Happy Birthday, Peter Lorre, from SiriusXM and TCM!

Lorre fans with access to satellite radio service SiriusXM and cable TV channel Turner Classic Movies will have many opportunities to enjoy Peter’s work on radio and film the week of June 24, 2024, as the two services celebrate the 120th birthday of the classic Hollywood actor.

The celebration begins on the Radio Classics channel, broadcast over channel 148 on SiriusXM. From Monday, June 24, to Sunday, June 30, host Greg Bell shows his "Love for Laszlo" – referring to Peter's real name Laszlo Lowenstein – with two separate blocks of Lorre radio programs.

“Peter Lorre Birthday (1)” includes two episodes from Peter’s own 13-week summer series Mystery in the Air, “The Marvelous Barastro” (August 7, 1947) and “The Mask of Medusa” (September 4, 1947); an episode of the anthology series Suspense, “Nobody Loves Me” (August 30, 1945); and finally an episode of Peter’s series Mystery Playhouse, “The Dilemma”, originally broadcast over Mollé Mystery Theater (November 21, 1944).

“Peter Lorre Birthday (2)” includes guest appearances on Fred Allen’s show The Texaco Star Theater (January 3, 1943) and Duffy’s Tavern (October 19, 1943); an episode of the anthology series Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Black Seagull” (March 7, 1943); and finally, an episode of Suspense, “Of Maestro and Man” (July 20, 1944).

The birthday blocks will air these dates and times ~

Monday, June 24 ~
5 am Pacific, 8 am Eastern
Peter Lorre Birthday (1)

Wednesday, June 26 ~
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern
Peter Lorre Birthday (2)

Wednesday, June 26 ~
7 pm Pacific, 10 pm Eastern
Peter Lorre Birthday (1)

Friday, June 28 ~
11 pm Pacific
Peter Lorre Birthday (1)

Saturday, June 29 ~
2 am Eastern
Peter Lorre Birthday (1)

Saturday, June 29 ~
11 pm Pacific
Peter Lorre Birthday (2)

Sunday, June 30 ~
2 am Eastern
Peter Lorre Birthday (2)

The party continues on the Turner Classic Movies channel on Wednesday, June 26, as TCM celebrates Peter’s birthday with a morning and afternoon of movies starring or featuring Peter Lorre. including ~

• 6 am – The Story of Mankind (1957)
• 8 am – Three Strangers (1946)
• 9:45 am – Hotel Berlin (1945)
• 11:30 am – They Met in Bombay (1941)
• 1:15 pm – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
• 2:45 pm – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
• 4:15 pm – You'll Find Out (1940)
• 6 pm – M (1931)

Times shown are Eastern Standard.

The full schedule for the week of Monday, June 24, 2024, is available on 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 3-month trial is available for one dollar through the SiriusXM radio website.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the life and career of Peter Lorre. Beginning his research in the 1970s, he 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 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 120th birthday, Peter Lorre!

Syracuse Film Society Features Lorre Film

On Monday, June 17, 2024, the Warner Bros all-star musical extravaganza Hollywood Canteen ends the summer film festival at the Syracuse Cinephile Society, located in Syracuse, New York.

The program, including one or more short subjects as well as the feature film, begins 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.

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.

Film fans attending the movie are invited to come to the restaurant by 6 pm to enjoy dinner before the program.

“What would you be comfortable doing?” director Delmer Daves asked Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet.

The answer? A minute-and-a-half sketch in which the pair, playing off their menacing screen images, rescue singer Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters from her G.I. dance partner (James Flavin).

It’s considered a highlight in this star-studded tribute to the famous Hollywood Canteen, which served anyone in uniform during World War II.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, author Stephen D. Youngkin describes Peter’s participation in the real Hollywood Canteen, as recalled by a young G.I. named William Campbell, who later became an actor appearing in many movies and TV shows, notably as Trelane in the Star Trek episode, “The Squire of Gothos” (January 12, 1967).

Besides serving the visiting soldiers and bussing tables, Peter also joined in on the sing-alongs.

