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.

---

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!