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).

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember watching a movie on TV when I was a child that Peter Lorre was in...a murder mystery where they hung a toy in the window as a signal that "all was clear", or that it wasn't safe timing to do something. I remember being scared by Peter Lorre...perhaps the whole mystery! I think the toy was a giraffe or toy elephant. I would love to know what that show was...can you help me? Something about Peter Lorre, or the toy, or the plot has stayed with me and I have wondered for decades what the title of that show was. I think it would have been in the '60's that I saw it on TV.
Thanks for any help you can give me!

Cheryl Morris said...

Well, it's definitely not one of Peter's movies. Are you sure it was Peter Lorre, though? Many people see a small rotund man in a movie or TV show and think it's Peter. J. Edward Bromberg, for example -- in a book called The Films of Clark Gable, the author thought Bromberg was Peter – and wrote in the synopsis that Peter suffered a "cruel death". Actually, Peter was alive to the very end of the movie.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...it is a very strong childhood memory...but since it is a childhood memory, I could be wrong...I remember his face so clearly. Thank you for helping to solve a mystery for me. Must not have been Peter Lorre :~( . Do you have any idea what film had a male character place a toy in the window as a signal? The plot still haunts me, even if it wasn't Peter Lorre. Thank you for your answer!

Cheryl Morris said...

Well, there's an episode of the 1960s British TV series The Avengers, in which characters must have a stuffed animal to gain admission to the villains' hide-out.

But a way you might be able to find out is to go to the Classic Horror Film board -- http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/ -- and scroll down to the "Murder and Mystery" section. Post your question there. Many people ask "What is this film?", with just a few details. The many fans of classic and contemporary horror, mystery, and science-fiction movies on the forum should be able to help you.

Good luck!