In 2013, authors Lisa Mitchel and Bruce Torrence recounted the history of the Canteen in their book Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced With the Most Beautiful Girls in the World. The book may be purchased through BearManor Media and Amazon.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre may also be purchased through Amazon and other online booksellers.

And the Syracuse Cinephile Society will return in the fall with another schedule of classic movies and short subjects. Happy summer!

Summer Class with Lorre in Amherst

On Monday, June 10, 2024, local filmmaker and film expert Nina Kleinberg returns to the Amherst Cinema in Amherst, Massachusetts, to teach a class on the making of Casablanca (1942).

Using raw footage, film clips, and production stills, Ms. Kleinberg will discuss the making of Casablanca, with special attention to the work of the director, cameraman, editors, and the cast.

The seminar will begin at 6:30 pm. A screening of Casablanca will follow at approximately 8 pm.

Tickets are $18.50 for general admission; $16.75 for students and seniors (age 65 and older); and $13.50 for Amherst Cinema Members. Tickets may be purchased online through the Amherst Cinema website. A nominal processing fee will be added to each ticket purchased online.

The Amherst Cinema is located at 28 Amity Street in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Parking is available in the Bank of America lot during non-banking hours. Cinemagoers may park on 5 pm on Mondays, as well as other days of the week. Bank of America is located at 1 South Pleasant Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. More information about parking is available on the Amherst Cinema website.

Working as a film editor in the 1970s, after graduating film school at the University of Southern California (USC), Ms. Kleinberg has a long-term interest in movies and their history, presenting several programs at Amherst Cinema. Her seminar on Casablanca is a popular favorite at the Amherst Cinema.

Lorre fans in the Amherst area have a chance to enjoy her program again.

For more information, contact the cinema at (413) 253-2547.

New Lorre Documentary Screens in Paris

Peter Lorre fans in the area of Paris, France, will enjoy a screening of the new documentary Peter Lorre – Derrière le masque du maudit (2024), which translates as Peter Lorre – Behind the Mask of the Accursed, on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Goethe-Institut Paris.

Evelyn Schels, the director of the documentary, will be present at the screening.

The program begins at 7 pm and includes a showing of Fritz Lang’s M le maudit (M, the Damned, 1931) following the documentary.

Admission is free. Tickets are available through EventBrite.

Goethe-Institut Paris is located at 17 Avenue d'Léna in Paris, France.

“Peter Lorre, icon of 20th century cinema, experienced the horrors of Nazism before going into exile in Hollywood. His cinematic journey, rich in collaborations with legends like Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang and Marlene Dietrich, reflects his personal and professional struggles. This film draws the contours of his complex personality, reveals his tumultuous relationships and his fight against addictions, offering a captivating look at the man behind the mask. Made famous by his character as a child killer in M Le Maudit, this master of double-dealing has always only taken on villain roles. All his life he tried, without success, to erase the image of an assassin that stuck to him.”

Stephen D. Youngkin, author of the biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), was involved in the documentary, supplying photos from his Lorre collection, as well as information about Peter’s life and career.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available through these online booksellers ~

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

June with Lorre Movies on TV

June brings the 120th anniversary of Peter Lorre's birth, and fans will find many Lorre movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as Talking Pictures TV.

American times shown are Eastern Standard.

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June, 2024

TCM celebrates Peter's birthday with a morning of Lorre movies on June 26!

June 12 (Wed), 9:30 am, Turner Classic Movies – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). "The Scene of the Crime" is the daytime theme on TCM, including this tale of murder on the third floor of a rooming house.

June 17 (Mon), 9:15 am, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). TCM turns the daytime spotlight on "Film Composers", including Adolph Deutsch, who composed the music for many Warner Bros movies, among them this mystery suspense film starring Peter as a professor of economics turned mystery writer tracing the career of an international criminal whose body has washed ashore.

