May 30, 2018

Lorre Film Next in Connecticut Movie Series

The classic mystery The Maltese Falcon (1941) is next on the schedule of the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission’s film series "Someday Cinema" in Newtown, Connecticut, on Thursday, May 31, 2018.

The film will be shown at 2 pm and 7 pm. The 2 pm matinee will be shown with captions for the benefit of the hearing impaired. The 7 pm evening show will be introduced by Dr. Mark Schenker, of Yale.

Attendees of both screenings will have a chance to win a copy of the Dashiell Hammett novel and a modern graphic poster of the Bogart-Astor-Lorre-Greenstreet movie The Maltese Falcon, donated by artist Michael Gelen of Inkwell Studios, located in Buffalo, New York.

Admission is $3 for all seats.

The Edmond Town Hall Theatre is located in the Newtown Town Hall, 45 Main Street, in Newtown, Connecticut. For more information, please call 203-270-4285.

Parking is available in front of the Newtown Town Hall, as well as the lot behind the building.

Movies in the “Someday Cinema” series are sponsored by local businesses and organizations. The C.H. Booth Library is the sponsor of The Maltese Falcon.

Coming up later in the fall – a Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff double-feature of The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), on Sunday, October 29, 2018.

May 24, 2018

Summer Film Fests Include Lorre

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and many movie theaters around the world host classic film festivals. During the summer of 2018, Casablanca (1942) will be shown at a number of cinemas, including ~



Paramount Theatre – Austin, Texas

Now in its 34th year, the annual Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, held at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, includes two Peter Lorre films.

Casablanca (1942) kicks off the fest on Thursday, May 24, 2018, with a Film Fan Opening Night Party at 6:30 pm and the movie at 7:30 pm.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) will be shown on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 9 pm, and on Thursday, Aug. 9, at 7 pm.

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or on-line through the Paramount website, with discounts for Film Fan Club members. A FLIX-TIX pass, good for any 10 admissions during the festival, is also available.

The Paramount Theatre is located at 713 Congress Avenue, in Austin, Texas. Directions to the venue, as well as parking information, are available on the Paramount website.



Prince Charles Cinema – London, England

The Prince Charles Cinema, located in London, England, will present a 35mm print of Casablanca on Saturday, May 26, 2018, as part of their Classic Film Series, as well as their series of 35mm Presentations.

Casablanca will begin at 2:45 pm.

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or on-line through the cinema’s website.

The Prince Charles Cinema is located at 7 Leicester Place, in London, England. Directions to the cinema, as well as information on public transportation, are available on the venue’s website.



Rio Grande Theatre – Las Cruces, New Mexico

As part of its annual Classic Film Series, the historic Rio Grande Theatre, located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, will present Casablanca on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Casablanca will begin at 7 pm.

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or on-line through the cinema’s website. A Season Pass for the festival, which runs from September to September, is also available.

The Rio Grande Theatre is located at 211 North Downtown Mall, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.



Cinespia – Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California

On March 25, 1964, Peter Lorre was laid to rest in the Abbey of the Psalms, Corridor C in the Alcove of Reverence, in Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.

On Sunday, May 27, 2018, the cemetery, now known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery, will show Casablanca as part of its Cinespia outdoors series of movies.

Doors open at 6:45 pm, and the movie will begin at 8:30 pm.

Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Cinespia website.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. Directions to the cemetery, as well as public transportation options, are available on the Cinespia website.




Prytania Theatre – New Orleans, Louisiana

Every Sunday and Wednesday, the historic Prytania Theatre, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, features classic Hollywood films of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. For more than 6 years, Rene Brunet, Jr, selected the movies himself, and now the Prytania staff continues the tradition he began by featuring some of his favorite movies.

Casablanca will be shown on Sunday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 6, 2018. The film will begin at 10 am both days.

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or on-line through the venue’s website.

The Prytania is located at 5339 Prytania Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.



