Gettysburg Classic Fest Includes Lorre

In November and December, 2020, the historic Majestic Theater, located in downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, celebrates "95 Years of Majestic Movies" with a series of classic films, including Casablanca (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, and an international supporting cast with Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet among others.

Casablanca will be shown on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 2 pm.

Tickets are $8.50 for all seats.

Seating is limited to 100 for each showing. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Majestic website. A nominal booking fee will be added to each ticket purchased online. The historic outdoor box office will open at 12 noon the day of each movie showing.

Due to continued COVID-19 restrictions, masks covering the nose and mouth must be worn at all times, including during the film showings. Refreshments will not be sold at the Majestic, and no outside food or drink is permitted. Physically distant seating will also be in effect. More information on COVID-19 health and safety policies is available on the Majestic website.

The film festival begins on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, and runs until Sunday, Dec. 20. The complete schedule is available on the Majestic website.

The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle Street in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 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, is available on the Majestic website.

For more information, please call (717) 337-8200.

The Majestic Theatre opened on Saturday, November 14, 1925, with a showing of the silent movie The Road to Yesterday (1925), directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Originally built as an annex to the Gettysburg Hotel, the Majestic was in 1925 the largest vaudeville and silent movie theater in south-central Pennsylvania.

And from the 1930s onward, many Peter Lorre films played at the Majestic, too, including Casablanca (1942).

November with Lorre on TV

November means the start of the holidays, and Lorre fans can look forward to several movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as other channels.

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.


November, 2020

Nov. 7 (Sat), 12:15 am, Turner Classic Movies – The Big Circus (1959). In November, every Friday evening into the wee hours of Saturday morning, the TCM primetime theme is “Under the Big Top”. The series of circus movies includes this 1959 movie with Peter Lorre as “Skeeter the Clown”, one of the many performers in a traveling big-top show run by Hank Whirling (Victor Mature), with Vincent Price as Hans Hagenfeld, the ringmaster.

Nov. 7 (Sat), 6 am, TCM – Hotel Berlin (1945).

Nov. 10 (Tues), 3:45 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). TCM salutes Claude Rains’ birthday with a morning and afternoon line-up of Rains’ movies, including one of his most famous – Casablanca.

Nov. 13 (Fri), 11:30 am, TCM – You’ll Find Out (1940). The daytime theme is “Mystery Mansions”, and the setting for You’ll Find Out is an estate with hidden passageways, secret rooms, sliding panels, regular séances – and Kay Kyser and his band playing for the 21st birthday party of a young woman about to inherit a fortune.

Nov. 17 (Tues), 1 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). The daytime theme is “Humphrey Bogart”, including this classic hard-boiled mystery that began a friendship between Peter Lorre and Bogie, and teamed Peter with Sydney Greenstreet for the first time.

Nov. 25 (Wed), 6 am, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954>

Nov. 29 (Sun), 8 am, TCM – The Constant Nymph (1943).


Sneak Peek at December, 2020

Dec. 5 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). The primetime theme is a “Dashiell Hammett Double Feature”, including The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man (1934).

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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 Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

Happy viewing!

Halloween with Lorre Over SiriusXM

Lorre fans, begin your Halloween celebration a week early when Peter’s Inner Sanctum Mysteries episode “Death is a Joker” kicks off a 2-hour “Halloween Teaser Block” on the Radio Classics channel on SiriusXM the week of October 19, 2020.

The spooky old-time radio tales include ~

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

“Death is a Joker” will air on the following dates and times ~

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 –
9 pm Pacific

Wednesday, Oct. 21 –
12 midnight Eastern

Friday, Oct. 23 –
11 am Pacific
2 pm Eastern

Sunday, Oct. 25 –
1 am Pacific
4 am Eastern

The full schedule for the week is available through the Radio Classics website.

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over Channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the SiriusXM radio website.

Though originally broadcast on Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “Death is a Joker” now survives only as an episode of the Armed Forces Radio Services (AFRS) program Mystery Playhouse – and hosted by Peter Lorre, who has the unique opportunity to introduce himself in his own program!

