Encore, Encore – Restored Casablanca Returns to Theaters, April 26, 2012

Peter Lorre fans who missed the initial 70th anniversary showing of the restored Casablanca (1942) – or fans who want to catch Peter on the big screen again – will have another opportunity on Thursday, April 26, when Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies present an encore of the event.

As with the previous showing on March 21, a new documentary on the making of Casablanca, hosted by TCM’s own Robert Osborne, will precede the film.

The program will begin at 7 pm, local time. Some theaters will also have matinee showings.

Participating movie theaters are listed by State and City on the Fathom Events website. Updates to the list are being made daily, and theater locations are subject to change.

Ticket prices are $12.50 for all seats, however, some cinemas may offer a discount for students, children, and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the theater, as well as on-line through the Fathom Events website and Fandango.

Shelter Island Library Screens Arsenic and Old Lace on April 24

The Shelter Island Public Library series “Movies at the Library” will continue on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, with a screening of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). However, while renovations to the library’s facilities on the lower level continue, the film will be shown at the Center Firehouse, which is generously providing their training room with its large screen and surround sound.

The program begins at 7 pm. Admission is free, and free bottled water and popcorn will be available.

The Center Firehouse is located at 49 North Ferry Road, in Shelter Island, NY.

Parking is located at the rear of the firehouse, with stairs and an elevator to the screening room.

Arsenic and Old Lace was Peter Lorre’s third movie at Warner Bros., following The Maltese Falcon and All Through the Night, shot in the fall of 1941, but not released until October of 1944. Not yet under contract to the studio, Peter would be called back to the studio for a few more movies before finally becoming a member of the Warners stock company.

In September 1978, Stephen Youngkin interviewed director Frank Capra for the authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005). The director discussed the making of Arsenic and Old Lace and working with Peter, who was Capra’s first choice for the role of the plastic surgeon Dr Einstein to Raymond Massey’s killer, Jonathan Brewster.

Years later, Peter Lorre would reprise the character for television’s The Best of Broadway (Jan. 5, 1955) – opposite Boris Karloff as Jonathan, who had created the role on Broadway in the early 1940s.

Black Angel, Three Strangers at L.A. Film Noir Fest

Peter Lorre fans attending the Noir City Film Festival at the Egyptian in Los Angeles will be in for a special treat – a showing of both Black Angel (1946) and the preserved print of Three Strangers (1945).

Hosted by Eddie Muller and Film Noir Foundation co-director Alan K. Rode, the 14th annual festival of film noir will run from Friday, April 20, to Sunday, May 6, 2012.

Black Angel (1946) will be shown on Sunday, April 22, in a triple feature of movies based on Cornell Woolrich novels beginning at 5 pm with Phantom Lady (1944).

And on Saturday, May 5, Three Strangers (1945) will begin at 7:30 pm, followed by Nobody Loves Forever (1946) in a double-feature tribute to actress Geraldine Fitzgerald. A discussion with the actress’ son, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, will follow Three Strangers.

Tickets for the triple feature with Black Angel are $15 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors, and $10 for American Cinemateque members.

Tickets for the double feature with Three Strangers are $12 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors, and $8 for American Cinemateque members.

Tickets may be purchased on the day or in advance at the Egyptian Theatre’s box-office, which opens 90 minutes before the first show of the day. Tickets may also be purchased on-line through Fandango. Fandango processing fees will apply. More information on tickets may be found on the cinema’s website.

The Egyptian is located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, between Las Palmas and McCadden, and just east of Highland Avenue, in Hollywood, CA. Directions to the cinema can be found on the Egyptian’s website.

Parking is available on the streets off Hollywood Blvd., as well as nearby parking garages, including the complex at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. More information on parking can be found on the Egyptian Theatre website. Please note – the Egyptian no longer validates parking tickets.

For the past 14 years, Eddie Muller has been programming the film noir festival at the Egyptian Theater. Since the formation of the Film Noir Foundation, Eddie has made reclamation and restoration of lost noir films an official crusade. For this event, as well as two previous film noir fests in San Francisco and Seattle, the Film Noir Foundation went to the personal expense of producing a preservation print of Three Strangers.

With several U.S. cities holding film noir festivals this year, more Lorre fans may have an opportunity to see Three Strangers – before UCLA acquires this preserved print for their Film Archive.

Peter Lorre on Television This Spring

April, May, and June bring many Peter Lorre movies on Turner Classic Movies. All times shown are Eastern Standard.

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

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April, 2012

Apr. 13 (Fri.), 8 pm, Turner Classic Movies channel – Casablanca (1942). TCM salutes films celebrating a major anniversary in 2012, including Casablanca, which was released 70 years ago this November.

