THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK

US, 1941, 69 minutes, Black and white.
Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe, George E.Stone, James Seay.
Directed by Robert Florey.

This is rather a different film for Peter Lorre. He had made his mark in them, 10 years earlier, under the direction of Fritz Lang. Allegedly warned by Goebbels himself to leave Germany, he went to Paris, made a film for Hitchcock, went to the United States, made his long-desired version of Crime and Punishment, was introduced to horror films, Mad Doll, and became, in short features, very popular as Mr Moto. After this film, he worked for Warner Brothers, very successfully in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. He continued to make films until 1964 – and his last being The Patsy with Jerry Lewis.

Robert Florey, who directed this film, also directed Lorre in The Beast with Five Fingers.

The central role offers quite a range for Lorre here, a quite enthusiastic migrant arriving in New York City, experiencing a fire disaster in a flop hotel and his face disfigured. Rejected for any job, he encounters a friendly thief (George E. Stone) who introduces into his gang, Lorre then using his expertise as a jeweller and as a pilot during his national service he is to affect a number of unsold and spectacular robberies. He becomes the Mr Big of the operation.

He tries plastic surgery but his face is so disfigured that the only solution is for him to wear a mask.

However, he encounters a blind young woman, Evelyn Keyes, finding her very sympathetic, buying a house for her – leaving the gang and hopeful for a future.

The ending is extraordinarily pessimistic, the criminals tracking him down, planting a bomb in the car which destroys the young blind woman, his flying the criminals and stranding them in the Arizona desert – and he himself dying.

1. Small budget feature? Vehicle for Peter Lorre? Atmosphere of 1940 in the US, migrants, search for work, hardships, the world of gangsters and crime?

2. The New York setting, the boat and the Statue of Liberty, the streets of New York, the flop houses, the fire? The world of crime and gangsters? Police investigation? The house in the country, the flight, the Arizona desert? Musical score?

3. Janos, from Hungary, his hopes for the United States, optimism, Maria in Hungary, the issue of the money, the flippant man sending him to the Carlton Plaza, talking to the police, the friendship with O’ Hara, finding him accommodation, the rules, the man cooking, the fire, Janos caught in the fire, burnt, the disfigurement to his face, in hospital, looking in the
mirror?

4. His search for work, the watchmaker and his revulsion, at the engineering company? The encounter with Dinky? Dinky and his friendship, genial personality, caught up in crime, preoccupation with money? Dividing the money, getting accommodation?

5. Janos and his motivation, to reconstruct his face, his involvement in the crimes, his engineering and watchmaking expertise, the robberies, the newspaper headlines, O’ Hara and the police response? The gang, their accepting Janos as boss? Jeff, his being in jail, released, the confrontation, is agreeing for Janos to be the boss? Further success?

6. Going for plastic surgery, the mask, his wearing it, the effect? Going to the surgeon, the impossibility of reconstructing his face?

7. The chance encounter with Helen, bumping into her, the beads, helping her? Her blindness? His accompanying her home? Helen as a sympathetic character, optimistic about life and her blindness, her own world, the gift of the radio and her love for music? Their bonding, going for walks? His eventually explaining the fire, his face?

8. His walking out on the gang, the reactions? Getting the house for Helen, then moving in?

9. O’ Hara’s note, Jeff discovering it, presuming that Janos was selling them out, torturing Dinky for his whereabouts? Going to the house, Jeff’s confrontation? The planting of the bomb? Dinky shot? His struggle to get the message, the call to Janos, the warning about the bomb, Helen going to the car for music, Janos too late, her death?

10. Janos and his revenge, his past experience in military service and flying a plane, taking over the plane, landing it in the desert, stranding the criminals, lack of water, one shot, the others searching? His being tied to the plane?

11. O’ Hara, the search, finding everyone?

12. An unexpectedly serious ending, Helen’s death, Janos and his fate?

13. Death of the American dream?