A wonderfully observant 5 for the day.
One particularly good quote, but go read the whole thing:
Lorre’s work here cannot be judged by any normal standards: his performance of thwarted passion is so far-out, so bizarre in its details, yet it somehow remains gentle and human.
I've got Fritz Lang's M on my Netflix queue somewhere - but it's buried beyond all the Dean Stockwell stuff for the time being. I saw M on a rainy night in Providence RI with my boyfriend at the Cable Car Cinema - I had never seen it - and the movie just freaked me out, blew me away, whatever superlative you want to assign to it ... I had never seen anything like it, and Peter Lorre is haunting. He makes well-chick from The Ring look like a nice (if maladjusted) girl.
Oh, and I loved this bit from the post:
On the Berlin stage, he turned a one-line bit part into a triumph: playing a servant, he was supposed to come on and simply say, “Frau Schultz is here to see you.” Instead, Lorre entered insolently, slowly lit a cigarette, and turned Frau Schultz’s arrival into an extended improv interrogation with the lady of the house (a portent of his later scene stealing).
Anyway, go read the whole thing.
this was just great...all so interesting...
And though I have no I idea who Erich Korngold is, I loved reading that during a party at his house, Peter Lorre "hungrily sank his teeth into Mrs. Korngold’s ass."
Posted by: bill at July 26, 2007 11:10 AMThe Cable Car is an excellent place to see a film!
Posted by: Dan at July 26, 2007 11:17 AMDan - isn't it? Awesome movie house.
Posted by: red at July 26, 2007 11:26 AMBill! I know - "hungrily" - hahahaha can't you just see it?
I love his dissipated performance in Beat the Devil. It's truly corrupt.
Posted by: red at July 26, 2007 11:28 AMI like one of his "personal quotes" on his IMDB page - "All that anyone needs to imitate me is two soft-boiled eggs and a bedroom voice." Though soft-boiled eggs have never been much of a come-hither for me.
Posted by: cvn at July 26, 2007 11:45 AMBill - and I guess I was unaware of his addiction to morphine.
I think I need to read this new biography.
Posted by: red at July 26, 2007 11:48 AMLoved the blog entry on Peter Lorre -- "5 for day". Thanks, too, for the mention of "The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre". You can find out more about the book here, on the official website: http://www.PeterLorreBook.com.
Posted by: Cheryl at July 26, 2007 12:08 PMYou should read THE LOST ONE. It is an excellent biography. Full of surprising details of an extraordinary life.
Posted by: Westside B at July 26, 2007 12:56 PMMy favorite performances were in:
The Black Cat, Tales of Terror
and
Arsenic and Old Lace
Both show of his comic timing...
Posted by: JFH at July 26, 2007 2:29 PMOne of the most chilling moments I've ever seen on film:
In M,child murderer (Peter Lorre) is looking in a shop window with a blank expression on his face. A little girl walks behind him and he notices her reflection in the window. Yikes.