Hollywood Film Noir Fest Includes Lorre Film

Peter Lorre fans attending the 17th annual Noir City film noir festival in Hollywood will have the opportunity to catch a restored 35mm print of the 1946 thriller The Chase at the Egyptian Theatre on Friday, April 10, 2015. Based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear, The Chase is the first on a Woolrich double-feature, followed by The Leopard Man (1943).

The program will begin at 7:30 pm with an introduction by Alan K. Rode of the Film Noir Foundation.

Admission is $7 for American Cinematheque members, and $11 non-members of all ages. Tickets may be purchased on-line through Fandango or by calling Fandango at (800) FANDANGO and entering the Egyptian’s theater code – 2206 – when prompted. A processing fee will be added to any tickets purchased on-line.

Tickets may also be purchased at the Egyptian’s box office, which opens 90 minutes before the first feature of the day.

The Egyptian is located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, between Las Palmas and McCadden, in Hollywood, California.

Parking is available at the Hollywood and Highland parking complex. The Egyptian is also a short walk from the Hollywood and Highland metro station. More information about parking is available on the cinema’s website.

The Noir City film festival, which opened on Friday, April 3, will continue through Sunday, April 19. The full schedule is available on the Egyptian Theatre website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the filming of The Chase through interviews with lead actor Robert Cummings.

The Lost One is available on the Kindle and Nook, as well as hard-back and soft-bound editions.

Fresno County Libraries Screen The Maltese Falcon

As part of several “Big Read” events in Fresno County, CA, The Maltese Falcon (1941) will be shown at the Fowler Branch Library on Thursday, April 9, 2015.

The program will begin at 4 pm with a discussion of the Dashiell Hammett novel. The movie will follow at 5 pm. Both events will be held in the Fowler Meeting Room

The Fowler Branch of the Fresno County Public Library is located at 306 South 7th Street, in Fowler, California. For more information, please call the library at (559) 600-9281.

Parking is available in the lot beside the library, as well as in front of the library.

The screening of Peter Lorre’s The Maltese Falcon is among the many Big Read events scheduled through Fresno Country branch libraries.

On Thursday, April 9, at the Sunnyside Regional Library, Paul Kaser will lead a discussion of film noir, including clips from many classic noir movies. The program will begin at 6:30 pm.

On Sunday, April 12, a walking tour of Dashiell Hammett’s life and characters is the highlight of a full day in San Francisco. Led by Don Herron, the tour includes the famous alley where the murder of Miles Archer takes place. The bus will depart from the Central Library at 8 am and return at 8:30 pm. The cost is $45 per person and reservations must be made in advance by calling the library at (559) 600-6227.

On Wednesday, April 22, Professor David Borofka is lead the discussion “Beyond Hard-Boiled: Politics, Sociology and Myth in The Maltese Falcon”, on how the novel reflected the social and political realities of its time while using classic literary and mythic conventions. The event will be held at 7 pm at the Fresno City College Old Administration Building, in Room 251, located at 1101 E. University Ave in Fresno, California.

The full schedule of these and other events is available through The Big Read website.

On his website, tour guide Don Herron mentions Peter Lorre in several blog entries, including:

• ”Sinister Cinema: Talking About the Falcon” – Feb. 3, 2014
• ”Hollywood Beat: Lorre Noir” – Mar. 8, 2013
• ”Sinister Cinema: Lorre Noir” – Feb. 14, 2011
• ”San Francisco Noir” – Nov. 30, 2010

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, author Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the making of The Maltese Falcon through interviews with director John Huston. The Lost One is available for the Nook and Kindle, as well as hard-back and soft-bound editions.

Peter Lorre on TV in Spring 2015

Spring is here, and with it, many Peter Lorre movies on television and Turner Classic Movies.

All 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.

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April, 2015

April brings several Lorre movies, some shown frequently on the Turner Classic Movies channel and some Mr. Moto films on the new cable channel "Movies! Network".