Happy Halloween!

Mystery Playhouse Episode on SiriusXM

Peter Lorre fans with access to SiriusXM Radio can tune into the Radio Classics channel the week of September 7, 2020, and hear an episode of Peter’s mid-1940s Armed Forces Radio series Mystery Playhouse – "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," which originally aired over NBC as an episode of the series Mollė Mystery Theatre on Tuesday, February 27, 1945.

The episode airs as part of a 2-hour block of programming to salute the debut of the TV series Star Trek, which began its 3-year run on Sept. 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.

"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" will air these dates and times ~

Tuesday, Sept. 8 –
5:30 pm Pacific, 8:30 pm Eastern

Thursday, Sept. 10 –
11:30 am Pacific, 2:30 pm Eastern

Saturday, Sept. 12 –
9:30 am Pacific, 12:30 pm Eastern

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over Channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the SiriusXM radio website.

During World War II, the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) supplied radio programs to American military men and women serving overseas. Regular series with commercials edited out, as well as commercial-free original programs, were sent out on thick vinyl records to military bases around the world.

Mystery Playhouse was comprised of episodes of various suspense and thriller mystery series, such as Mr. and Mrs. North and Sherlock Holmes, as well as anthology series, such as Inner Sanctum, The Whistler, and Mollė Mystery Theatre.

As one of several hosts of Mystery Playhouse, Peter Lorre introduced episodes with the greeting, “Hello, Kreeps!” and his usual dry sense of humor. A visit to the Green Room and a preview of the next Mystery Playhouse entry usually closed the program.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses Peter’s radio career, beginning with performances on German radio in the early 1930s to American radio appearances, including three series – Mystery Playhouse, the 1947 13-week summer series Mystery in the Air, and the 1950s series Nightmare.

A complete-to-date list of Peter’s radio work is available in the Appendix of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, and many Lorre performances are available on CD.

The Lost One may be purchased from Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K., as well as other booksellers.

Click on any of these links, and the order page will open.

Summer into Fall with Lorre on TV

The annual "Summer Under the Stars" fest, fall, and Halloween bring many Lorre films to the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as other channels.

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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August, 2020

Every August, TCM presents their "Summer Under the Stars" festival, with each day in the month devoted to a different star. This year, several of Peter's co-stars are featured.

Aug. 16 (Sun), 3:45 pm, Turner Classic Movies – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). TCM salutes Cary Grant, including this classic comedy, starring Grant as theater critic Mortimer Brewstar, who finds out his aunts have an interesting "charity" – serving lonely old gentlemen a toxic mix of poison and elderberry wine and then burying them in the cellar.

Aug. 24 (Mon), 8 am, TCM – Background to Danger (1943). It's "George Raft Day" on "Summer Under the Stars", including a spy drama based on the Eric Ambler novel Uncommon Danger, with Peter Lorre as the Russian spy Nikolai Zaleshoff and Brenda Marshall as his sister, Tamara.

Aug. 28 (Fri), 12 midnight, TCM – Casablanca (1942). TCM salutes Paul Henreid with both of the movies Henreid made with Peter Lorre. First up, Casablanca.

Aug 28 (Fri), 4 am, TCM – The Conspirators (1944). The salute to Paul Henreid ends with his second film with Peter Lorre.

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September, 2020

September brings only one Lorre movie to TCM.

Sept. 22 (Tues), 6:30 am, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956). The daytime theme is "Noel Coward", and Coward is one of the dozens of stars appearing in cameo roles in this Oscar-winning classic, including Peter Lorre as the Japanese steward aboard a ship bound for Yokohama.

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October, 2020

October means Halloween and horror movies, and TCM includes several of Peter's horror and horror-comedy films!

Oct. 2 (Fri), 6 pm, TCM – The Story of Mankind (1957). TCM celebrates the birthday of Grouch Marx with a day of Marx Brothers movies, including this Irwin Allen all-star extravaganza, in which Peter Lorre plays Emperor Nero, who strums a lyre while Rome burns.

