June 22, 2018

Happy Birthday, Peter Lorre! – From SiriusXM and TCM

Special programming blocks celebrating actors’ birthdays are a tradition on the Radio Classics channel, broadcast over channel 148 on the SiriusXM radio dial.

But this year, Peter Lorre gets a double dose of Happy Birthday wishes from host Greg Bell with two different blocks of Lorre radio programs.

Beginning Tuesday, June 26, 2018 – Peter’s 114th birthday – and continuing throughout the week, Lorre fans can enjoy eight of Peter’s old-time radio performances.

“Peter Lorre Special” includes two episodes from Peter’s own 13-week summer series Mystery in the Air, “The Mask of Medusa” (Sept. 4, 1947) and “Crime and Punishment” (Sept. 25, 1947); an episode of the anthology series Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me” (Aug. 30, 1945); and finally a guest appearance on Jack Benny’s show The Lucky Strike Program, “I Stand Condemned” (Mar. 24, 1946).

“More Peter Lorre B-Day” includes guest appearances on Fred Allen’s show The Texaco Star Theater (Jan. 3, 1943) and Duffy’s Tavern (Oct. 19, 1943), an episode of the anthology series Inner Sanctum, “The Black Seagull” (Mar. 7, 1943), and finally, an episode of Peter’s Armed Forces Radio Services series Mystery Playhouse, “Lady in the Morgue” (Mollé Mystery Theater, May 15, 1945).

And included in the regular block When Radio Was is Peter Lorre’s Suspense episode, “The Devil’s Saint”, originally airing on Jan. 19, 1943.

The Lorre programs and tributes will air on these dates and times ~

Sunday, June 24 ~
When Radio Was
4:30 pm Pacific, 7:30 pm Eastern

Tuesday, June 26 ~
Peter Lorre Special
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

More Peter Lorre B-Day
9 pm Pacific

Wednesday, June 27 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day
12 midnight Eastern

Thursday, July 28 ~
Peter Lorre Special
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Friday, June 29 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Saturday, July 30 ~
Peter Lorre Special
9 am Pacific, 12 noon Eastern

Sunday, July 1 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day
1 am Pacific, 4 am Eastern

And on Friday, June 29, 2018 – three days after Peter’s birthday – the party continues on the Turner Classic Movies channel as TCM salutes Peter’s birthday with a morning and afternoon of Lorre films, beginning at 9 am Eastern and ending at 8 pm, including ~
  • 9 am – M (1931)
  • 11 am – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
  • 12:30 pm – Mad Love (1935)
  • 1:45 pm – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
  • 3 pm – The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  • 4:45 pm – The Conspirators (1944)
  • 6:30 pm – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the Sirius XM radio website.

The full schedule for the week of June 24 to July 1, 2018, is available on the SiriusXM Radio website.

The life and career of Peter Lorre is chronicled in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin, who began his research in the 1970s and interviewed Peter’s brothers Andrew and Francis, his first wife Celia Lovsky, his sister-in-law Barbara through his second wife Karen Verne, his daughter Catherine Lorre, friends, fellow actors, and the directors, producers, and crew who worked with him throughout his career.

These interviews shed light on Peter’s childhood, his early days in theater, his career on film, radio, and television, and his sad final days.

The Appendix of The Lost One includes the most complete list available of Peter’s credits – radio, film, stage, and television.

The Lorre radio programs airing this week in honor of Peter’s birthday are available through many merchants. Many of Peter’s movies, as well as some of his television appearances, are available on DVD.

Published in 2005 through University Press of Kentucky, The Lost One may be purchased from Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

June 17, 2018

Lorre Film Fest at UW Cinematheque

Peter Lorre fans in the area of Madison, Wisconsin, will enjoy a special treat in June and July, 2018 – a 6-week, 8-film series of Lorre movies and Lorre caricatures in Warner Bros. cartoons at the Cinematheque on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

Peter Lorre: The Mad and the Bad” – a tribute to “one of cinema history’s most fascinating and compelling performers, the great Peter Lorre” – begins Wednesday, June 20, 2018, and runs every Wednesday through July 27, 2018. Films include ~

June 20 ~
Hare-Raising Hare (1947) – 7 pm
The Face Behind the Mask (1940) – 7:10 pm
Island of Doomed Men (1940) – 8:30 pm

June 27 ~
M (1931) – 7 pm

July 4 ~
Birth of a Notion (1947) – 7 pm
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) – 7:10 pm

July 11 ~
Der Verlorene (1951) – 7 pm

July 18 ~
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) – 7 pm
The Beast with Five Fingers (1940) – 8:30 pm

July 25 ~
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – 7 pm

Prints, both 35mm and 16mm, are courtesy of the Library of Congress, the Goethe Institut, and the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. The full schedule is available on the Cinematheque website.

Admission to all movies at the Cinematheque is free for everyone. Doors open 30 minutes before show time. Donations are accepted at the door or through the venue’s website.

