Paramount Theatre Film Fest Includes Lorre Classics

On Friday, May 24, 2024, the historic Paramount Theatre, located in Austin, Texas, kicks off its 50th year of summer classic film showings with Casablanca (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Lukas, and a number of character actors in support, including Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet.

Casablanca will be shown on a double bill with the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical Top Hat (1935), both in 35mm prints. The cinema invites moviegoers to come dressed as their favorite character from any classic film.

The doors open at 6 pm. The program begins at 7 pm with Casablanca. Top Hat follows at 9:15 pm after a brief intermission.

For the opening night, admission is $12 for adults. One ticket covers admission for both movies. Tickets may be purchased online through the Paramount Theatre website.

“Film Fan Membership” – Become a “Film Fan Member” and enjoy discounted tickets, free popcorn, and more. “Flix-Tix” – A pack of 10 tickets, good for the whole summer, is also available for the regular price of $90 or $75 for Film Fan Members More information about tickets is available on the cinema’s website.

The Paramount Theatre is located at 712 Congress Avenue, in Austin, Texas.

Parking is available in the 600 Congress Parking Garage, located at 600 Congress Avenue, off 7th Street, between Congress Avenue and Colorado Street, in Austin, Texas. More information about parking, as well as directions, is available on the cinema’s website.

The summer classic film festival begins Friday, May 24, 2024, and runs until Saturday, August 31. The full schedule is available on the Paramount Theatre website.

On Wednesday, August 14, Peter Lorre returns to the Paramount Theatre when The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) kicks off a week of movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the movie begins at 7:30 pm.

For more information, please call the Paramount at 512-472-5470.

Happy summer!

Lorre Hitchcock Film Onscreen in Oregon

As the finale of their “BRITchcock in the 30s” series of Saturday matinees, Cinema 21, located in Portland, Oregon, will present Peter Lorre’s first English-Speaking movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

The film begins at 11 am.

Admission is $9 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the cinema’s box-office. Tickets may also be purchased through the Cinema 21 website. Click on the button marked “11 am” at the bottom of the Man Who Knew Too Much page. A purchase window will open. A nominal booking fee will be added to each ticket purchased online.

Cinema 21 is located at 616 NW 21st Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

Parking is available in several lots near the theater. Cinema 21 is also well-served by public transportation. More information on parking and public transportation is available on the theater’s website.

For more information, please contact Cinema 21 at 503-223-4515.

Boston Library Virtual Event Includes Lorre

The Kanopy Klub at the Boston Public Library, located in Boston, Massachusetts, invites movie fans to particulate in a virtual discussion of Peter Lorre’s classic Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) on Thursday, August 3, 2023.

Registration is required. To register, eMail Lauren Lepanto at llepanto@bpl.org.

Watch The Man Who Knew Too Much any time through Kanopy, the free on-demand movie and documentary software available through the Boston Public Library.

Then at 7 pm on Thursday, August 3, join the virtual discussion of the movie.

The online event is free for everyone.

Italian Cinema Schedules Lorre Fest

Lorre fans in Milan, Italy, can enjoy a special treat – a Peter Lorre film festival at Cinteca Milano MIC (Museo Interattivo del Cinema).

The festival begins Tuesday, August 30, 2022, and runs until Thursday, September 15. The full schedule is available on the cinema’s website.

The Lorre fest includes ~

Tuesday, August 30 ~
3:30 pm – Die Koffer des Hernn O.F. (1931)
5:30 pm – M (1931)

Wednesday, August 31 ~
3:30 pm – Das Doppelte Gesicht: Peter Lorre (The Double Face of Peter Lorre), documentary on Peter, with comments by his biographer Stephen D. Youngkin

Thursday, September 1 ~
5:30 pm – Der Verlorene (1951)

Friday, September 2 ~
5:45 pm – Bear the Devil (1954)

Saturday, September 3 ~
3:30 pm – Casablanca (1942)

Sunday, September 4 ~
3:30 pm – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
7:45 pm – The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Tuesday, September 6 ~
3:30 pm – Crime and Punishment (1935)

Wednesday, September 7 ~
5:45 pm – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Thursday, September 8 ~
3:30 pm – Die Koffer des Herrn O.F. (1931)

Friday, September 9 ~
3:30 pm – Beat the Devil (1954)

Saturday, September 10 ~
3:30 pm – The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Sunday, September 11 ~
6 pm – Casablanca (1942)

Tuesday, September 13 ~
5:30 pm – M (1931)

Wednesday, September 14 ~
3:30 pm – Das Doppelte Gesicht: Peter Lorre

Thursday, September 15 ~
3:30 pm – Der Verrlorene (1951)
5:30 pm – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Admission is €7.50 for adults, and €6.00 children under 14 years old, university students, and film card holders. A 2022 film card is also available for €10.00. Tickets may be purchased online through the cinema’s website.