Apr. 2 (Thurs), 8 am, Fox Movie Channel – I Was an Adventuress (1940). Peter returned to 20th Century-Fox at the end of his contract to play Polo, a charming pickpocket con-man working the French Riviera with two other con artists, who make money selling and stealing the same diamond pendant.

Apr. 7 (Tues), Turner Classic Movies channel – The daytime theme “Directed by Michael Curtiz” includes two Lorre films: Casablanca (1942) at 11:45 am and Passage to Marseille (1944) at 4 pm.

Apr. 10 (Fri), 7:30 am, Fox Movie Channel – I Was an Adventuress (1940).

Apr. 11 (Sat), 8 am, TCM – The Story of Mankind (1957). While the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) and the Devil (Vincent Price) debate the value of humans, Peter appears on the debit side of history as Emperor Nero, who laughs maniacally while Rome burns.

Apr. 12 (Sun), 5:15 am, Movies! Network – Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938).

Apr. 12 (Sun), 12:50 pm, Movies! Network – Danger Island (1939). The final Moto movie filmed, but the next-to-final Moto film released finds Mr. Moto in Puerto Rico in search of diamond smugglers.

Apr. 17 (Fri), 8 pm and 11:55 pm, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954). Peter's final movie with old friend Humphrey Bogart, as well as director John Huston.

Apr. 19 (Sun), Movies! Network – A "Mr. Moto" double feature, with Danger Island (1939) at 5 am, followed by Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938) at 6:35 am.

Apr. 27 (Mon), 9:55 am, Movies! Network – Danger Island (1939).

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May, 2015

A handful of Lorre films are scheduled for May.

May 16 (Sat), 6 am, Fox Movie Channel – I Was an Adventuress (1940).

May 17 (Sun), 2 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942).

May 18 (Mon), 5:45 pm, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). TCM salutes director Frank Capra's birthday with seven movies, including this dark comedy about two sweet little old ladies who consider one of their charities as helping lonely old men to find happiness by serving them a glass of poison-laced elderberry wine, Peter Lorre plays Dr. Einstein, personal plastic surgeon to Jonathan Brewster (Raymond Massey), one of the aunts' nephews – and an international serial killer.

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June, 2015

Every Friday in June, Eddie Muller will host TCM's "Summer of Darkness" festival of film noir films, including several Peter Lorre movies. Called the "Czar of Noir", Eddie Muller also co-hosts, with Alan K. Rode, the annual "Noir City" film noir festival, held in several American cities. And on June 26, Peter's 111th birthday, TCM marks the occasion with one of Peter's best.

June 5 (Fri), TCM – The "Summer of Darkness" festival with three Peter Lorre suspense films – M (1931) at 6 am, Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) at 11;30 am, and The Maltese Falcon (1941) at 2:30 pm.

June 8 (Mon), 12:45 pm, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943). A day marking Alexis Smith's birthday includes a purely romantic role for Peter, who romances and marries Brenda Marshall.

June 20 (Sat), 1 am, TCM – The Face Behind the Mask (1941). An evening of movies starring Evelyn Keyes includes another romantic role for Peter, but no happily-ever-after ending here.

June 26 (Fri), 8 pm, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). TCM continues their "Summer of Darkness" festival. Though he’s billed fourth, behind Sydney Greenstreet, Faye Emerson, and Zachary Scott, Peter Lorre plays the lead in this movie from a novel by Eric Ambler, one of Peter’s favorite authors – a Dutch professor of mathematics turned mystery novelist who gets more than he bargained for when he begins investigating the sordid life and career of an international criminal (Scott).

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Many of these and other Lorre movies are now available on DVD and VHS – some 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 is available in the book’s Appendix. The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available in hard-back and soft-bound editions, as well as the Kindle and Nook.

Happy viewing!

Tour Peter Lorre’s Final Resting Place

For more than 10 years, film historian Karie Bible has conducted tours of the Hollywood Forever cemetery, usually on Saturday mornings at 10 am. Her "Cemetery of the Stars" tour includes the graves of Peter Lorre, Cecil B DeMille, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, Rudolph Valentino, director John Huston, Carl Switzer, and William Desmond Taylor, among others.

