Halloween on SiriusXM Includes Lorre

During the week of Monday, October 30, 2023, the Radio Classics channel continues its celebration of Halloween with horror and Halloween-themed radio shows, including Peter Lorre’s Inner Sanctum Mysteries episode “Death is a Joker”.

The two-hour block of spooky old-time radio tales include ~

• Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “Death is a Joker” (June 10, 1944)
• Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “Dead Man’s Vengeance” (October 7, 1944)
• The Witch’s Tale, “Graveyard Mansion” (March 6, 1933)
• The Witch’s Tale, “Devil’s Number” (December 12, 1935)

“Death is a Joker” will air on these days and times ~

Tuesday, October 31 ~
11 pm Pacific

Wednesday, November 1 ~
2 am Eastern

Friday, November 3 ~
7 am Pacific
10 am Eastern

The full schedule for the week of Monday, October 30, through Sunday, November 5, 2023, is available on the website of Radio Classics host Greg Bell.

SiriusXM airs the Radio Classics channel over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet or through the SiriusXM app on a Smart Phone or Smart Speaker. Not a subscriber? A 30-day trial may be purchased for $1 through the SiriusXM radio website.

Originally broadcast on Inner Sanctum Mysteries on June 10, 1944, “Death is a Joker” now survives only as an episode of the AFRS program Mystery Playhouse – and hosted by Peter Lorre, who has the unique opportunity of introducing himself on his own program!

Happy listening – and happy Halloween!

Lugosi Birthday Block Includes Lorre

Halloween is on the way, and during the week of October 16 to October 22, 2023, Greg Bell will host the birthday of horror legend Bela Lugosi on the Radio Classics channel, airing over the satellite radio provider SiriusXM.

And the Lugosi celebration has a treat for Lorre fans, too – an episode of Peter’s 1947 summer series Mystery in the Air.

The Lugosi birthday block includes ~

• Suspense, “The Doctor Prescribed Death” – February 2, 1943
• Mystery in the Air, “The Mask of Medusa” – September 4, 1947
• The Abbott and Costello Show, with guest Bela Lugosi – May 5, 1948
• The Mel Blanc Show – March 18, 1947

The programs will air on these dates and times ~

Monday, October 16 ~
3 am Pacific, 6 am Eastern

Friday, October 20 ~
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

Saturday, October 21 ~
9 pm Pacific

Sunday, October 22 ~
12 midnight Eastern

The full schedule of the week’s programming is available on host Greg Bell’s website.

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet or through the SiriusXM app on a Smart Phone or Smart Speaker. Not a subscriber? A three-month trial is also available for one dollar, plus fees and taxes, through the SiriusXM radio website.

Peter Lorre worked with Bela Lugosi in the horror-comedy You’ll Find Out (1940), starring bandleader Kay Kyser. With Boris Karloff, Lorre and Lugosi played villains out to murder a young debutante before her 21st birthday in order to get control of her aunt’s estate. Hired to entertain at the debutante’s birthday party, Kay and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge band foil the trio’s plans.

On September 25, 1940, Kay Kyser hosted Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff on his weekly radio show, Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge.

Sadly, that program has apparently been lost – but You’ll Find Out is available on DVD, as well as occasional showings on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

Lorre Classic in Frederick, Maryland

As part of their “Wonder Book Classic Film Series”, the historic Weinberg Center, located in Frederick, Maryland, will screen The Maltese Falcon (1941) on Thursday, October 12, 2023.

The movie begins at 7:30 pm.

Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for children, FAC members, military service members, seniors age 62 and older, and students; and $4 for City employees.

Tickets may be purchased at the Weinberg Center box-office. Tickets may also be purchased online through the Weinberg Center website. On The Maltese Falcon webpage, click the “Buy Tickets” button. A nominal fee will be added to each ticket purchased online.

The Weinberg Center is located at 20 West Patrick Street in the heart of historic Frederick, Maryland.

Parking is available at several parking decks in downtown Frederick. Closest to the Weinberg Center are the Court Street garage and the West Patrick garage. Parking information, as well as directions to the venue, are available on the Weinberg Center website.

The Weinberg Center opened in 1926 as the Tivoli, an elegant theater that could present both silent movies (accompanied by the cinema’s Wurlitzer organ) and stage shows. And in 1940, Jack Warner, head of Warner Bros Studio, had a hand in the installation of air conditioning to the Tivoli.

After falling into disrepair in the 1950s, the Tivoli was purchased by Dan and Alyce Weinberg, and today, the Weinberg Center presents classic movies and a variety of live performances throughout the year, including the “Wonder Book Classic Film Series”, sponsored by Wonder Book, a local bookshop offering new, used, rare, and collectibles items, such as Peter Lorre radio shows on vinyl records and films on DVD.

