November 12, 2017

Fathom Events Presents Casablanca Nov. 12, 2017

On Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017, Fathom Events joins the Turner Classic Movies channel with a special showing of Casablanca (1942), in celebration of the film’s 75th anniversary.

The program begins at 7 pm with an introduction by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Some theaters will also have a matinee showing at 2 pm. Casablanca will also be shown on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, at 7 pm, and some cinemas will include a matinee show at 2 pm.

To locate a participating theater, enter a city or zip code on the Casablanca page and choose either Nov. 12 or Nov. 15.

Ticket prices are $12.50 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at each cinema’s box office, or in advance at the theater, as well as on-line through the Fathom Events website and Fandango. A nominal convenience fee will be added to tickets purchased on-line through either Fathom Events or Fandango.

In the small but pivotal role of black marketeer Ugarte, Peter Lorre sets in motion the film’s events by acquiring – through murder – a pair of valuable exit visas that he intends to sell to freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman).

It was a part to which Peter attached no importance. He later claimed he made more money playing the roulette wheel on the “Café Americain” set than he did in the four days he worked before the camera.

Casablanca did, however, give Peter the opportunity to work with his pal Humphrey Bogart. Not yet a contract player at Warner Bros., Peter was hired back for his third Bogart-starring movie, as the studio considered how he might fit in with their stable of actors. By the time he joined Bogart on Passage to Marseille (1944) in late 1943, Peter had appeared in several Warner Bros. films as a member of the Warners stock company.

The making of Casablanca and the on- and off-screen friendship of Bogie and Peter is discussed in the authorized Lorre biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005), by Stephen D. Youngkin – now available on the Kindle and Nook, as well as paperback and hard-back.

November 10, 2017

Goethe-Institut in San Francisco Presents M

The Goethe-Institut, located in San Francisco, California, presents a “Fritz Lang Night”, including a showing of the German director’s – and Peter Lorre’s – first sound movie, M (1931), on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017.

M will begin at 8:30 pm, following a showing of the Lang biopic Fritz Lang at 6 pm.

Admission to the double-feature is $15. Individual tickets to either movie are $10 for adults, seniors, and students, and $8 for members of “Berlin and Beyond”.

The Goethe-Institut is located at 530 Bush Street, between Stockton Street and Grant Avenue, in San Francisco, California.

Metered parking is available on the streets near the venue. The Goethe-Institut is also served by both bus and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). More information about the Institut is available on the venue’s website.

For more information, please call the Goethe-Institut at 415-263-8760.

November 6, 2017

Holiday Time With Lorre on TV

The holiday season is here, and as 2017 becomes 2018, Lorre fans have much to celebrate with plenty of Lorre movies on television and 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.



November, 2017

Just a handful of Lorre films this month, as Casablanca (1942) celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Nov. 12 (Sun), 3:45 pm, Turner Classic Movies channel – Casablanca (1942). The daytime theme is “Veterans Day”, and TCM celebrates with the classic wartime drama that won Peter Lorre a contract at the Warner Brothers studios. And today, as well as Wednesday, Nov. 15, Fathom Events joins TCM in showings of Casablanca in many movie theaters.

Nov. 20 (Mon), 2 pm, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). Today’s daytime theme on TCM is “Screwball Classics” with a showing of the dark comedy about two spinster sisters who poison lonely old men with a home-brew of elderberry wine, spiked with three kinds of poison.

Nov. 21 (Tues), 4:15 pm, MGM HD – Tales of Terror (1962).

Nov. 25 (Sat), 2:30 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Peter Lorre is one of many cameos in this all-star extravaganza about the Victorian London gentleman (David Niven) who bets he can circle the globe in 80 days.

Nov. 27 (Mon), 4:15 am, MGM HD – Tales of Terror (1962).



December, 2017

A variety of Lorre movies this month on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

Dec. 1 (Fri), 10:15 am, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). TCM's daytime theme is "Cary Grant", and among the movies today is the only film Cary Grant made with Peter Lorre.

Dec. 2 (Sat), 11:15 pm, TCM – Mad Love (1935). The prime-time theme on TCM is "Starring Colin Clive".

Dec. 5 (Tue), 6 am, TCM – M (1931). TCM salutes the birthday of director Fritz Lang, beginning with his first sound movie – as well as Peter Lorre's first sound movie.

Dec. 6 (Wed), Noon, MGM HD – Tales of Terror (1962).

Dec. 8 (Fri), 11:45 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). The daytime theme on TCM is "World War II Dramas".

Dec. 11 (Mon), 4:45 pm, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943). TCM's daytime theme is a salute to Sister Acts", and this Joan Fontaine movie follows her sister Olivia de Havilland's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).

Dec. 14 (Thurs), 4:45 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). TCM's daytime theme is "Epics", and Peter Lorre is one of many stars in cameo appearances as Victorian gentleman Fogg (David Niven) makes his way around the world to win a bet.

Dec. 16 (Sat), 4 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942).

Dec. 23 (Sat), 8:40 am, MGM HD – Tales of Terror (1962).

Dec. 29 (Fri), 6:15 am, TCM – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). TCM salutes make-up artist Perc (short for Percival) Westmore, of the famous Westmore family of make-up artists and wig-makers. Peter Lorre’s final horror movie at Warner Bros. was originally released on Christmas Day in 1946.

Dec. 30 (Sat), 4:15 am, MGM HD – Tales of Terror (1962).



January, 2018

January means a new year and new opportunities for Lorre movies on TV. Charles Boyer is TCM's Star of the Month, and this month, TCM will show both of the movies Boyer made with Peter Lorre.

Jan. 4 (Thurs), 8 pm, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954)

Jan. 11 (Thurs), 4:30 am, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943). "Star of the Month" Charles Boyer plays best friend to Peter Lorre's character Fritz Bercovy, who romances and weds Brenda Marshall, one of the Sanger girls.

Jan. 14 (Sun), 2 pm, TCM – Passage to Marseille (1944).

Jan. 16 (Tues), 5:45 pm, TCM – Silk Stockings (1957). The daytime theme is "East/West Romance", and West meets and romances East when American promoter Fred Astaire meets Russian envoy Cyd Charisse, while three Russian commissars (Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin, Joseph Buloff) are seduced by Paris.

Jan. 13 (Sat), 8 am, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954)

Jan. 18 (Thurs), 4 pm, MeTV channel – Wagon Train, "The Alexander Portlass Story" (Mar. 16, 1960).

Jan. 18 (Thurs), 5:45 am, TCM – Confidential Agent (1945). "Star of the Month" Boyer finds himself working against Peter Lorre, and Katina Paxinou, in this spy drama set in London.

Jan. 25 (Fri), 1:30 am, MeTV channel – Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "The Diplomatic Corpse" (Dec. 8, 1957).



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

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the making of Peter’s movies, including interviews with many of the directors, writers, actors, and crew who worked with Peter.

A complete list of Peter’s movies and television credits is available in the book’s Appendix.

Purchase The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre from Amazon.

Happy viewing!