Oct. 8 (Thurs), 12:05 am, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

Oct. 15 (Thurs), 4 pm, MeTV – Wagon Train, "The Alexander Portlass Story" (originally broadcast Mar. 16, 1960)

Oct. 16 (Fri), 3:15 pm, TCM – The Raven (1963). TCM's daytime theme is "'60s Horrors", including this horror-comedy directed by Roger Corman. Peter plays the title role – a magician transformed into a raven by Boris Karloff and rescued by Vincent Price.

Oct. 25 (Sun), 2:15 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

Oct. 26 (Mon), 6 am, TCM – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). TCM's daytime theme is "Murderous Monday", and the "murderer" in this 1940s horror film is apparently the hand of a dead concert pianist (Victor Francen).

Oct. 29 (Thurs), 8 pm, Movies! Network – Quicksand (1950).

Oct. 30 (Fri), 4:15 pm, TCM – Mad Love (1935). TCM's daytime theme is "'30s Horror", including Peter's first American film.

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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 Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

Happy viewing!

Elmont Library Hosts Lorre Program

The Elmont Memorial Library, located in Elmont, New York, will host an online program on Peter Lorre on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.

Presented by Keith Crocker, "Peter Lorre: Hollywood's Unsung Master of Mayhem" begins at 1 pm.

The event is free and open to anyone with access to the internet and ZOOM.

Registration is required. Register online through the library's website by clicking on "Events" in the menu to display the Calendar, then scroll to the July 7 event, "Peter Lorre: Hollywood's Unsung Master of Mayhem" and click the green "Register” button.

Complete the Registration form and click the green "Send" button.

Registration is limited to 30 people, and registration closes at 12 noon on Tuesday, July 7, one hour before the presentation begins.

Longtime movie fan Keith Crocker has been speaking about film-making since 1995, when his wife invited him to give a presentation at the East Meadow Public Library where she works as a librarian.

Since then, Keith has given numerous lectures on horror, science-fiction, fantasy, musicals, comedies, and comedy actors, including the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and W.C. Fields.

Believing Peter Lorre is an actor who deserves more attention, Keith Crocker will discuss Peter’s movies and career with the intention of encouraging the audience to seek out his work. Keith will also take questions during the presentation.

Happy Birthday, Peter Lorre!

Friday, June 26, 2020, is the 116th birthday of Peter Lorre, and beginning Monday, June 22, 2020, Lorre fans can celebrate with Lorre movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel and Lorre radio shows on SiriusXM.

Broadcast over channel 148 on the SiriusXM radio dial, the Radio Classics channel presents its annual birthday tribute to Peter Lorre with special 2-hour programming blocks. And for a fourth year, since June 2017, Peter gets a double dose of “Happy Birthday” wishes from host Greg Bell with two different blocks of Lorre radio programs.

Beginning Tuesday, June 23, 2020, and continuing throughout the week until Sunday, June 28, Lorre fans can enjoy eight of Peter’s old-time radio performances.

“Peter Lorre Special” includes two episodes from Peter’s own 13-week summer series Mystery in the Air, “The Marvelous Barastro” (August 7, 1947) and “Crime and Punishment” (Sept. 25, 1947); an episode of the anthology series Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me” (Aug. 30, 1945); and finally a guest appearance on Jack Benny’s show The Lucky Strike Program, “I Stand Condemned” (Mar. 24, 1946).

“More Peter Lorre B-Day” includes guest appearances on Fred Allen’s show The Texaco Star Theater (Jan. 3, 1943) and Duffy’s Tavern (Oct. 19, 1943); an episode of the anthology series Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Black Seagull” (Mar. 7, 1943); and finally, an episode of Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man” (July 20, 1944).