June 26 (Wed), 6 am, TCM – The Story of Mankind (1957). Happy birthday, Peter Lorre! TCM salutes Peter's birthday with a morning of his films, including ~

• 6 am – The Story of Mankind (1957)
• 8 am – Three Strangers (1946)
• 9:45 am – Hotel Berlin (1945)
• 11:30 am – They Met in Bombay (1941)
• 1:15 pm – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
• 2:45 pm – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
• 4:15 pm – You'll Find Out (1940)
• 6 pm – M (1931)

June 28 (Fri), 10:15 am, TCM – The Conspirators (1944). "Foreign Adventures" is the daytime theme on TCM, including two of Peter's movies set abroad. First up – The Conspirators, a espionage intrigue film taking place in the WW2 neutral city of Lisbon, Portugal.

June 28 (Fri), 6:15 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). The daytime theme "Foreign Adventures" ends with the romantic suspense classic set in North Africa.

June 30 (Sun), 1:30 am, Movies! Network – Casbah (1948).

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Sneak Peek at July, 2024

A busy June for Lorre fans leads to a quiet month for Lorre fans with just a handful of Peter's movies on television.

July 14 (Sun), 4:45 pm, TCM – Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

July 19 (Fri), 8:15 am, TCM – They Met in Bombay (1941). The daytime theme is "Romantic Comedies", including this MGM movie starring Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell as jewel thieves competing for a fabulous pendant "The Star of Asia" in Bombay, India, and then teaming up – and encountering Peter Lorre as Captain Chang on a freighter bound for Hong Kong.

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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!

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 Comedy at Canadian Cinema

Lorre fans in the area of Toronto, Canada, can enjoy Peter on the big screen when the Paradise Theatre partners with the Toronto Film Society for a showing of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

The program begins at 2:30 pm, and the Toronto Film Society promises at least one “surprise short film”.

Ticket prices are $15 general admission, and $12.50 for students and seniors with valid ID. Tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the screening. Tickets may also be purchased online through Eventbrite. Nominal booking fees and HST will be added to each ticket purchased online.

Opening in 1910, the historic Paradise Theatre is located at 1006 Bloor Street, at the corner of Bloor Street and Westmoreland Avenue, in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada.

Green P parking (Carpark 84) is available directly behind the cinema, just north of Bloor Street West.

Spring into Summer with Lorre Movies on TV

May brings a handful of Peter Lorre movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as Talking Pictures TV.

American times shown are Eastern Standard.

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May, 2024

This month, TCM salutes Frank Borzage, who directed Peter Lorre in the MGM movie Strange Cargo in 1940. The Movies! Network presents an animated Peter.

May 5 (Sun), 12:45 pm, Movies! Network – Hollywood Steps Out (1941). In this cartoon from Warner Bros, Peter joins other caricatured actors in a night out at Hollywood's top nightspot.

May 9 (Thurs), 6 am, Movies! Network – Racketeer Rabbit (1946). In this Warner Bros cartoon, Bugs Bunny encounters an animated Peter Lorre and Edward G. Robinson as gangsters on the lam from the police.

May 16 (Thurs), 10:15 am, Turner Classic Movies – The Maltese Falcon (1941). TCM turns the daytime spotlight on Film Noir, including Peter's first film at the Warner Bros studio, his first movie with Humphrey Bogart, and his first movie with Sydney Greenstreet. He would go on to have a long association with both actors.

May 16 (Thurs), 4:15 am, Turner Classic Movies – Strange Cargo (1940). The primetime theme is "Director Frank Borzage", with an evening of movies directed by Borzage, including the only movie he made with Peter Lorre.

May 23 (Thurs), 9:35 am, Talking Pictures TV – Beat the Devil (1954).

May 26 (Sun), 2:10 am, Talking Pictures TV – Beat the Devil (1954).

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Sneak Peek at June, 2024

Big news for Lorre fans this month! TCM salutes Peter on his birthday with a morning of Lorre movies.

June 12 (Wed), 9:30 am, TCM – Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). The daytime theme is "The Scene of the Crime".

June 17 (Mon), 9:15 am, TCM – The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). TCM turns the daytime spotlight on "Film Composers".