The full schedule is available on the venue’s website.

Lorre Classic Scheduled for Fundraiser

The Nancy Painter Foundation will present a special showing of Casablanca (1942) as a fundraiser on the rooftop of the historic Montalban Theatre on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.

Tickets to the event include a cocktail and popcorn. A raffle will be held after the movie.

Admission to the event is $75 for a single ticket and $100 for two tickets. Tickets must be booked in advance through the Nancy Painter Foundation website.

Doors open at 6 pm, with Casablanca beginning at sundown at 7:15 pm.

The open-air cinema on the Montalban’s roof includes a large screen, projector, noise-cancelling head-phones, freshly popped popcorn, and blankets if the night is chilly.

The Nancy Painter Foundation seeks to provide emotional and financial support to single mothers and their children who are living on the street or about to become homeless. Donating to the Foundation assists these families in turning their lives around.

The Montalban Theatre is located at 1615 Vine Street, in Los Angeles, California.

Patrons may enter through the cinema’s main entrance on Vine Street.

Parking is available in the Modern Parking Inc lot, located next to the Montalban at 1627 Vine Street, in Los Angeles.

Moto Film Scheduled for Syracuse Cinephile Event

Peter Lorre’s intrepid detective Mr. Moto is no stranger to the movie fans at the Syracuse Cinephile Society of Syracuse, New York!

On Monday, October 9, 2023, Mr. Moto makes his third appearance at the twice-yearly film festival when Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938), number 5 in the Mr. Moto series, opens a mystery double-bill with Grand Central Murder (1942), starring Van Heflin and Virginia Grey.

All films in the series begin at 7 pm in a special screening room at the Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant, located at 689 North Clinton Street in Syracuse, New York. Parking is available in the lot beside the restaurant.

Planning to come for dinner before the show? The Cinephile Society recommends arriving no later than 6 pm in order to finish dinner by 7 pm.

Directions to the Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant are available on the Cinephile Society's website.

Admission to the Syracuse Cinephile Society event is $3.50 for Cinephile members, and $4 for non-members. Annual membership in the Syracuse Cinephile Society may be purchased for $5.

The 2023 Fall Schedule began on Monday, September 11, and will run until Monday, December 4, 2023. The full schedule for the Monday Night Series is available on the Syracuse Cinephile Society website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the making of the Mr. Moto series, including interviews with Norman Foster, who directed Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) and five other Moto films; and Harvey Parry, who doubled for Peter on stunts throughout the Moto series, as well as several movies at Warner Bros. in the 1940s.

Although initially interested in playing the globe-trotting Japanese importer for whom detecting is a hobby, Peter soon grew of the character. Continually addressed as "Mr. Moto" by the public, playing Mr. Moto in sketches on the radio variety series of the late 1930s, and getting few opportunities to appear in non-Moto projects at 20th Century-Fox all added to Peter’s disappointment with the series.

In 2006 and 2007, 20th Century-Fox remastered and restored all eight of the Moto films, hired John Cork and his production company Cloverland to produce a unique documentary – including interviews with Stephen Youngkin – for each movie, and released the series in two DVD box-sets with additional extras.

Each box-set, as well as The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, may be purchased through the DVD section of The Lost One website.

Spooky October with Lorre Movies on TV

October brings Halloween, and although Peter Lorre was not considered a "horror film actor", but a supporting player in mystery and suspense films, Lorre fans will find a number of his movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as other channels, including Talking Pictures TV.

American times shown are Eastern Standard.


October, 2023

October means horror films, on TCM, and that includes Peter's Mad Love and the Halloween classic comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace, with more Lorre treats on the Movies!Network and Britain's Talking Pictures TV.

Oct 1 (Sun), 5:30 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). The Halloween classic comedy is the story of a theatre critic (Cary Grant) who marries the girl next door (Priscilla Lane) and find out his sweel elderly aunts in Brooklyn (Jean Adair and Josephine Hull) have an unusual "charity". Complicating the situation are the murderous brother (Raymond Massey) and his personal plastic surgeon (Peter Lorre).

Oct 2 (Mon), 6 am, TCM – The Story of Mankind (1957). TCM salutes the birthday of comedian Groucho Marx with a day of Marx Brothers movies, including this all-star Irwin Allen extravaganza.

Oct 3 (Tues), 1:30 am, Movies! Network – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961).

Oct 5 (Thurs), Movies! Network – The channel presents a mini-LorreFest with four Lorre movies back-to-back, including ~

• 12:45 pm – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
• 2:10 pm – The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
• 3:40 pm – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
• 5:45 pm – The Conspirators (1944)

Oct 5 (Thurs), 2 am, Movies! Network – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). Lorre stars as a mild-mannered author of detective novels who finds himself investigating a real murderer.