But Lorre fans in the Los Angeles area might be especially interested in joining her on Wednesday, March 25 – the 51st anniversary of Peter’s interment at Hollywood Forever.

Tickets are $15. Reservations are not required. Tour dates and times can be confirmed by calling (818) 517-5988.

The tour begins at 10 am at the flower shop, located near the cemetery entrance.

Karie Bible offers three different tours of Hollywood Forever – "The Cemetery of the Stars Tour", "The Jewish Heritage Tour", and "The Hidden Hollywood Tour". Tour times and dates are listed on her website.

Hollywood Forever is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California, 90038.

Parking is available in the lot inside the cemetery gates.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin recounts Peter’s final days, his death on Mar. 23, 1964, and his funeral on Mar. 25.

In the midst of divorce procedures from his third wife Annemarie, Peter was found in his nightclothes, lying on the floor near the window of his small apartment off Hollywood Boulevard. He had suffered a massive stroke. Two days later, his body was prepared for burial at Pierce Brothers, then located directly across the street from the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, the cemetery now known as Hollywood Forever.

Vincent Price, Peter's co-star on five movies, including three at American International Pictures, delivered the eulogy, the text of which is printed in full in The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. The eulogy is a moving tribute to Peter – and to all actors.

Peter was cremated and his ashes inurned privately. His niche is in Corridor C of the Alcove of Reverence, in the Abbey of the Psalms, located in the corner of the cemetery closest to Paramount Studios, where he once worked on the 1947 movie My Favorite Brunette, with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. His third wife Annemarie shares the niche – but their ashes are not co-mingled.

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

Rest in peace, Peter Lorre. "In the hearts of those who love you, you will live on."

All Hamptons’ Big Read Includes The Maltese Falcon

Peter Lorre fans in the Hamptons communities of Massachusetts – Northampton, Easthampton, Southampton and Westhampton – can enjoy a double dose of The Maltese Falcon in March and April when the Forbes Library offers discussions of the Dashiell Hammett novel and the Academy of Music Theatre presents the 1941 Warner Bros. film onscreen.

The All Hamptons Big Read has selected the 1929 novel for its Afternoon Book Discussion, held on the third Friday of every month in the Watson Room at the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts.

The novel discussion is scheduled for the following dates and times:

March 20, Friday, 1 to 2 pm – Discussion will be held in the Watson Room of the Forbes Library, located at 20 West Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Pre-registration is not required. Drop-ins are welcome. Tea and light refreshments will be served.

Tuesday, April 14, 6 to 7:30 pm – The book discussion moves off-site to “The Library Room” of Packard’s, located at 14 Masonic Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Seating is limited and pre-registration is required. Attendees may order from the Packard’s menu.

On Sunday, April 19, the Academy of Music Theatre will present a special showing of the 1941 movie The Maltese Falcon in conjunction with the All Hamptons Big Read.

The program will begin at 4 pm with a brief introduction by Dean Flower, Smith College film studies professor. Admission is $5 for all seats – but free for anyone who attended the Forbes Library event.

Tickets may be purchased at the box office between 3 and 6 pm, Tuesday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the Academy at (413) 584-9032, extension 105, or on-line through the Academy website. Services fees will be applied to these purchases.

The Academy of Music Theatre is located at 274 Main Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Parking is available in several lots around the Academy. Information about parking, as well as directions to the Academy, is available on the Academy’s website.

The Forbes Library is located 20 West Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Metered parking is available behind the library. You may also purchase a day pass at the library’s circulation desk and Children’s desk. All money deposited in the meters go to the Forbes’ book fund. Information about parking, as well as directions to the library, is available on the Forbes’ website.

Packard’s is located at 14 Masonic Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Directions are available on Packard’s website.

The Maltese Falcon was the first book in the National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read" program in October of 2003. The Big Read offers a Reader’s Guide, a Teacher’s Guide, and an Audio Guide.

5th Avenue Cinema Runs The Maltese Falcon in Portland

The 5th Avenue Cinema, Oregon’s only student-run movie theater, will show a 35mm print of The Maltese Falcon (1941) this weekend on March 13, 14, and 15, 2015.