Majestic Theater – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Every Wednesday in the summer months of June through August, the historic Majestic Theater, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, presents classic movies, including introductions by the Majestic’s movie buff Jeffrey Gabel and raffle prizes.

On Wednesday, June 6, 2018, the cinema kicks off this year’s fest with a showing of Casablanca, beginning at 7:30 pm.

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office, by phone, or through the venue’s website.

The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle Street, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Directions to the theater, as well as information about parking, are available on the cinema’s website.



Saenger Theatre – Mobile, Alabama

Beginning a little later in the summer season, the Saenger Theatre will kick off its “Summer Classic Movie Series” with Casablanca on Sunday, July 15, 2018.

The movie will begin at 3 pm.

Tickets may be purchased at either the Saenger Theatre Box Office or the Mobile Civic Center Box Office.

The Saenger Theatre is located at 6 South Joachim Street in Mobile, Alabama. Directions to the theater, as well as information about parking, are available on the venue’s website.



Tampa Theater – Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Theater ends its “Summer Classics Movie Series” with Casablanca on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018.

Casablanca will begin at 3 pm. Immediately following the movie, retired Sarasota Herald Tribune film critic George Meyer will lead a discussion of Casablanca and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Tickets may be purchased at the cinema box-office, as well as on-line through the venue’s website.

The Tampa Theatre is located at 711 North Franklin Street in Tampa, Florida. Directions to the cinema, as well as information about parking, are available on the cinema’s website.



In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen D. Youngkin details the making of Casablanca, a movie that gave Peter the opportunity to work with his good friend Humphrey Bogart for a third time.

As the pivotal character Ugarte, Peter gets the action going by leaving with Rick Blaine (Bogart) a pair of valuable exit visas. It was a part to which Peter attached little importance – but it was the part that led him to a contract with Warner Bros. and the most productive period of his career.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre may be purchased from Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

May 23, 2018

Annapolis Movie Series Includes Lorre

The historic 1747 Pub, located in Annapolis, Maryland, continues its Sunday night series of free movies in the Beer Garden with Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) over the Memorial Day holiday weekend on Sunday, May 27, 2018.

The movie will begin at dusk, approximately 8:30 pm.

Admission is free, and showings are open to the public.

Come between 3 and 7 pm and enjoy Happy Hour or a meal at the 1747 Pub. Food and beverage service continues throughout the screening. Scheduled movies are listed on the Events Calendar page of the pub’s website.

The Beer Garden at the 1747 Pub is located directly behind Reynolds Tavern and has an entrance on Franklin Street. Reynolds Tavern is located at 7 Church Circle, in Annapolis, Maryland.

Parking is available in the South Street Lot, located at 134 South Street, off Church Circle, in Annapolis, Maryland. More information about the South Street Lot is available on the Annapolis Parking website.

For more information, please call the Reynolds Tavern at 410-295-9555.

May 1, 2018

Summer Fun with Lorre on TV

Summer brings many Lorre movies to television and Turner Classic Movies – with a special treat for Lorre fans in June.

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.



May, 2018

A handful of Lorre films for May, plus one of his many television appearances.

May 3 (Thurs), 2 pm, Starz Westerns channel – Wagon Train, “The Alexander Portlass Story” (originally broadcast over NBC, Mar. 16, 1960).

May 6 (Sun), 10:20 pm, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

May 12 (Sat), 1 am, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

May 20 (Sun), 4 am, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

May 21 (Mon), 10:15 pm, Turner Classic Movies channel – Casablanca (1942). TCM’s primetime theme is “The Four Freedoms” with a series of five movies, including this wartime classic. Harvey J. Kaye, author of The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great (2014), co-hosts the evening with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and discusses the two freedoms associated with Casablanca – the Freedom of Worship and the Freedom of Speech.

May 24 (Thurs), 6 am, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

May 27 (Sun), 7:45 am, TCM – Hollywood Canteen (1944). Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet appear as themselves in this star-studded extravaganza about the famed servicemen’s canteen.