The Lorre programs and tributes will air on these dates and times ~

Tuesday, June 23 ~
Peter Lorre Special ~
7 am Pacific, 10 am Eastern
Mystery in the Air, “The Marvelous Barastro”
Mystery in the Air, “Crime and Punishment”
Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me”
The Lucky Strike Program


Wednesday, June 24 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day ~
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern
The Texaco Star Theater
Duffy’s Tavern
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Black Seagull”
Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man”


Friday, June 26 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day ~
5 am Pacific, 8 am Eastern
The Texaco Star Theater
Duffy’s Tavern
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Black Seagull”
Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man”

Peter Lorre Special ~
7 pm Pacific, 10 pm Eastern
Mystery in the Air, “The Marvelous Barastro”
Mystery in the Air, “Crime and Punishment”
Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me”
The Lucky Strike Program


Saturday, June 27 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day ~
11 pm Pacific
The Texaco Star Theater
Duffy’s Tavern
Inner Sanctum, “The Black Seagull”
Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man”


Sunday, June 28 ~
More Peter Lorre B-Day ~
2 am Eastern
The Texaco Star Theater
Duffy’s Tavern
Inner Sanctum, “The Black Seagull”
Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man”

Peter Lorre Special ~
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern
Mystery in the Air, “The Marvelous Barastro”
Mystery in the Air, “Crime and Punishment”
Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me”
The Lucky Strike Program

The full schedule for the week of Monday, June 22, to Sunday, June 28, 2020, is available on the SiriusXM Radio website.

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the Sirius XM radio website.

On Friday, June 26, 2020, the party continues as the Turner Classic Movies channel celebrates Peter’s birthday with a morning and afternoon of Lorre movies, including ~

• 6:30 am – Stranger On the Third Floor (1940)
• 8 am – You’ll Find Out (1940)
• 10 am – Strange Cargo (1940)
• 12 noon – Hotel Berlin (1945)
• 2 pm – Scent of Mystery (1960)
• 4 pm – The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• 6 pm – M (1931)

The full schedule is available on the Turner Classic Movies website.

The life and career of Peter Lorre is chronicled in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin, who began his research in the 1970s and interviewed Peter’s brothers Andrew and Francis, his first wife Celia Lovsky, his sister-in-law Barbara through his second wife Karen Verne, his daughter Catherine Lorre, friends, fellow actors, and the directors, producers, and crew who worked with him throughout his career.

These interviews shed light on Peter’s birth on June 26, 1904, his childhood, his early days in theater, his career on film, radio, and television, and his sad final days.

The Appendix of The Lost One includes the most complete list available of Peter’s credits – radio, film, stage, and television.

The Lorre radio programs airing this week in honor of Peter’s birthday are available through many merchants. Many of Peter’s movies, as well as some of his television appearances, are available on DVD.

Published in 2005, 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.

Click on any of these links, and the order page will open.

Spring into Summer with Lorre on TV

As spring becomes summer, Lorre fans have many movies to look forward to on the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as other channels – especially in June, when TCM celebrates Peter’s birthday!

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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May, 2020

A handful of Lorre movies are on hand in May.

May 3 (Sun), 12 noon, Turner Classic Movies – Hollywood Canteen (1944). May 3 is the birthday of original TCM host Robert Osborne, and in tribute, a 4-film selection of "Bob's Picks" will be shown, introduced by Osborne himself, including this "bob Pick" from 2009.

May 8 (Fri), 3:15 pm, TCM – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). The daytime theme on TCM is “Face the Music”, a day of music-themed movies, including this Warner Bros. horror film about a concert pianist (Victor Francen) whose piano-playing hand appears to live on after his death and terrorize the denizens of his Italian villa, including his personal librarian (Peter Lorre).

May 14 (Thurs), 8:15 am, TCM – All Through the Night (1942). The TCM daytime theme is “Vincent Sherman”, a day of movies directed by Vincent Sherman, including this Humphrey Bogart spy comedy, co-starring Peter Lorre as a Nazi gang’s assassin. For Vol. 2 of the Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection (2006), Vincent Sherman provided audio commentary for All Through the Night. The DVD box-set is available to purchase from Amazon.