Oct 6 (Fri), 11:45 am, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

Oct 7 (Sat), 10 pm, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). The TCM primetime features a "Josephine Hull Double Feature" of Harvey (1950), followed by the Halloween classic Arsenic and Old Lace. Note – In Canada, TCM will show Four Wives (1939) instead of Arsenic and Old Lace.

Oct 10 (Tues), 9:25 am, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

Oct 11 (Wed), 12:15 pm, Talking Pictures TV – Beat the Devil (1954).

Oct 12 (Thurs), Movies! Network – The channel presents a mini-LorreFest with three Lorre movies back-to-back, including ~

• 10:05 pm – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
• 11:30 pm – The Conspirators (1944)
• 1:40 am – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

Oct 15 (Sun), 7 am, Antenna TV – The Jack Benny Program (Jan 22, 1963).

Oct 16 (Mon), 10:05 am, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

Oct 18 (Wed), 00:55 am, Talking Pictures TV – Face Behind the Mask (1941). Cellar Club with Carolin Munroe introduces the movie.

Oct 19 (Thurs), Movies! Network – The channel presents a mini-LorreFest with four Lorre movies shown, including ~

• 6 am – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
• 11:40 am – The Conspirators (1944)
• 8 pm – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
• 10:05 pm – The Conspirators (1944)

Oct 22 (Sun), Movies! Network – The channel presents a mini-LorreFest with two Lorre movies in the same day, including ~

• 6:25 am – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
• 8 pm – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Oct 22 (Sun), 8:55 am, Talking Pictures TV – I Was an Adventuress (1940).

Oct 26 (Thurs), Movies! Network – The channel presents a mini-LorreFest with three Lorre movies in the same day, including ~

• 12:15 pm – The Conspirators (1944)
• 4:55 pm – The Face Behind the Mask (1940)
• 6:25 pm – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Oct 28 (Sat), 8 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

Oct 28 (Sat), 10:15 pm, TCM – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). The TCM primetime is "Remake and Original" of Alfred Hitchcock's remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1950) with James Stewart and Doris Day, followed by the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) with Peter Lorre in his first English-speaking role, and Leslie Banks and Edna Best.

Oct 29 (Sun), Movies! Network – The channel presents a Lorre double-feature ~

• 8 pm – The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
• 9:30 pm – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

Oct 30 (Sat), 9 am, TCM – Mad Love (1935). The TCM daytime theme is "TCM Terror-Thon" of classic horror movies, including Peter's first American film Mad Love (1935). Note – In Canada, The Beast With Five Fingers (1946) will be shown instead of Mad Love.


Sneak Peek at November, 2023

Here's a look at Lorre films on TCM in November.

Nov 15 (Wed), 1:30 pm, TCM – You'll Find Out (1940). The daytime theme is "Murder in the House" with a day of horror and mystery films set in spooky houses, including this Kay Kyser musical-comedy in which bandleader Kay and his band play at a debutant's 21st birthday, attended by Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi.

Nov 17 (Fri), 1:30 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). The daytime theme is "Film-Noir", with a day of noir detective films, including this Lorre classic involving a fabulous golden jewel-encrusted statuette.

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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 ~

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

Happy viewing!

Gettysburg WW2 Weekend Includes Lorre Classic

A weekend of events commemorating World War II in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, kicks off with a showing of the WW2 Peter Lorre classic Casablanca (1942) at the historic Majestic Theater on Thursday, September 14, 2023.

The movie will begin at 7 pm.

Admission is $8 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the Majestic box-office. Tickets may be also be purchased through the Majestic website. A nominal booking fee will be added to each ticket purchased online.

The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle Street in Gettysburg, PA. Metered parking is available on the street in front of the theater, with a parking garage located in Race Horse Alley, directly behind the theater. More information about parking, as well as directions to the cinema, are available on the Majestic website.

“1943: America At War” is this year’s theme as the National Park Service salutes World War II at the Eisenhower National Historic Site, the Gettysburg home of President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, who bought a farm outside this small town after serving two terms in the White House.

The World War II weekend will run from Friday, September 15, to Sunday, September 17, 2023. Events include a Living History Camp, ranger-guided walking tours, tours of the Eisenhower home, speakers, and exhibits. The full schedule is available on the National Park Service website.

Lorre at Two London Cinemas in September

Lorre fans in London, England, will have several opportunities to catch Peter on the big screen in September, 2023, when two cinemas show the classic films Casablanca (1942) and The Maltese Falcon (1941).

