February 23, 2012

Preserved Print of Three Strangers On-Screen in Seattle

Beginning Friday, Feb. 24, and running through Thursday, Mar. 1, Eddie Muller and the Seattle International Film Festival will host the annual film noir festival “Noir City” at the SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, and on the schedule will be the newly-preserved 35mm print of Three Strangers. Muller and the Film Noir Foundation recently went to the expense of producing the print for the “Noir City” festival at the Castro Theater in San Francisco.

On Sunday, Feb. 26, Three Strangers will be shown on a double-bill with The Great Gatsby (1949). The matinee begins at 2 pm with The Great Gatsby; Three Strangers follows at 4:30 pm. The evening show begins at 7 pm with The Great Gatsby, and Three Strangers begins at 9:30 pm.

Tickets for both matinee and evening are $12 for adults, $11 for Youth and Seniors (with valid ID), and $7 for SIFF Members. Purchase a ticket for The Great Gatsby at 4:30 or 7 pm, and the ticket stub is admission to Three Strangers at 4:30 or 9:30 pm.

Passes for the entire festival are also available – at $60 or $35 for SIFF members. To receive the discount on all tickets and passes, SIFF members must log into their account first and then order tickets.

Tickets may be purchased through the SIFF website or over the telephone at (206) 324-9996. An additional fee of $1.25 per ticket, up to $5, will be charged for web and phone orders. There is no fee to redeem Early Bird ticket packages, ticket vouchers, or for membership purchases.

Tickets purchased are available for pick-up at Will-Call at the Uptown on the day of the show. The box office and Will-Call open 30 minutes before the first show of the day and remain open during scheduled film screenings. Seating is guaranteed until 10 minutes prior to screening. Late seating is not available.

The SIFF Cinema at the Uptown is located at 511 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, Washington. The Uptown may be reached by both bus and monorail. Public transportation information is available on the SIFF website.

For his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen Youngkin interviewed Joan Lorring, who plays Peter Lorre's love interest in both Three Strangers and The Verdict a year later in 1946. Then-21-year-old Ms. Lorring developed a tremendous crush on Peter and began wearing short skirts to the studio rather than slacks. "I can't tell you how that looked," she commented.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is now available in paperback, as well as the Kindle, Nook, and hard-back.

February 11, 2012

Lorre Lovers, Spend Valentine’s Day with Peter and Casablanca


Peter Lorre fans around the world will have many opportunities to catch Casablanca (1942) in theaters this Valentine’s Day.



SGC Dungarvan

Casablanca begins a week-long run at this cinema in Waterford, Ireland, on Friday, Feb. 10, and ending on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012.

The film begins at 5:30 p.m. each day, with an additional showing at 11 a.m. on Valentine’s Day.

Ticket prices are 7 Euros for adults, 5.50 for children, and 6.50 for seniors. A family ticket pack is available at 4 tickets for 24 Euros. Tickets may also be purchased on-line through the cinema’s website. Please note that a booking fee of 80 cents will be charged per on-line order.

The SGC Dungarvan is located beside the Dungarvan shopping center, in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Directions to the cinema are available on the cinema’s website.



The Screening Room

The Screening Room, located in Amherst, NY, will also begin a week-long showing of Casablanca in celebration of the film’s 70th Anniversary.

Casablanca is scheduled for the following dates and times:

  • Friday, Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.

  • Saturday, Feb. 11 – 7 p.m.

  • Monday, Feb. 13 – 7 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 14 – 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9:15 p.m.

  • Friday, Feb. 17 – 7:30 p.m.

  • Saturday, Feb. 18 – 7:30 p.m.


Tickets for Casablanca are $6 and are available at the box-office on a first-come basis, beginning 30 minutes before the movie begins.

The Screening Room is located within the Northtown Plaza, in the Northtown Plaza Business Center, at 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY. The Business Center faces N. Bailey Avenue, behind the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Parking is available on the N. Bailey side of the building.



Dearborn Public Library

The Blockbusters Free Film Series this season will include Casablanca on Monday, Feb. 13.

The program begins at 7 p.m. in the Henry Ford Centennial Library Auditorium. Admission is free.

The Dearborn Public Library is located at 16301 Michigan Avenue, in Dearborn, Michigan.



British Film Institute, Southbank —

On Saturday, Feb. 11, Casablanca begins an extended run until Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Southbank theater of the BFI in London, England.

Tickets may be purchased online through the BFI website or by calling the box-office at 020 7928 3232. The box-office is open daily between 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

The BFI, Southbank, is located on Belvedere Road, near Waterloo Bridge. Directions and visitor information are available on the BFI website. Parking is available nearby under the Hayward Gallery, the Royal National Theatre, and Jubilee Gardens. Closest train and underground stations are Waterloo (South Bank exit), Embankment, and Charring Cross (cross over the Hungerford Bridge to South Bank).



TCM Classic Film Festival

Lorre fans attending the 3rd annual Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood over April 12 to 15, 2012, will be treated to a showing of a restored print of Casablanca. The theme this year is “Style in Movies”, and Casablanca is among “The Essentials” on the program, including All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Cabaret (1970).

Passes are available in four categories – The Matinee, The Classic, The Essential, and The Spotlight – but quantities are limited and may be purchased through the festival website. Individual tickets may also be available for most films.

Although the schedule has not yet been announced, venues for the various events include Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Chinese Six Theaters, The Egyptian Theater, and the Cinerama Dome – all within an easy walking distance along Hollywood Blvd.



On May 28, 1942, Peter Lorre joined the cast of Casablanca for a total of four days shooting. It was his third film with his off-screen pal Humphrey Bogart, and it added up to about four minutes of screen-time. Between takes, Peter joined the others in playing the roulette wheel on the "Rick’s Café Américain" set. Later, he claimed he had won more at roulette than he earned before the cameras – his salary was $2,333.

And like his co-stars, he never thought the movie would amount to anything – certainly not the revered classic is has become since its release in November, 1942.

Stephen D. Youngkin details the making of Casablanca in his authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), now available in paperback and the Kindle and Nook, as well as hard-bound.