In 1923, Albert, Sam, Jack, and Harry Warner established a motion picture
studio in Burbank, California. In April, 2023, the
Turner Classic Movies
channel celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Warner Bros. Studio with
numerous Lorre films on the schedule. Also listed are Lorre films on
Talking Pictures TV.
American 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.
April, 2023
TCM salutes the 100th anniversary of the Warner Brothers Studio – the
studio Peter Lorre is most associated with during his long career in film.
Spotlights on studio contract players, special daytime and prime-time themes,
and documentaries highlight the studio's long history.
April 1 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM –
Hollywood Steps Out (1941). The
primetime theme is "How It Started and the Dawn of Sound". In this Warner
Bros. cartoon, an animated Peter Lorre joins other stars at a popular
nightspot.
April 2 (Sun), 4 pm, TCM –
Key Largo (1948) and
Racketeer Rabbit (1946). The daytime theme is "Warner Joins a
Gang". The Warner Bros cartoon follows the Bogart, Bacall, and Edward
G. Robinson classic. Bugs Bunny encounters an animated Robinson and
Peter Lorre, on the run from the police.
April 6 (Thurs), 3 am, Fox Movie channel –
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea (1962).
April 7 (Fri), 1:10 pm, Fox Movie channel –
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea (1962).
April 8 (Sat), 7:30 am, Antenna TV channel –
The Jack Benny Program
(Jan. 22, 1963).
April 8 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM –
Carrotblanca (1995) and
Casablanca (1942). The primetime theme is "Warner at War".
TCM salutes the wartime movies made by Warner Bros, beginning with an
animated version of
Casablanca, with Tweety taking the role
of Ugarte, followed by the classic romance between an ex-patriot
American (Humphrey Bogart) and the woman (Ingrid Bergman) he loved
in Paris, set in the North African city filled with desperate refugees
in search of passage to America.
April 10 (Mon), 2:45 pm, TCM –
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
(1970) and
Hair-Raising Hare (1946). The daytime theme is
"Produced by Hammer, Distributed by Warner". Following the horror classic,
Bugs Bunny encounters an animated Peter Lorre and his monster henchman
in an eerie castle.
April 11 (Tues), 10:15 am, TCM –
Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944). The daytime theme is "Studio Contract Players", and TCM salutes
Priscilla Lane, who as Mortimer Brewster’s (Cary Grant) new bride
Elaine Harper, is kept in the dark about the bodies buried in the cellar
of Mortimer’s aunts’ house.
Note: In Canada, TCM will show Four
Wives (1939) instead of Arsenic and Old Lace.
April 12 (Wed), 3:15 pm, TCM –
Passage to Marseille
(1944). The daytime theme is "Studio Contract Players", and
TCM salutes Claude Rains, who as Capt. Freycinet, finds out the
truth about the five men (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Philip Dorn,
George Tobias, and Helmut Dantine) picked up by the tramp steamer
bound for Marseille, France.
April 13 (Thurs), 6:45 am, TCM –
Background to Danger
(1943). The daytime theme of "Studio Contract Players" continues.
TCM salutes George Raft, who as Joe Barton, encounters Nazi agent
Sydney Greenstreet and Russian operative Peter Lorre in war-time
Ankara, Turkey.
April 15 (Sat), 9:30 am, Movies! Network –
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea (1962).
April 18 (Tues), 5 am, TCM –
All Through the Night
(1942). The primetime theme of "Great Directors at Warner
Brothers" continues. TCM salutes Vincent Sherman, who directs
Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart, Kaaren Verne, and a cast of Warners
stock players in a comedy-drama about Nazi spies working in New
York City.
April 18 (Tues), 6 am, Movies! Network –
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea (1962).
April 18 (Tues), 2 am, TCM –
Confidential Agent
(1945). The daytime theme is "Studio Contract Players", and TCM
salutes Lauren Bacall with a pair of movies –
To Have
and Have Not (1944) and
Harper (1966), but in
Canada,
Confidential Agent will be shown instead of
Harper.