On Friday and Saturday, Mar. 13 and 14, the movie will begin at 7 and 9:30 pm.

On Sunday, Mar. 15, the movie will begin at 3 pm.

Admission is free for Portland State University students, faculty, staff, and alumni with ID. For all other students and seniors, admission is $3. General admission is $4. The theater takes cash only.

And free popcorn is offered at every show!

The 5th Avenue Cinema is located at 510 SW Hall Street in Portland, Oregon.

Parking is available on the streets near the cinema, as well as several Portland State University parking decks.

For more information, please call the cinema at (503) 725-3551.

Portland State University purchased the theater in the 1980s. In 1989, a group of students formed the PSU Film Committee and opened the former Cini-Mini as the 5th Avenue Cinema, with the intention of providing a fun venue for PSU students interested in film, as well as for the general public.

The Maltese Falcon introduced Peter Lorre to Humphrey Bogart, with whom he became lifelong friends and appeared in an additional four movies, three at Warner Bros. The movie also introduced Peter Lorre to Sydney Greenstreet, his partner-in-crime; the two actors – popularly known as the Abbott and Costello of Crime – went on to entertain audiences in eight more movies at Warner Bros. and also appeared on radio together.

In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the friendship of Peter and Bogie, as well as the nine movies of Lorre and Greenstreet. The book is available in hard-back, soft-bound, Kindle, and Nook editions.

Lorre Film at the Lincoln Theatre in Ohio

The historic Lincoln Theatre in Massillon, Ohio, will present Around the World in 80 Days (1957) this Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 14 and 15, 2015. In the all-star extravaganza, Peter Lorre appears in a cameo role as a Japanese steward aboard a ship bound for Yokohama. In the animated closing credits, Peter becomes a sword-wielding samurai warrior.

On Saturday, Around the World in 80 Days will begin at 7 pm.

On Sunday, the movie will begin at 6 pm.

Admission is $5 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the Lincoln box office. Tickets may also be purchased on-line through the Lincoln Theatre website. A receipt will be sent by eMail and must be presented at the box office.

The Lincoln Theatre is located at 156 Lincoln Way East, in Massillon, Ohio.

Parking is available on the streets near the Lincoln.

Built in 1915 as a silent movie house, the Lincoln celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Probably many of Peter Lorre’s movies saw their first runs at the Lincoln, including Around the World in 80 Days. The historic cinema is now lovingly attended to by the local Lions and Rotary clubs, who also work as volunteers.

Bogart Fest in Kirkland, WA, Includes Lorre Films

Peter Lorre fans in the Kirkland, Washington, area will have an opportunity to enjoy Casablanca (1942) and The Maltese Falcon (1941) in a movie theater when the Kirkland Parkplace Cinema 6 hosts a Humphrey Bogart festival in March.

The four movies include Casablanca, The Big Sleep (1946), The Maltese Falcon, and The African Queen (1951).

Casablanca will be shown on Mar. 6, 7, and 8, Friday to Sunday. Showtimes are 1:20 pm and 7 pm each day.

The Maltese Falcon will be shown on Mar. 20, 21, and 22, Friday to Sunday. Showtimes are 1:20 pm and 7 pm each day.

Admission for all seats during the Bogart festival are $8. Tickets may be purchased at the cinema’s box office. The box office opens 30 minutes before the first show.

The Kirkland Parkplace Cinema 6 is located at 404 Park Place in Kirkland, Washington.

Parking is available throughout Parkplace. The Kirkland Cinema recommends parking in the parking garage spots labeled “4 Hour”. More information about parking, as well as directions to the cinema, are available on the theater’s website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin chronicles the friendship of Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart through interviews with two of their directors, John Huston and Vincent Sherman. Peter counted Bogie as one of his two closest friends, the other being the German playwright Bertolt Brecht.

Off-set, Peter and Bogie were considered hell-raisers around Hollywood, always playing practical jokes, such as pushing the safe out of Chasen’s office into the middle of Beverly Boulevard, in West Hollywood. On-set, they were consummate professionals who could get a scene in one take.