Cineteca Milano MIC is located at 121 Viale Fulvio Testi, in Milan, Italy.

The venue is well served by public transportation. More information is available on the website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen Youngkin discusses the making of these films through interviews with many of the actors, directors, and behind-the-scenes crew who worked with Peter Lorre.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre may be purchased from many brick-and-mortar shops, as well as these online merchants ~

• Amazon U.S.
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon U.K

Lorre Film Kicks off Austin Hitchcock Fest

The Austin Film Society begins its series “Hitchcock Before Hollywood” on Thursday, April 4, 2019, with a party – and a showing of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Peter Lorre’s first Hitchcock movie and first English-speaking role, as Abbott, leader of a gang of anarchists operating out of a church in the East End borough of Wapping in London, England.

The festival begins at 6 pm with a party, including complimentary tea from The Steeping Room, a local Austin tea-room. Dennis Campa, of KOOP Radio’s “Adventures in Sound”, will play records from the 1930s. A Hitchcock-themed photo booth will also be available.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will begin at 7 pm.

All movies in the Hitchcock series will be screened at the AFS Cinema in The Linc (formerly the Lincoln Village) shopping center, located at 6406 North Interstate-35, in Austin, Texas. Directions to The Linc are available on the Austin Film Society website.

Admission for The Man Who Knew Too Much is $11.25 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the cinema box-office, as well as online through the AFS website. A nominal processing fee will be charged for each ticket purchased online.

The “Hitchcock Before Hollywood” series begins Thursday, April 4, and runs until Sunday, April 28, 2019. The full schedule is available on the AFS website.

Hitchcock Festival Includes Lorre

Lorre fans in the area of Palo Alto, California, will have the opportunity to catch Peter in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Secret Agent (1936) on the screen of an historic movie theater when the Stanford Theatre presents “Hitchcock, Master of Suspense” – a month-long salute to British director Alfred Hitchcock.

Secret Agent will be shown Wednesday and Thursday, March 27 and 28, on a double-bill with The 39 Steps (1935). Secret Agent will begin at 7:30 pm.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will be shown Wednesday and Thursday, April 3 and 4, on a double-bill with Sabotage (1936). The Man Who Knew Too Much will begin at 5:55 pm and 9:10 pm.

The Hitchcock festival runs from Friday, March 8, to Sunday, April 14, 2019. The complete schedule is available on the Stanford Theatre website.

Before and after the 7:30 pm showings of Secret Agent and Sabotage, one of the Stanford’s “Masters of the Mighty Wurlitzer” will play the Wurlitzer theater organ during the intermission.

Admission is $7 for adults, and $5 for youth (18 and under) and seniors (65 and over). Tickets may be purchased at the box office on the day of the show.

The Stanford Theatre is located at 221 University Avenue in Palo Alto, California. Look for the cinema’s large neon marquee – a landmark along University Avenue in the downtown area.

Parking is available at meters along the street in front of the cinema, as well as two parking garages within two blocks of the Stanford. The Bryant / Lytton Parking Garage is located at 445 Bryant Avenue, one block north of University Avenue. The High Street Parking Garage is located at 528 High Street, one block south of University Avenue.

For more information, please call the Stanford Theatre at 650-324-3700.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen Youngkin discusses the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much and Secret Agent, including interviews with director Alfred Hitchcock and executives at Gaumont-British, the studio producing the movies.

Although he spoke no English other than “yes” and “no”, Peter Lorre convinced Hitchcock he commanded the language by laughing uproariously at the director’s jokes when they first met. During the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Peter had the help of a tutor in English. He also translated all of his dialogue into German to understand the meaning.

And while filming The Man Who Knew Too Much, Peter sent for his long-time German girlfriend Celia Lovsky to come to England from France. They became husband and wife at Caxton Hall in London.