April 19 (Wed), 8 am, TCM –
The Mask of Dimitrios
(1944). The daytime theme is "Studio Contract Players", and TCM
salutes Sydney Greenstreet, who worked with Peter in nine movies
from 1941 to 1946. In
The Mask of Dimitrios, a mystery
writer (Lorre) researching the life of a dead international
criminal (Zachary Scott) encounters several people who also crossed
the criminal's path, including a drug smuggler turned blackmailer
(Greenstreet).
April 19 (Wed), 10 am, TCM –
Three Strangers
(1945). The daytime theme "Studio Contract Players" continues with
the spotlight on Sydney Greenstreet. Two men (Lorre and Greenstreet)
become partners with a woman (Geraldine Fitzgerald) on a sweepstakes
ticket, with tragic results.
April 19 (Wed), 10 pm, TCM –
The Maltese Falcon
(1941). The primetime theme is "Studio Contract Players". TCM
salutes Humphrey Bogart, on-screen and off-screen pal of Peter Lorre,
with this showing their first movie together: the classic mystery
about the hard-boiled detective (Bogart) and the valuable statuette
coveted by many nefarious characters (Lorre, Greenstreet, and Mary
Astor).
April 19 (Wed), 4:30 am, TCM –
The Beast with Five
Fingers (1946). The primetime theme is "Studio Contract Players".
TCM salutes Peter Lorre, who appeared in many mystery and suspense
films between 1941 and 1946. In
The Beast With Five Fingers,
a meek librarian (Lorre) to a reclusive concert pianst (Victor Francen)
is slowly driven mad in the pianist's Italian villa by a hand that only
he can see.
April 20 (Thurs), 6 am, TCM –
The Verdict (1946).
The Peter Lorre double-feature continues with the last film Peter
made with Sydney Greenstreet. Best friends and neighbors (Lorre
and Greenstreet) team up to solve a murder committed in a locked
room.
April 25 (Tues), 7:50 am, Talking Pictures TV –
I Was an Adventuress
(1940).
April 26 (Wed), 1:25 am, Talking Pictures TV –
Island of Doomed Men
(1940). Cellar Club with Caroline Munro.
April 26 (Wed), 7 am, Talking Pictures TV –
My Favorite Brunette
(1947).
April 27 (Thurs), 6 am, Movies! Network –
Quicksand (1950).
Sneak Peek at May, 2023
In May, Lorre fans can enjoy many more films on the Turner Classic
Movies channel, including a special tribute to cinematographer James
Wong Howe every Monday and Tuesday.
May 9 (Tues), 2:15 pm, TCM –
Passage to Marseille (1944).
TCM's Daytime Theme is "James Wong Howe", including this story of
five Frenchmen (Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart, Philip Dorn, George
Tobias, Helmut Dantine) who escape from the French penal colony in
Guiana, intending to join the Free French and fight for war-torn
France.
May 9 (Tues), 4:15 pm, TCM –
Confidential Agent (1944).
TCM continues the Daytime Theme of "James Wong Howe" with this story
of a Spanish agent (Charles Boyer) who travels to London to make a deal
for coal and finds danger and double-crossing, including his own
contacts (Peter Lorre, Katina Paxinou).
May 10 (Wed), 6 am, TCM –
Silk Stockings (1957).
The daytime theme is a birthday tribute to Fred Astaire, including
this musical set in Paris and featuring a singing and dancing
Peter Lorre.
May 19 (Fri), 5:45 pm, TCM –
Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944). TCM takes a look at "The Lighter Side of Death", including
the dark comedy about the two spinster sisters who help lonely old
men into the next world with their own special elderberry
wine.
May 27 (Sat), 12 noon, TCM –
Hollywood Canteen
(1944). TCM weekend host Dave Karger continues his "musical matinee"
with a showing of this all-star extravaganza look at the famed
Hollywood Canteen for soldiers.
Many of these and other Lorre movies and television programs 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 many
brick-and-mortar shops, as well as these online merchants ~
Happy viewing!