May 29 (Tues), 7:45 am, TCM – My Favorite Brunette (1947). TCM salutes Bob Hope’s birthday with the only movie Bob made with Peter – a comic take-off on mystery and suspense movies.



June, 2018

June 26 is the 114th anniversary of Peter Lorre’s birth – June 26, 1904 – and for Lorre fans, June brings many Lorre movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

June 2 (Sat), 2 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

June 2 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM – Three Strangers (1946). The primetime theme is “Stranger Danger”, with a double-feature of movies involving strangers. Peter joins Sydney Greenstreet and Geraldine Fitzgerald as the title characters, who make a wish on a Chinese statue, with unfortunate results.

June 4 (Mon), 6:15, TCM – They Met in Bombay (1941). TCM wishes Rosalind Russell a happy birthday with a morning and afternoon of her films, including the only movie she made with Peter, who plays the Chinese skipper of a tramp steamer bound for Hong Kong and who takes the escaping jewel thieves Rosalind Russell and Clark Gable as passengers – for a price.

June 8 (Fri), 11:30 am, TCM – Hotel Berlin (1945). Check in to TCM’s daytime theme of “Five Star Hotels”.

June 14 (Thurs), 2 am, TCM – Hollywood Canteen (1944). Every Tuesday and Thursday in June, TCM turns the spotlight on movie musicals with their series "Mad About Musicals". Today, the focus is on musicals of the 1940

June 18 (Mon), 9:15 am, TCM – Muscle Beach Party (1964). TCM's daytime theme is "Summer at the Drive-In", including this entry in the popular Beach Party series of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello films.

June 19 (Tues), 12 noon, TCM – Silk Stockings (1957). TCM's spotlight series continues with "Mad About Musicals: The 1950s".

June 25 (Mon), 4 pm, MeTV channel – Wagon Train, "The Alexander Portlass Story" (originally broadcast over NBC, Mar. 16, 1960).

June 29 (Fri), TCM – Although June 26 is Peter Lorre's birthday, TCM celebrates his 114th birthday today with a daytime theme of "Peter Lorre" and a morning and afternoon of Lorre movies, beginning at 9 am and continuing until 8 pm, including ~
  • 9 am, TCM – M (1931). Peter's first sound movie.
  • 11 am, TCM – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Peter’s first English-language film.
  • 12:30 pm, TCM – Mad Love (1935). Peter’s first American film.
  • 1:45 pm, TCM – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). Peter plays the title character in the movie considered the first film noir.
  • 3 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). Peter’s first film at the Warner Bros. studio.
  • 4:45 pm, TCM – The Conspirators (1944). Peter teams up with Sydney Greenstreet as Allied agents working in Lisbon.
  • 6:30 pm, TCM – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). "Lorre Day" concludes with Peter’s final movie at Warner Bros.
June 30 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). TCM's primetime theme is "Mystery Writers", including this fjilm with Peter as a Dutch mystery writer who gets much more than he bargained for he starts to investigate the life and death of a notorious international criminal.



July, 2018

July brings several Lorre movies and TV shows, including one of his final performances.

July 2 (Mon), 4 am, MeTV – 77 Sunset Strip, “5” (originally broadcast over ABC, Sept. 20, 1963). The 1963-64 season opened with a 5-part series of episodes with numerous guest stars, including Peter Lorre as “The Gypsy”.

July 4 (Wed), 1:30 am, MeTV – Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “The Diplomatic Corpse” (originally broadcast over CBS, Dec. 8, 1957). As Tomas Salgado, Peter helps an American couple (George Peppard, Mary Scott) locate their stolen car – and Scott’s aunt.

July 10 (Tues), 6 am, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

July 15 (Sun), 11:30 am, TCM – Casablanca (1942).

July 22 (Sun), 12 noon, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).



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.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre may be purchased from Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

Happy viewing!