In addition to two movies directed by Hitchcock, Peter also made two appearances on the 1950s and 1960s anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

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.

Hitchcock Fest Includes Lorre

A showing of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Peter Lorre’s first role in an English-speaking film, kicks off TRYLON’s annual Minneapolis Hitchcock Festival on Thursday, March 29, 2018, in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area.

The Hitchcock festival will be shown every Thursday night from March 29 to May 21, 2018. Participating cinemas include the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. The complete schedule is available on the TRYLON website.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will be shown in a 35mm print, courtesy of the Library of Congress, at the Heights Theater. The program begins at 7:30 pm.

Admission is $10 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the Heights box-office. Tickets may also be purchased through the Heights website.

The Heights Theatre is located at 3951 Central Avenue NE, at the corner of Central Avenue NE and Gould Avenue NE, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.

Parking is available in the lot behind and beside the cinema. More information on parking, as well as directions to the cinema, is available on the venue’s website.

For more information, please contact the Heights Theater at 763-788-0979.

TCM Film Fest 2017 Schedules More Lorre Films

Turner Classic Movies has announced the full schedule for their annual Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California, over Thursday, April 6, to Sunday, April 9, 2017 – and Lorre fans attending the event will be treated to showings of five of Peter’s movies, including ~

• Thurs., April 6 – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) – 9:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
• Fri., April 7 – The Maltese Falcon (1941) – 9 am, Chinese Multiplex House 1
• Fri., April 7 – Beat the Devil (1954) – 11:15 am, Chinese Multiplex House 6
• Sat., April 8 – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) – 9 am, Chinese Multiplex House 4
• Sun., April 9 – Casablanca (1942) – 7:30 pm, TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX

"Make 'em Laugh: Comedy in the Movies" is this year’s theme, but the festival includes many other special showings, such as nitrate prints and movies numbered among the Essentials, as well as special guest speakers. The full schedule is available on the festival’s website.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) – Peter Lorre's first English-speaking role is among several movies to be shown at the festival in their original nitrate form. Director Martin Scorsese will host the showing, with special guest Deborah Stoiber, who has worked for most of her career to preserve nitrate prints.

The Maltese Falcon (1841) – Peter’s first movie with Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and director John Huston is considered one of the "Essentials" on the Turner Classic Movies channel. Special guest Eddie Muller, the “Czar of Noir” and founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation, will host the showing.

Beat the Devil (1954) – Peter’s final movie with Bogart and Huston is among the “Movie Spoofs” on the festival schedule. Special guests hosting the showing are Angela Allen, who worked on Beat the Devil on Continuity, and documentary filmmaker Cari Beauchamp.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) – Peter’s second movie at Warner Bros. is among the films described as “Dark Comedy” on the festival schedule.

Casablanca (1943) – Considered one of the "Essentials" at TCM, this wartime classic celebrates its 75th anniversary at the festival. Peter’s performance as Ugarte, the racketeer who sells exit visas eager to leave Casablanca, won the actor a contract at Warner Bros., the studio he would become most associated with during his decades-long career.

Passes are still available in these three categories – The Palace, The Classic, and the Spotlight – but quantities are limited and may be purchased through the festival website.

Individual tickets may also be available for most films.

Venues for the various events include the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX (formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese), The Egyptian Theater, and the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres multiplex – all within an easy walking distance along Hollywood Blvd.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the making of these movies scheduled during the TCM festival, including interviews with many of the actors and crew who worked with Peter throughout his career. The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available for the Kindle and Nook, as well as hard-bound and soft-bound editions.

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

Amherst Screening Room Presents Lorre Films

In tribute to director Alfred Hitchcock, The Screening Room, located in Amherst, New York, will show Peter Lorre’s first English-speaking movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday, Jan. 20, 21, and 25, 2017.

The film will begin at 7:30 pm on all three days.

Admission for The Man Who Knew Too Much is $6 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the box office, beginning about 30 minutes before the show. The Screening Room accepts most major credit cards.

Formerly located in the Northtown Plaza Business Center, The Screening Room has moved to the Boulevard Mall, located at 1265 Niagara Falls Boulevard, in Amherst, New York.