June 26 (Wed), TCM – Peter Lorre gets a birthday tribute with a morning of his movies, including ~

• 6 am – The Story of Mankind (1957)
• 8 am – Three Strangers (1946)
• 9:45 am – Hotel Berlin (1945)
• 11:30 am – They Met in Bombay (1941)
• 1:15 pm – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
• 2:45 pm – The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
• 4:15 pm – You'll Find Out (1940)
• 6 pm – M (1931)

June 28 (Fri), 10:15 am, TCM – The Conspirators (1944). TCM turns the daytime spotlight on "Foreign Adventures" with a day of movies set in other countries, including two Lorre films. First, Peter, Sydney Greenstreet, Hedy Lamarr, and Paul Henreid play spies in Lisbon, Portugal.

June 28 (Fri), 6:15 pm, TCM – Casablanca (1942). TCM ends the daytime theme of "Foreign Adventures" with this classic set in the North African city.

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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!

SiriusXM Celebrates Lorre Co-Star Birthday

Lorre fans will have an opportunity to catch one of Peter’s Mystery in the Air episodes on the Radio Classics channel during the week of April 22, 2024, when host Greg Bell celebrates the birthday of Gloria Ann Simpson with a two-hour block of her radio shows.

The programs include Mystery in the Air, “Crime and Punishment”, broadcast September 25, 1947; Rocky Fortune, “Boarding House Doublecross”, broadcast March 30, 1954; The Falcon, “The Case of the Vanishing Varmint”, broadcast July 11, 1951; and Boston Blackie, “The Twin Midnight Murders”, broadcast February 25, 1948.

The birthday block will air these dates and times ~

Tuesday, April 23 –
3 am Pacific
6 am Eastern

Thursday, April 25 –
7 pm Pacific
10 pm Eastern

Saturday, April 27 –
11 am Pacific
2 pm Eastern

The satellite radio service SiriusXM airs Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet or through the SiriusXM app. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A trial is also available for a nominal price through the SiriusXM radio website.

Mystery in the Air was the 1947 summer replacement series for The Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Show and originally aired over NBC for 13 weeks, beginning July 3, 1947, with “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and ending on September 25 with “Crime and Punishment”.

The “Crime and Punishment” episode was adapted from Peter Lorre’s 1935 movie for Columbia. In the episode, Gloria Ann Simpson plays the pawnbroker, whom Lorre’s character Roderick Raskolnikov murders with a poker – resulting in a cat-and-mouse game between Raskolnikov and the police inspector Porfiry, played by series regular Louis Van Rooten.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin discusses the radio career of Peter Lorre, beginning in Germany in the 1930s and continued throughout his years in Hollywood with a variety of comedies, dramas, and anthology series.

A complete-to-date list of Peter’s radio work is included 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

Disney Classic in Maryland Includes Lorre

Advertised in 1954 as “The Mightiest Motion Picture of Them All”, the Walt Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), starring Peter Lorre, Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Paul Lukas, celebrates its 70th anniversary at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The undersea adventure will be shown on the AFI’s big screen on these dates and times ~

• Friday, April 12, 2024 – 2:10 pm
• Sunday, April 14 – 11:20 am
• Tuesday, April 16 – 4:45 pm

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is presented as part of the “Fabulous ‘50s” series, which began Friday, February 2, and will run until Thursday, May 2, 2024. More information about the series is available on the AFI website.

Tickets are $13 general admission; $11 for seniors age 65 and older, students and military with valid ID; $11 for AFI Members at 2-star level and higher; and $8 for children age 12 and under. Matinee tickets are $10 on weekdays before 5 pm; and Saturday and Sunday before noon. Tickets may be purchased at the AFI box-office or online through the AFI website. More information about tickets is available on the AFI website.

The AFI Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road, at the intersection of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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, Maryland. Parking at the Wayne Avenue garage is free on weekends and after 8 pm on weekdays.

Directions to the cinema, as well as information about parking and public transportation, may be found on the AFI Silver website.