May 19 (Tues), 11:45 am, TCM – Mad Love (1942). The daytime theme is “We’re All Mad Here!”, including Peter’s first American film, in which he plays a brilliant surgeon driven mad by his unrequited love of a theater actress (Yvonne Drake).

May 23 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). The prime-time version of “The Essentials: Memorial Day edition” includes the classic war-time drama involving an ex-patriot American saloon keeper (Humphrey Bogart), his Parisian lover (Ingrid Bergman), a Czech freedom-fighter (Paul Henreid), and a black-market seller of exit visas (Peter Lorre).

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June, 2020

June 26 is the 116th anniversary of Peter Lorre’s birth in 1904 in Rosenberg, Hungary, and the highlight of the month is TCM’s celebration of the day with a morning and afternoon of Lorre movies.

June 2 (Tues), 1 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

June 12 (Fri), 12:50 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

June 17 (Wed), 5:55 pm, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954).

June 17 (Wed), 8 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

June 22 (Mon), 8 pm, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

June 25 (Thurs), 7 am, TCM – Muscle Beach Party (1964). TCM's primetime theme is "History of the Swimsuit", subtitle "Couples Swim", and a popular "swimming" couple in the 1960s was Frankie and Annette. When Peter Lorre passed away on March 23, 1964, Muscle Beach Party, the second of their popular "Beach Party" movies, was playing in movie theaters.

June 26 (Friday), 6:30 am, TCM – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). TCM presents a birthday tribute to Peter Lorre with a day of Lorre movies, beginning with a movie considered the first film noir.

June 26 (Friday), 8 am, TCM – You’ll Find Out (1940). The Lorre birthday tribute continues with the only film in which Peter co-starred with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, a musical “horror-romp” starring band-leader Kay Kyser and his group.

June 26 (Fri), 8:35 am, Movies! Network – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

June 26 (Friday), 10 am, TCM – Strange Cargo (1940). The Lorre birthday tribute continues with the first of two movies Peter made with Clark Gable.

June 26 (Friday), 12 noon, TCM – Hotel Berlin (1945). The Lorre birthday tribute continues with one of the many wartime dramas Peter made at Warner Bros.

June 26 (Friday), 2 pm, TCM – Scent of Mystery (1945). The Lorre birthday tribute continues with a film set in Spain, in which Peter plays a taxi driver who chauffeurs around a vacationing Englishman (Denholm Elliott) as he tries to prevent the murder of a young woman.

June 26 (Friday), 4 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1944). The Lorre birthday tribute continues with the first movie Peter made with Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet – the classic mystery involving a fabulous golden jewel-encrusted statuette and the underworld figures scheming to get their hands on it.

June 26 (Friday), 6 pm, TCM – M (1931). Peter’s birthday tribute ends with his most famous movie – director Fritz Lang’s first sound movie about a murderer (Peter Lorre) of children in Berlin and the underworld’s efforts to capture him.

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July, 2020

July bring a number of Lorre films to television – including Eddie Muller’s “Noir Alley”, Saturday night and Sunday morning.

July 6 (Mon), 7:40 am, Movies! Network – Beat the Devil (1954).

July 18 (Sat), 6 am, TCM – Hotel Berlin (1945).

July 18 (Sat), 8 pm, TCM – The Maltese Falcon (1941). On this week's installment of "The Essentials", hosts Brad Bird and Ben Mankiewicz take a look at the classic mystery.

July 18 (Sat), 12 midnight, TCM – Three Strangers (1946). Eddie Muller brings to "Noir Alley" this Warner Bros. film about three strangers (Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, and Geraldine Fitzgerald) who meet at midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve and make a wish before a statuette of Kwan Yin, goddess of fortune and destiny.

July 19 (Sun), 10 am, TCM – Three Strangers (1946). Eddie Muller’s "Noir Alley" entry for midnight on Saturday is repeated Sunday morning.

July 26 (Sun), 2 pm, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944).