The Screening Room’s entrance is outside the mall on the Alberta Drive side of the Boulevard Mall, near the Macy’s department store – in Suite 207, formerly the location of the Funny Bone Comedy Club. More information, including a store directory, is available on the Mall’s website.

Parking is available throughout the Boulevard Mall.

For more information, please call The Screening Room at 716-837-0376.

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Spend Valentine’s Day with Peter at The Screening Room with special showings of Casablanca (1942) in a week-long celebration of the film's 75th anniversary!

A Night in Casablanca ~ Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 ~

Advance tickets are on sale now for A Night in Casablanca – dinner and a showing of Casablanca on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.

Tickets are $30 each and include a buffet-style spaghetti dinner with a Moroccan twist from My Tomato Pie, wine, soft drinks, Moroccan coffee, and admission to the film, plus taxes and gratuity. Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance at the box office or online through the Screening Room website. Tickets will not be available at the door.

Doors will open at 6:30 pm. Dinner will be served at 7 pm. The movie will begin at 8 pm.

Anniversary Showings ~ Feb. 10 to Feb. 18 ~

Casablanca will also be shown on these days and times ~

• Feb. 10, Friday – 7:15 pm – $6
• Feb. 11, Saturday – 7:15 pm – $6
• Feb. 12, Sunday – 12 noon – $6
• Feb. 14, Tuesday – 7:15 pm – $6
• Feb. 18, Saturday – Time to be announced – $6

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In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin describes the making of Casablanca, a film to which Peter attached little importance. Working only four days on the movie, Peter later claimed he made more money playing the roulette wheel on the “gambling room” set than he did before the cameras. Nonetheless, his performance led to a contract with Warner Bros. and a period of professional and personal success.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available in eBook format for the Kindle and Nook, as well as soft-bound and hard-bound editions.

Hitchcock Double Feature Includes Lorre in Raleigh, NC

Specializing in foreign and independent movies, the Colony Theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, presents an Alfred Hitchcock double feature of Peter Lorre’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Robert Donat’s The 39 Steps (1935) on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014.

The program begins at 7 pm.

Admission is $5 for all seats and includes both movies. Tickets may be purchased at the Colony box-office. Online ticketing is not available for the Colony.

The Colony is located in the Colony Shopping Center at 5438 Six Forks Road, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Parking is available in front of the theater in the shopping center’s parking lot.

For more information, please contact the cinema at (919) 847-5677.

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin chronicles the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much through interviews with director Alfred Hitchcock and producer Michael Balcon. The British film kicked off Peter’s transition to English-language movies and led to a contract with Columbia Pictures, a transatlantic ocean voyage with new wife Celia Lovsky, and a long career in American movies, radio, and television.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available on both the Kindle and Nook, as well as hard-bound and soft-bound editions.

Charlotte Library Includes 2 Lorre Films

Peter Lorre fans in Charlotte, North Carolina, will have the opportunity to catch free showings of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and The Man Who Knew Too Much at several branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Arsenic and Old Lace will be shown at the Hickory Grove branch on Wednesday, Oct. 23, as part of the library’s “Movie Classics” series, presented on the fourth Wednesday of every month. The movie will begin at 1 pm in the Community Room.

Registration for Arsenic and Old Lace is required. To register online, complete the form on the event’s website. You may also register by contacting the Hickory Grove branch at (704) 416-4400.

The Hickory Grove branch is located at 5935 Hickory Grove Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, please call the library at (704) 416-4400.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will be shown at the library’s Main branch on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. The movie will be presented by Sam Shapiro in the Francis Auditorium, beginning at 2 pm.

The Main branch of the library is located at 310 North Tryon Street, in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, please call (704) 416-0100.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will also be shown at the Beatties Ford Road Regional Library on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, as part of that branch’s series “It Happened One Year: Classic Movies from 1934”, which will run on the second Saturday of every month from Oct. 12, 2013, to May 10, 2014. The Man Who Knew Too Much will begin at 2 pm in Community Room B.

The Beatties Ford Road Regional library is located at 2412 Beatties Ford Road, in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, please call the library at (704) 416-3000.

Salt Lake City Hitchcock Fest Includes Peter Lorre

The Salt Lake Film Society in Salt Lake City, Utah, winds down its “Summer Chills Hitchcock Retrospective” with a showing of the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), on a triple bill with North by Northwest (1959) and Vertigo (1958), at the Tower Theatre.

