Eric Ambler and Jean Negulescu and Peter Lorre!!!!! well????
shareI think it's a great little movie.
It seems to have been largely forgotten but I retain fond memories of it - though it's years since I've seen it. Anything with Lorre and Greenstreet in it is worth seeing.
Also, it's an adaptation of Ambler's best book and manages to hold on to quite a lot of the flavor of that novel. I only hope that Warners get around to releasing this little gem on DVD.
[deleted]
It is an excellent movie. Beautifully made with tons of atmosphere and a rare, excellent turn by Peter Lorre as the hero. And Zachary Scott is really good too.
shareThis is a wonderfully suspenseful movie that really moves and picks up speed as it moves to its unknown conclusion. The tension is markedly greater than most films and the mystery deeper. It is a great, great unknown film. It should be on DVD now!
[deleted]
I can only say that this is one of my favorite movies,not only for the atmosphere and gritty look of Europe between the wars,but for Peter Lorre's portrayal of a little guy who can't resist a mystery. He and Greenstreet are great together. It makes me wish they had made alot more movies together.
BTW I have the book on tape and never get tired of listening to it.
Not all who wander are lost
I guess I'll be the lone dissenter. The movie is certainly suspenseful and glues the viewer to the screen to find out what happens next as each page is turned.
But I found that the great combination of Lorre and Greenstreet (which I have only ever witnessed in one other film, to be fair) did not live up to the hype. Their delivery seemed rushed, as if they were simply blurting out masterfully written lines. Who says "vouchsafed" any more? Or ever in the history of the English language?
I took advantage of the closed captioning in order not to miss the dialog and it definitely added to my enjoyment and understanding of the film. The shame of it all is that I believe that this was part of a TCM Sydney Greenstreet marathon and I would have recorded the other films were I not bleary eyed with sleep.
SPOILER:
I was kind of hoping that SOMEBODY would have made off with the winnings at the end for the pure selfish satisfaction of it.
I for one use the word vouchsafe. Maybe it's unknown to Americans.
shareYes! It most certainly is worth seeking out!
This is one of the most perfect films ever made, with a new director just starting and exclusively character actors: not one big star name. It follows the book very closely until right at the end it makes a very small change, and for the better. It is an improvement on Eric Ambler's (the great, great, great Eric Ambler) original novel. One comment says it should have been included in Warners' Film Noir collection. Total, utter rubbish! The Mask Of Dimitrios is not film noir. It is a brilliant, atmospheric crime movie with a wide range of interesting and enjoyable characters.
Good luck with your search. (Warners probably will wake up one day and release it on DVD.)
It's a wonderful film. Lorre's chemistry with Greenstret is palpable, & Zachary Scott was one of the most sinister film villains ever. He died way too young.
Carpe Noctem
It is more than worth it - a real gem with the atmosphere of the late 1930's in Eastern Europe. Acting is very well done - only drawback - in the novel the smuglers were importing heroin from Bulgaria (a source at the time) and Dimitrios becomes an addict. The movie (self censorship ?) skips over this. Too bad as it brought an added dimension to the characters.
Keep an eye out on Turner Classic Movies. It played last night (22/4/07) here in France. Copy was quite good.
It's playing tomorrow morning (11/05/2007) on TCM as well. Perhaps I shall record it on DVD!
--
I should warn you -- he's a Fourierist.
I just watched it on TCM--and was fascinated. It's a wonderful story with no heroic figure to cheer on, just the wonderful Lorre as the observer and listener of horrific tales of a truly slimy human being.
I've long been fascinated by Lorre--he brings such a unique flavor to every part. I'm going to check out Amazon.com to see if there's a biography about him.
Time to go--The Maltese Falcon is on!
PrincessDoctorCowboy
I've got "The Mask of Demetrios" on my DVR. Now you've really whetted my appetite!
Wikipedia lists three books on Lorre for "further reading":
Further reading
* (1999) Peter Lorre. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 1-887-66430-0.
* Youngkin, Stephen D., James Bigwood, and Raymond Cabana (1982). The Films of Peter Lorre. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0789-6.
* Youngkin, Stephen D. (2005). The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-813-12360-7.
--
I should warn you -- he's a Fourierist.
I had noticed it got very good points in film books, and i had known the name for a long time of the film, i had the chance to buy it, and i have to say how enjoyable and interesting this film is, its really amazing to find its not on a poll as one of the great films, i found this to be one of the best films Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet have done together, and up there with Maltese Falcon, well its that good that i would say not far behind, and Zachary Scott is very scary in his role, and veery evil in his role, that you almost feel that you want him to be caught in the end. How this is not on dvd is quite amazing. And deserves to be released on dvd.
share