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

Two Venues Present Casablanca This Week

Peter Lorre fans in the Washington, DC, and Amherst, New York, areas will have an opportunity to catch Casablanca (1942) in theaters this week when the Amherst Screening Room and the AFI Silver present the Humphrey Bogart / Ingrid Bergman classic.

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The Amherst Screening Room, in Amherst, New York, will show Casablanca on Friday and Saturday, Mar. 6 and 7, 2015.

The film begins at 7 pm both days.

Admission is $6 for all seats. Tickets may be purchased at the cinema box office.

The Screening Room is located within the Northtown Plaza, in the Northtown Plaza Business Center, at 3131 Sheridan Drive, in Amherst, New York. The Business Center faces N. Bailey Avenue, behind the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

Parking is available on the N. Bailey side of the building. Directions are available on the Screening Room website.

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As part of their series “Leading Ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age”, the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, will salute Ingrid Bergman with a showing of Casablanca from Friday, March 6, to Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

Casablanca will be shown on the following dates and times:

• Friday, Mar. 6 – 5:15 pm
• Saturday, Mar. 7 – 7:30 pm
• Sunday, Mar. 8 – 6:45 pm
• Monday, Mar. 9 – 12:45 pm
• Tuesday, Mar. 10 – 12:45 pm
• Wednesday, Mar. 11 – 6:30 pm

Admission for all matinee shows is $9 for general admission; $7 for children 12 and under; and $8.50 for AFI members Two-Star level and higher. Admission for all evening shows is $12 for general admission; $10 for seniors 65 years and older; $7 for children 12 and under; and $8.50 for AFI members Two-Star level and higher.

AFI Member Passes will be accepted for all movies in the “Leading Ladies of Hollywood's Golden Age” series.

Wednesday, Mar. 11, will be a special showing in conjunction with Montgomery College. Students of MC will be admitted for $6, and MC film professor David Rothman will lead a discussion of Casablanca following the movie.

Tickets may be purchased on-line through the AFI Silver Theatre website. Click the “Buy Tickets” button, then select a show day and time. Tickets purchased on-line must be claimed at the box office with the same credit card used to make the purchase. The AFI Silver accepts American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards.

Tickets may also be purchased at the AFI Silver box office, which opens 30 minutes before the first film of the day.

The “Leading Ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age” series began on Friday, Feb. 6 and will continue to Thursday, April 16. The full schedule is available on the AFI Silver website.

The AFI Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road, at the intersection of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Directions to the cinema may be found on the AFI Silver website.

Parking is available in several public parking decks close to the theater. Most convenient is the Wayne Avenue garage, located at 921 Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. Parking at the Wayne Avenue garage is free on weekends and after 8 pm on weekdays. More information on parking can be found on the AFI Silver website.

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In The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen Youngkin chronicles the making of Casablanca, including interviews with screenwriter Julius J. Epstein and actor Dan Seymour. Initially unsure how Peter Lorre would fit into their stable of contract players, Warner Bros. came to a decision after Peter’s performance as Ugarte, the pivotal character who gets the movie’s action going by obtaining a pair of valuable “letters of transit”, and offered the actor a 3-year contract with yearly options.

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

Beat the Devil Onscreen in Philadelphia, March 3

As part of their “Tuesday Nights at the Movies” series, the Chestnut Hill Film Group will screen Beat the Devil (1953) at their new venue, the Woodmere Art Museum, on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

The movie will begin at 7:30 pm. Door open at 6:30 pm.

Admission is free, however, donations are recommended.

The full schedule for the Chestnut Hill Film Group’s Winter/Spring 2015 season is available on the group’s website.

For more information, please call (215) 247-0476.

The Woodmere Art Museum is located at 9201 Germantown Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Parking is available at the museum. Directions are available on the museum’s website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the making of Beat the Devil through interviews with director John Huston. Believing Peter Lorre to be a “good luck charm”, both star Humphrey Bogart and director John Huston wanted Peter on the film, which was shot on location in Italy. Beat the Devil was the final movie Peter made with Bogart and Huston.

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