-stage at the Scheim Performance Hall.

And walking the red carpet will be Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Dorothy Lamour, Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and Al Pacino – all portrayed by local islanders dressed as the Hollywood stars.

Cameras are permitted at the champagne reception, but – no autographs, please . . . . . . . . . . . . .

February 27, 2011

Casablanca Onscreen in Belfast, Maine

Romance and romantic comedy are February’s themes for the Sunday Matinee Movie Series at the Belfast Free Library – and Casablanca (1942) is the feature on Sunday, February 27, 2011.

The program begins at 4 p.m. in the Abbott Room. Admission is free.

The Belfast Free Library is located at 106 High St., Belfast, Maine. For more information, please call (207) 338-3884.

The “snow date” for Casablanca will be Monday, February 28, at 7 p.m.

February 19, 2011

Hitchcock Retrospective in Silver Spring, MD

The AFI Silver Theater is the venue for Part 1 of a 3-part retrospective of famed British director Alfred Hitchock – and on the schedule are the two films he made with Peter Lorre: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Secret Agent (1936).

Showtimes for The Man Who Knew Too Much:
  • Feb. 19, Sat. – 1:00 pm
  • Feb. 20, Sun. – 2:30 pm
  • Feb. 21, Mon. – 5:15 pm
  • Feb. 23, Wed. – 9:30 pm
And for Secret Agent:
  • Mar. 5, Sat. – 1:00 pm
  • Mar. 6, Sun. – 7:00 pm

Ticket prices are $11 for general admission; $8.50 for AFI members; $9 for seniors, students and military; and $7 for children 12 and under. Matinee shows – Monday through Friday before 6 p.m. – are $8.50.

American Film Institute passes will be accepted for both The Man Who Knew Too Much and Secret Agent.

Tickets may be reserved on-line through the AFI Silver Theater website with no added fee; however, when picking up the tickets, you must show the same credit card used to reserve them. MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express credit cards are accepted.

Scroll to the film's title and click the "Buy Tickets" button.

Tickets may also be purchased at the box office in advance or on the day. The box office opens 30 minutes before the first movie of the day.

The AFI Silver Theater is located at 8633 Colesville Road, at the corner of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Directions to the theater may be found on the theater’s website.

Parking is available at a variety of public parking decks around the theater. Closest is the Town Square Garage at 801 Ellsworth Drive. More information on parking can be found on the theater’s website, as well as the AFI Silver Theater page on the Silver Spring Downtown website; scroll down to the "Nearby Parking" section.

Lorre biographer Stephen Youngkin details the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much and Secret Agent in the pages of his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005).

Working on The Man Who Knew Too Much enabled Peter to gain a working understanding of the English language and English methods of film-making, which led to a contract with Columbia Studios and the start of his career in American movies.

However, his experiences on Secret Agent only a year later essentially ended his screen association with Alfred Hitchcock.

Towards the end of his career, Peter Lorre appeared in two episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Diplomatic Corpse" (Dec. 8, 1957) and "Man From the South" (Mar. 13, 1960), the latter episode postponed from its original air-date of Jan. 3, 1960; CBS considered its gruesome storyline inappropriate for the holiday season. Although Hitchcock hosted the episodes, neither was among those he himself directed.

February 12, 2011

Lorre Lovers, Spend Valentine's Day with Peter

This Valentine’s Day weekend, Peter Lorre fans can enjoy Casablanca on either the Big or Small Screen.

From Feb. 11 to Feb. 18, the 1942 classic is on the schedule at The Screening Room, a café cinema serving beer, wine and coffee along with snacks.

Showtimes for Casablanca are:
  • Fri., Feb. 11 – 7 p.m.
  • Sat., Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.
  • Mon., Feb. 14 – 4:30, 7, and 9:15 p.m.
  • Tues., Feb. 15 – 7:30 p.m.
  • Fri., Feb. 18 – 9 p.m.
Admission for all screenings is $5. The full schedule can be found on the cinema’s website. Or call the theater at (716) 837-0376.