July 29 (Wed), 2:15 am, TCM – Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). Every Wednesday in July, TCM turns the spotlight on "Feel-Good Films", hosted by all five TCM presenters: Dave Karger, Alicia Malone, Jacqueline Stewart, Eddie Muller, and Ben Mankiewicz. Tonight, Ben and Alicia Malone co-host an evening of "Good Time Crime", including this film about two elderly spinsters and their "charity" of helping lonely old gentlemen into a better world with a sip of very poisonous elderberry wine.

July 30 (Thurs), 1 am, TCM – The Raven (1963). The prime-time theme is "For the Birds", and the evening of "bird" movies continues with this entry from American International Pictures with Peter Lorre as the title character – a magician transformed into a raven by rival magician Boris Karloff and rescued by magician Vincent Price.

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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 Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Amazon U.K, as well as other booksellers.

Happy viewing!

Lorre Films in Virtual TCM Film Fest

Originally scheduled for April 16-19, 2020, in Los Angeles, California, the 11th annual TCM Classic Film Festival has been cancelled due to the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Turner Classic Movies will host a virtual Classic Film Festival over the TCM channel. The “Special Home Edition” begins on Thursday, April 16, at 8 pm Eastern, and runs through the wee hours of Sunday, April 19, ending Monday morning, April 20, 2020.

Featuring movies and programs shown during TCM Film Festivals over the past eleven years, the virtual fest includes two Peter Lorre movies – Mad Love (1935) and Casablanca (1942).

Both films are scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2020 ~

• Mad Love ~ 8 am – Bill Hader introduced Peter Lorre’s first American movie last year at the 2019 festival, with actress Cora Sue Collins, who played one of Dr. Gogol’s young patients, in the audience.
• Casablanca ~ 8 pm – Director Peter Bogdanovich hosts this screening of the TCM favorite, which has been shown at three festivals.

The full schedule for the virtual film festival is available on the TCM website.

Pop some popcorn, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy this special “Home Edition” of the annual TCM Classic Film Festival from the comfort of your own home screening room!

Lorre Radio Co-Star Harry Morgan Birthday Block on SiriusXM

During the week of April 6 to 12, 2020, actor Harry Morgan (born April 10, 1915) gets the birthday star treatment from old-time radio host Greg Bell when the SiriusXM Radio channel Radio Classics airs a two-hour block of Morgan radio appearances, including two episodes of Peter Lorre’s 1947 series Mystery in the Air.

The four programs include – Mystery in the Air, “The Queen of Spades” (Sept. 11, 1947) and “The Horla” (Aug. 21, 1947); This is Your FBI, “Backstage Shakedown” (Nov. 10, 1950); and Broadway is My Beat, “Johnny Clark” (Nov. 29, 1952).

The Morgan tribute will air these dates and times –

Tuesday, April 7, 2020 ~
7 am Pacific
10 am Eastern

Friday, April 10, 2020 ~
7 pm Pacific
10 pm Eastern

Sunday, April 12, 2020 ~
11 am Pacific
2 pm Eastern

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the SiriusXM radio website.

As “The Voice of Mystery”, Harry Morgan acted as narrator on Peter Lorre’s radio series Mystery in the Air, a replacement series for The Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Show in the summer of 1947.

Mystery in the Air presented tales of suspense “culled from the four corners of world literature”, adapted from such famous tales as Alexander Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”, as well as original radio dramas.

Morgan hosted all 13 episodes, beginning with “The Tell-Tale Heart” on July 3 and continuing to the final program, “Crime and Punishment”, adapted from Peter’s 1935 Columbia Studios film, on Sept. 25, 1947.

In the image above, Morgan (in black suit) stands, looking over Hans Conried’s shoulder at his script, with Peter Lorre at the microphone.

On March 14, 1979, author Stephen Youngkin took an interview with Harry Morgan for his Lorre biography, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, published in September, 2005, through University Press of Kentucky. Morgan recalled working with Lorre on Mystery in the Air, describing the intensity of Peter’s performances as he played to the microphone, not the studio audience.

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.

Click on any of these links, and the order page will open.