Apr. 14 (Sat.), 7:30 am, TCM – You”ll Find Out (1940). The only film Peter made with both “horror boys” Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

Apr. 19 (Thurs.), 10 pm, TCM – Muscle Beach Party (1964). TCM celebrates “Spring Break” week with an evening of American International Pictures’ Beach Party movies from the 1960s.

Apr. 30 (Mon.) – TCM salutes director Jean Negulesco with two Lorre movies: The Conspirators (1944) at 10 pm and The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) at 4:30 am

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May, 2012

May 15 (Tues.), 12 midnight, Antenna TV – Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "The Diplomatic Corpse", originally broadcast Dec. 8, 1957.

May 25 (Fri.), 12 midnight, TCM – Strange Cargo (1940).

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June, 2012

June 6 (Wed.), 3:30 pm, TCM – Mad Love (1935)

June 8 (Fri.), 8:30 am, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943)

June 12 (Tues.), 1:30 am, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). TCM presents an evening of movies with "Flashbacks in Noir", including The Mask of Dimitrios, in which the device is used to tell the backstory of the evil Dimitrios (played by Zachary Scott in his film debut).

June 13 (Wed.), 4:15 pm, Encore Westerns Channel – Wagon Train, "The Alexander Portlass Story", originally broadcast over NBC on Mar. 16, 1960.

June 16 (Sat.), 1:15 pm, TCM – All Through the Night (1942).

June 24 (Sun.), 8 am, TCM – Hollywood Canteen (1944).

June 24 (Sun.), 9:30 pm, TCM – The Big Circus (1959). TCM will "Send in the Clowns" with an evening of circus films, including Peter's turn as Skeeter the Clown in The Big Circus, his second Irwin Allen-directed film, as well as his second movie with Vincent Price.

June 30 (Sat.), 1:15 pm, TCM – Passage to Marseille (1944).

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Many of these and 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 Man Who Knew Too Much on April 11 in Fayetteville, GA

On Wednesday, April 11, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) will be the first feature in a months-long film series “Evenings with Sir Alfred: A Hitchcock Retrospective” at the Fayette County Public Library. The series will continue with two screenings each month through October.

The program begins at 6:30 p.m.  Admission is free – and free popcorn will also be provided.

Because the movies will be shown free of charge, the library is not permitted to publish the other titles in the “Evenings with Sir Alfred” series.  However, flyers with the complete schedule, plus descriptions of the movies, are available at the library.

Screening dates are:  April 11 and 25, May 9 and 23, June 6 and 20, July 11 and 25, Aug. 8 and 22, Sept. 5 and 19, and Oct. 3 and 17.  For more information, please call the library at (770) 461-8841.

The Fayette County Public Library is located at 1821 Heritage Parkway, behind the Fayette County administration complex in downtown Fayetteville, Georgia.  Directions to the library may be found on the library’s website.

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, the authorized biography of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin chronicles the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much – Peter’s first English-language movie and first film with Alfred Hitchcock.  It was a role that led Peter to a contract with Columbia Studios in Hollywood and passage to America for himself and his wife Celia Lovsky.

Peter would soon return to England to work with Hitchcock again on Secret Agent (1936) – a film that may also be included in the “Evenings with Sir Alfred” series.

M On-Screen in Savannah, GA, April 14, 2012

As part of their Cinema Circle Film Services, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) will present M (1931) in the Trustees Theater on Saturday night, April 14, 2012.

The SCAD Cinema Circle features pre-show discussions highlighting the importance of the film – cultural, cinematic, and historic. Following the screening will be an in-depth review of the film. Moderating M will be Dr. Tracy Cox-Stanton, SCAD Cinema Studies professor, as well as Winoma Caesar and Meg Sneed, two of SCAD’s cinema studies graduate students.

The program begins at 7 p.m.

The Trustees Theater is located at 216 E. Broughton Street, in Savannah, Georgia. Directions can be found on the SCAD website.

The State Street parking garage, located at the intersection of Abercorn and State streets, is open daily until 1 a.m. The Bryan Street parking garage, located between Bay and Bryan streets, with entrances on Drayton and Abercorn streets, is open 24 hours a day. Both garages charge $1 for the first hour and 50 cents for each additional hour. Off-street parking is also available on Broughton Street and the surrounding streets.

Tickets are $8 for the general public and $6 for military, seniors, and students. Admission is free for anyone with a SCAD ID. Tickets may be purchased at the SCAD box-office or charged by phone at (912) 525-5050. The box-office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Trustees Theater.

Tickets may also be purchased through the Savannah Box Office website. A processing fee of $4 will also be charged.