The Screening Room is located at 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY, behind the Key Bank in the Northtown Plaza, within the Northtown Plaza Business Center. The entrance faces North Bailey. Parking is available directly behind the Arthur Murray Dance Studio, on North Bailey.

And on the small screen . . .

Can't get to Amherst, NY? Turner Classic Movies will show Casablanca on Monday, Feb. 14, as part of their annual “31 Days of Oscar” festival.

The film begins at 10 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific.

If only Peter's screen time were larger than two (key) scenes . . . .

February 11, 2011

The Raven Screened for The Big Read on Feb. 11, 2011

On Friday, Feb. 11, the Washington County Public Library will kick off this year’s Big Read program with The Raven (AIP, 1963).

The film will begin 6 p.m. in the Conference Room of the main branch of the library. Admission is free, and popcorn will be available.

The library is located at 205 Oak Hill Street, NE, in Abingdon, VA.

For more information, please contact Leslie Tabor at (276) 676-6391. A full list of all the Big Read events can be found on the library’s website.

The National Endowment for the Arts launched The Big Read in the fall of 2007 as a way of bringing reading back to American culture. Dashiell Hammett’s novel The Maltese Falcon was the first book chosen, and the 1941 film version was shown in many theaters and libraries across the U.S., accompanied by book discussions and special materials, including bookmarks, pamphlets, and CDs on both the novel and the movie.

This year, the Washington County Library, in partnership with the Barter Theatre, chose Edgar Allan Poe for his influence on American culture – and to consider the link between mental health and creativity. “The Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe” will run from Feb. 10 through Mar. 31, 2011 and will include poetry and art contests, book discussions, and other Poe-inspired movies.

Upcoming Big Read events can be found on The Big Read website. Events may be selected by community, date range, or by book – including The Maltese Falcon.

February 4, 2011

The Maltese Falcon On-Screen in Cape May, NJ

As an installment in the “Film Noir Movie Night” program, the Cape May County Library will present The Maltese Falcon (1941) on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011.

The film begins at 6 p.m. and will be shown in the Storytime Room at the Cape May Court House Library. Admission for the event is free.

The Cape May Court House Library is located at 30 Mechanic Street, Cape May Court House, NJ.

For more information, please call (609) 463-6350.

The Maltese Falcon was the first film Peter Lorre worked on with Humphrey Bogart. The two actors became lifelong friends and appeared in four more movies, three of them at Warner Bros. – All Through the Night (1942), Casablanca (1942), Passage to Marseille (1944), and Beat the Devil (1954). A discussion of Peter and Bogie both on- and off-screen can be found in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, the authorized biography of Peter Lorre, by Stephen D. Youngkin (University Press of Kentucky, 2005).

January 28, 2011

Arsenic and Old Lace On-Screen in Detroit, Jan. 28 and 29, 2011


Detroit’s historic Redford Theatre will screen Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28 and 29.

Evening performances both days will begin at 7:30 p.m. On the organ that originally accompanied silent movies, Jennifer Candea will play our national anthem, followed by a selection of lively tunes. The film begins at 8 p.m. with the Columbia studios cartoon “Willoughby’s Magic Hat”, originally shown in cinemas on Apr. 20, 1943. On Saturday, the matinee begins at 1:30 p.m. with organ music, followed by the film program at 2 p.m.

Pianists Chris Cavanaugh and Nancy Pennington will play songs in the lobby for an hour before each program.

All seats are $4.00. Tickets may be purchased at the box office one hour before show time.

Free lighted and supervised parking is available in two lots on the north side of the theater.

The Redford Theatre is located at 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit, in the Old Redford neighborhood. Originally opening on Jan. 27, 1928, the Redford Theatre has long been known as a neighborhood movie house and entertainment center, with a three-story grand foyer and a full-size stage. Very likely Arsenic and Old Lace played here on its original run in the early 1940s. . . .