The Cinematheque is located in Room 4070, at the top of Vilas Communications Hall. Also known as “the Parliamentary Room”, Room 4070 is in the center of the open 4th floor plaza of Vilas Hall and may be reached from the Park Street stairs and elevator, the stairs on University Avenue, and the stairs facing University Square and the Lucky Building.

Vilas Hall is located at 821 University Avenue on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.

Parking is available in two parking structures on North Lake Street – one at the corner of North Lake and West Johnson streets, and the State Street Campus Garage, located at 415 North Lake Street.

The Cinematheque is also well-served by public transportation.

Directions to the Cinematheque, as well as more information on parking and bus lines, are available on the venue’s website.

The life and career of Peter Lorre is chronicled in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin, who began his research in the 1970s and interviewed Peter’s brothers Andrew and Francis, his first wife Celia Lovsky, his sister-in-law Barbara through his second wife Karen Verne, his daughter Catherine Lorre, friends, fellow actors, and the directors, producers, and crew who worked with him throughout his career.

These interviews shed light on Peter’s childhood, his early days in theater, his career on film, radio, and television, and his sad final days.

The Appendix of The Lost One includes the most complete list available of Peter’s credits – radio, film, stage, and television.

Published in 2005 through University Press of Kentucky, The Lost One is available in hard-cover, soft-cover, Amazon’s Kindle, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

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.

June 11, 2018

Classic Film Book Challenge 2018 Begins in June

Since 2013, film writer and classic movie fan Raquel Stecher has offered a Summer Reading Challenge through her blog Out of the Past, and this year, the contest will run from June 7 to September 15, 2018.

The deadline to sign up is Sunday, July 15, 2018.

The rules are simple –
  • Sign up for the challenge through Raquel’s website
  • Read a classic film book
  • Write a review and post it on your Blog, Instagram or Goodreads profile
  • Use hashtag #classicfilmreading
  • Submit your review link – the form is also on Raquel’s website
  • Repeat until you have read and reviewed 6 books!
  • Review 6 books and be automatically entered to win a prize
What counts as a classic film book? According to her website, a classic film book is any of the following –
  • A biographical book about some from the classic film era. Biography, autobiography, memoir or a collection of interviews or letters all count. Can be about an actor, actress, director, or other cast or crew member.
  • A book about films – specific film(s), genre, film-making process, etc.
  • A photography or art book related to classic films, fashion, style, or a particular person
  • Film criticism or analysis
  • A 20th-century novel that was adapted into a classic film
  • A novel fictionalizing a classic film or an actor/actress from old Hollywood
A total of 6 books must be read, but they can be from any of the categories listed above.

And if you complete all 6 reviews by Saturday, September 15, 2018, you will be eligible to win one single disc DVD-MOD from Warner Archive movie of your choice.

The contest is also open internationally.

Many books about or related to Peter Lorre fall in the categories above. Here are a couple of suggestions ~

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), by Stephen D. Youngkin, tells the story of Peter’s life and career, beginning with his birth on June 26, 1904, in Rosenberg, Hungary, through his school years, his start in European theater, his film career in Germany, England, and the United States, and his work in radio and television.

Included are interviews with members of Peter’s family – two brothers, daughter Cathy, first wife Celia Lovsky, and sister-in-law Barbara – and actors, directors, producers, writers, and behind-the-scenes crew who worked with Peter on films, television, and radio.

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.

Published in 2018, The Life and Times of Sydney Greenstreet, by Derek Sculthorpe, discusses the career of Peter’s most popular co-star at Warner Bros. Studio in the 1940s.

Peter appeared in nine movies with Sydney Greenstreet, beginning with The Maltese Falcon in 1941 and ending with The Verdict in 1946. The two actors also appeared on radio together in the 1940s.

The Life and Times of Sydney Greenstreet may be purchased from Amazon U.S., as well as other booksellers.

More information about the contest may be found on Raquel Stecher’s blog Out of the Past. Happy reading!

June 1, 2018

Undersea Adventure with Lorre in New York State

The Capitol Theatre, located in Rome, New York, continues its “Family Favorites Series” with Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) on Friday, June 1, and Saturday, June 2, 2018.

On Friday, the movie will be shown at 7 pm. On Saturday, the movie will be shown at 2 pm, as well as 7 pm.

Admission is $6.50 for adults; $5.50 for seniors, veterans, and students; and $4.50 for Friends of the Capitol Theatre. Children age 12 and under will be admitted for free with the purchase of a paid ticket. Tickets may be purchased at the cinema box-office before each show. Tickets may also be purchased through the venue’s website. A nominal booking fee will be added to each ticket purchased on-line.

The Capitol Theatre is located at 220 West Dominick Street in Rome, New York.

Parking is available on West Dominick Street in front of the theater. Parking is also available in a lot off Erie Boulevard.

For more information, please contact the Capitol Theatre at 315-337-6277.