The Man Who Knew Too Much will be shown at noon, beginning Friday, August 30, until Thursday, September 5, 2013.

Admission is $6.75 for the matinee (programs beginning before 6 pm) and $9.25 general public admission for programs at 6 pm or later). $8.25 for Super 8 members. $7.25 for Panaflex members. $6.75 Monday through Thursday for kids 20 years or younger. $6.75 for seniors 65 years and older and children 12 years and younger. The Hitchcock films are not eligible for Chronik admission.

The Tower Theatre is located at 876 East 900 South, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The historic cinema has been in operation in Salt Lake City’s 9th & 9th neighborhood since 1921 and features both a 35mm projector and a digital projector.

Parking is available on the streets in front of the Tower, as well as in the Smith’s parking lot at 800 East 900 South. Parking is also available along Windsor Street, west of the Tower.

Stephen Youngkin discusses the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Peter Lorre’s work with the famed director Alfred Hitchcock, in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005).

Peter’s success in his first English-speaking role led to a Hollywood contract with Columbia Studios and first-class tickets to America aboard the Majestic for himself and his wife Celia Lovsky. It was also the start of his long career in mystery and suspense movies, radio, and television.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is now available in both hardback and soft-bound, as well as the Nook and Kindle.

Harvard Film Archive Screens Two Lorre Hitchcock Films

The Harvard Film Archive’s summer film series “The Complete Alfred Hitchcock” will include two movies Peter Lorre made with the famed director – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Secret Agent (1936).

The Man Who Knew Too Much will be shown Sunday, July 28, 2013, at 7 pm, followed by The Skin Game (1931).

Secret Agent will be shown the following Sunday, Aug. 4, at 7 pm, followed by Rich and Strange (1931).

Both films will be shown in 35mm film. The series will run from July 11 to September 28 and includes nine silent movies recently restored by the British Film Institute and accompanied by live piano. The full schedule may be found on the Harvard Film Archive’s website.

The Harvard Film Archive Cinematheque is located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at 24 Quincy Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Directions to the HFA are available on the HFA website. For more information, please call the HFA at (617) 495-4700.

Tickets may be purchased at the Cinematheque on the lower level of the Carpenter Center 45 minutes before showtime. Members of the Harvard Film Archive may reserve tickets in advance for special event screenings.

Ticket prices are $9 for regular admission and $7 for Non-Harvard students, Harvard faculty and staff, and senior citizens. Special Event Ticket Prices are $12 for all patrons. Discounts are available for Harvard Film Archive members. More information about tickets may be found on the HFA website.

Parking is available at meters on Broadway and Harvard streets. The metered parking is free after 8 pm. The Harvard Film Archive is easily reached by public transportation, particularly the MBTA Red Line. More information about parking, including a map, is located on the HFA website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen D. Youngkin discusses Peter Lorre’s experiences working with Alfred Hitchcock at Gaumont-British in the early 1930s. During filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Peter was able to take a break and marry his long-time love Celia Lovsky. Still in scar make-up and frosted hair for the part of Abbott, leader of the anarchists in London, Peter exchanged marriage vows with Celia at Caxton Hall in the West End. Although the marriage ended in 1945 with Peter's marriage to second wife Karen Verne, Peter and Celia remained close friends to the end of Peter’s life on March 23, 1964.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available on the Kindle and Nook, as well as hard-bound and soft-bound.

The Man Who Knew Too Much On-Screen in Amherst, NY

As part of their “Alfred Hitchcock Movie Series 2013”, the Screening Room in Amherst, NY, will screen The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1.

The film will begin at 7:30 pm.

Admission is $5 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased on a first-come basis at the theater box-office 30 minutes before the show. Reservations for groups of six or more can be accepted by phone or eMail at least two hours before the screening.

The Screening Room is located in the Northtown Plaza Business Plaza, 3131 Sheridan Drive, in Amherst, New York. The cinema faces North Bailey Avenue.

Parking is available in the mall parking lot along the North Bailey Avenue side of the building, behind the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Directions to the Screening Room may be found on the cinema’s website.

For more information, please call the theater at (716) 837-0376, or contact them by eMail at info@screeningroom.net.