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The Prince Charles Cinema, located in Leicester Square, will screen a 35mm print of Casablanca on these dates and times ~

• September 9, Saturday – 5:30 pm
• September 11, Monday – 3:50 pm
• September 22, Friday – 6:30 pm

Monday through Friday matinee prices are £6 for cinema members and £10.50 for non-members and carers. Evening admission is £11 for cinema members, £14 for non-members, and £14 for carers (CEA Card).

Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or online through the venue’s website. Tickets purchased online will be charged a nominal booking fee. More information about ticket prices and booking is available on the venue’s website.

The Prince Charles Cinema is located at 7 Leicester Place, at the northeast corner of Leicester Square, in London, England. The closest tube stations are Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus.

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The British Film Institute, located on the Southbank, will screen in 4k The Maltese Falcon on these dates and times ~

• September 10, Sunday – 11:50 am
• September 26, Tuesday – 8:55 pm

Tickets are £9 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the box-office or online through the venue’s website. Tickets purchased online will be charged a nominal booking fee.

The BFI Southbank is located on Belvedere Road, Southbank, in London, England. Please enter through the Riverfront and Theatre Avenue entrances. The closest tube stations are Waterloo (South Bank exit), Embankment and Charing Cross (cross Hungerford Bridge to reach the South Bank).

Bogart Fest in Palo Alto Includes Lorre

The historic Stanford Theatre, located in Palo Alto, California, begins a “Best of Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn” festival on Friday, September 8, 2023, and included on the schedule are two films Bogart made with his onscreen and off-screen pal Peter Lorre.

Casablanca (1942) will open the festival the weekend of September 8 on a double-bill with Roman Holiday (1953).

Beat the Devil (1954) will close the festival the weekend of September 29 on a double-bill with How to Steal a Million (1966).

Casablanca will be shown these days and times ~

Friday, September 8 ~
5:35 pm and 9:40 pm

Saturday, September 9 ~
5:35 pm and 9:40 pm

Sunday, September 10 ~
5:35 pm and 9:40 pm

Beat the Devil will be shown these days and times ~

Friday, September 29 ~
5:50 pm and 9:45 pm

Saturday, September 30 ~
5:50 pm and 9:45 pm

Sunday, October 1 ~
5:50 pm and 9:45 pm

The full schedule is available on the Stanford Theatre website.

Before and after the 7:30 pm showings of Roman Holiday September 8 to 10; and How to Steal a Million September 29 to October 1, 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.

More information about parking is available on the Stanford Theatre's website.

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

Star Trek Salute Includes Lorre

The week of September 4, 2023, old-time radio host Greg Bell celebrates the anniversary of Gene Roddenberry’s landmark science-fiction TV series Star Trek with a two-hour block of radio shows scripted by Trek writers Roddenberry, Theodore Sturgeon, and Robert Bloch, as well as an episode starring Trek regular DeForest Kelley, who played the Enterprise doctor Dr. McCoy.

Airing on the Radio Classics channel over the satellite radio service SiriusXM, the block includes an episode of Peter Lorre’s mid-1940s series for the Armed Forces Radio Service Mystery Playhouse – “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper”, originally airing over NBC on the series Mollé Mystery Theatre, Tuesday, February 27, 1945.

The schedule ~

• X-Minus One, “Mr. Costello, Hero” (July 3, 1956) – Written by Theodore Sturgeon
• Mollé Mystery Theatre, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” (February 27, 1945) – Written by Robert Bloch
• Suspense, "Fleshpeddler" (August 8, 1957) – With DeForest Kelley
• Have Gun, Will Travel, “Helen of Abajinian” (January 4, 1959) – Written by Gene Roddenberry

The programs will air these days and times ~

Tuesday, September 5 ~
7 am Pacific
10 am Eastern

Friday, September 8 ~
7 pm Pacific
10 pm Eastern

Sunday, September 10 ~
11 am Pacific
2 pm Eastern

The Radio Classics channel airs over Channel 148 on the SiriusXM dial. Subscribers may listen to the channel through their car radio, computer, or the SiriusXM app on their cell phone. Not a subscriber? Take SiriusXM for a three-month test drive for just one dollar.

Star Trek began its 3-year run on September 8, 1966. Robert Bloch, who scripted three episodes of Star Trek, wrote the original short story "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" for the magazine Weird Tales in 1943.

Peter Lorre also has another tie to the original Star Trek series. His first wife, Celia Lovsky, appeared in the second season opener, “Amok Time”, airing on September 15, 1967. In this Spock-featured episode, the Vulcan science officer Spock must return to his home planet and marry his betrothed. Officiating at the wedding – the Vulcan priestess T’Pau, played by Celia Lovsky.

Happy listening!