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen Youngkin discusses the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much. While the Hitchcock-directed movie was not the first time Peter spoke English on-camera, it was his first major English-speaking role – and brought him a Hollywood contract with Columbia Studios and a First Cabin ticket for himself and his wife Celia Lovsky aboard Cunard’s Majestic.

The Lost One: The Life of Peter Lorre is now available on the Kindle and Nook, as well as soft-bound and hard-bound.

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.

Hitchcock Retrospective in Silver Spring, MD

The AFI Silver Theater is the venue for Part 1 of a 3-part retrospective of famed British director Alfred Hitchock – and on the schedule are the two films he made with Peter Lorre: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Secret Agent (1936).

Showtimes for The Man Who Knew Too Much:

• Feb. 19, Sat. – 1:00 pm
• Feb. 20, Sun. – 2:30 pm
• Feb. 21, Mon. – 5:15 pm
• Feb. 23, Wed. – 9:30 pm

And for Secret Agent:

• Mar. 5, Sat. – 1:00 pm
• Mar. 6, Sun. – 7:00 pm

Ticket prices are $11 for general admission; $8.50 for AFI members; $9 for seniors, students and military; and $7 for children 12 and under. Matinee shows – Monday through Friday before 6 p.m. – are $8.50.

American Film Institute passes will be accepted for both The Man Who Knew Too Much and Secret Agent.

Tickets may be reserved on-line through the AFI Silver Theater website with no added fee; however, when picking up the tickets, you must show the same credit card used to reserve them. MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express credit cards are accepted.

Scroll to the film's title and click the "Buy Tickets" button.

Tickets may also be purchased at the box office in advance or on the day. The box office opens 30 minutes before the first movie of the day.

The AFI Silver Theater is located at 8633 Colesville Road, at the corner of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Directions to the theater may be found on the theater’s website.

Parking is available at a variety of public parking decks around the theater. Closest is the Town Square Garage at 801 Ellsworth Drive. More information on parking can be found on the theater’s website, as well as the AFI Silver Theater page on the Silver Spring Downtown website; scroll down to the "Nearby Parking" section.

Lorre biographer Stephen Youngkin details the making of The Man Who Knew Too Much and Secret Agent in the pages of his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (University Press of Kentucky, 2005).

Working on The Man Who Knew Too Much enabled Peter to gain a working understanding of the English language and English methods of film-making, which led to a contract with Columbia Studios and the start of his career in American movies.

However, his experiences on Secret Agent only a year later essentially ended his screen association with Alfred Hitchcock.

Towards the end of his career, Peter Lorre appeared in two episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Diplomatic Corpse" (Dec. 8, 1957) and "Man From the South" (Mar. 13, 1960), the latter episode postponed from its original air-date of Jan. 3, 1960; CBS considered its gruesome storyline inappropriate for the holiday season. Although Hitchcock hosted the episodes, neither was among those he himself directed.

The Man Who Knew Too Much On-Screen in Arcata, CA

The historic Arcata Theatre has been around since 1938, opening with the 20th Century-Fox film Thin Ice, starring Fox players Sonja Henie and Tyrone Power. Peter Lorre films such as entries in the Mr. Moto series were no doubt on the schedule at one time, too. But on Sunday, June 21, the Arcata Theatre Lounge will be showing a film from 1934 – Lorre’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (Gaumont British), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Show times are at 4 p.m., 6:05 p.m., and 8 p.m. The box office will open 15 minutes before each show.

Admission is $4 before 6 p.m., and $5 after 6 p.m.

All screenings are 13 and over. Anyone under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The Arcata Theatre Lounge is located at 1036 G. Street in Arcata, CA.

Peter Lorre spoke very little English – only “yes” and “no”, picked up from his days in the foreign exchange department at the Anglo-Österreichischen Bank in Vienna – when Hitchcock and his producer Ivor Montague cast him as Abbott, the anarchist leader in The Man Who Knew Too Much. But two to three months later, with the help of an English-language tutor, plus mentally translating his lines into German to understand their meaning, Peter had more than a working knowledge of English by the time filming began.

And during filming – and in full wardrobe and make-up – he also took time out to marry his long-time love, Celia Lovsky, who had come with him from Paris.

Peter’s success in this film led to a contract with Columbia Studios, and a long journey from Southampton, England, to New York City, to Los Angeles and the start of his film and radio career in Hollywood.