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Face Behind the Mask, The (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Peter Lorre's excellent performance highlights this entertaining, if predictable, melodrama from Columbia and director Florey. In the film Lorre plays Janos Szabo, a immigrant who comes to America to earn enough money to bring the woman he loves over so that they can be married. Soon after his arrival his face is horrible disfigured in a hotel fire and he gets to see the ugly side of the country because no one will give him a job or even look at him. He eventually meets a friend (George E. Stone) who talks him into a life of crime so that he can raise enough money to get a new face but soon he meets a blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) who might make him think differently. There's a lot of plot going on in this film but there's no denying that Lorre gives an incredible performance and it makes this thing worth viewing no matter how predictable the screenplay is. There's really nothing here that will come out of left field as we get Lorre's character built up as such a great guy and then we get the accident and then we get the crime and of course he'd just happen to meet a blind girl, which itself turns into a couple more predictable moments. One doesn't mind this as the film does have some very good moments including the actual fire sequence as well as the aftermath when Lorre finally sees his new face. As for Lorre, there's no question this here is one of his strongest performances as we believe him as the good guy getting off the ship and we can also believe him and the anger of what has happened to him. I think the film would have benefited from his bad side behind a lot darker than the film allows but I'm sure this was watered down so that the romance side of things could flourish. Keyes is also very good in his role as the blind girl and Stone, best known for his Boston Blackie films, is very good as well. Don Beddoe adds nice support as the cop who helps Lorre and James Seay is nice as the rival. Florey's direction is very good throughout and especially during some of the darker moments right after the accident. The director does a pretty good job at handling the various aspects of this film and pulls everything together well enough to keep the film going. This is a good film but not a classic one. I think with a little tinkering of the script we could have had something even better but as is, it's great to see Lorre in a role he can do so much with.

Peter Lorre turns in one of his finest performances as a Hungarian watchmaker coming to the United Staes to make a new life for himself and someday bring his girl across the big pond to be with him. Lorre's infectious optimism and bright outlook come off very effectively which makes the performance all the better when he has his face hideously burned in a hotel fire and, when no one will give him a chance to work, turns reluctantly to a life of crime. Lorre's range as an actor is seldom as apparent as in this movie with his jovial, good-natured immigrant, to his depressing, melancholic, disfigured self searching for the truth behind what he believed America afforded him, to his suave, intelligent, better-than-your-average hood, to his sympathetic dealings with a blind woman with whom he falls in love. The story is well-paced, has some interesting twists, and gives Lorre many opportunities to shine. Director Robert Florey does a quality job behind the lens, and all of the supporting cast help aid the film with Evelyn Keyes giving a particularly good turn as the blind girl. I loved the ending - and the truth - that was shone to exist in Lorre's character despite all the negative things society had done toward him. For a little B picture, The Man Behind the Mask is good movie-making for its time.

Exceptional B movie from Columbia, directed by Robert Florey and starring Peter Lorre as a hopeful, innocent Hungarian immigrant whose face is burned in a fire on his first day in New York. His horrible disfigurement makes it hard for him to get work so he turns to a life of crime. Eventually he's leading his own gang and makes enough money to pay for a realistic mask to hide his burns. When he falls in love with a blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) and wants to go straight, his gang turns on him.

There are no bells and whistles here, just fine acting, a decent script, and nice direction. Sensitive, brilliant performance from Peter Lorre that is far better than you would expect to find in a quickie that was filmed in less than a month. The often underrated Evelyn Keyes is terrific in this. Solid support from Don Beddoe and George E. Stone. Robert Florey's noirish direction is a major plus. He would re-team with Lorre later for the classic The Beast with Five Fingers. It's a very good film that's a sort of blend of gangster and horror pictures. If nothing else, see it for one of Peter Lorre's best starring roles.

Peter Lorre is "The Man Behind the Mask" in this 1941 film from Columbia Pictures. The film also stars Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe, and George E. Stone.

Lorre plays Janos, a friendly, sweet, and idealistic immigrant who comes to New York City in search of the American dream. A police detective (Beddoe) directs him to a place where he can get a room, and he finds a job in the adjoining café washing dishes.

One night, the residential hotel bursts into flames, and Janos is badly burned. When the bandages come off his face, he screams in horror. His face is horribly disfigured. He finds that people are afraid of him, and he can't find work anywhere.

He meets a helpful thief, Dinky (George E. Stone) who leads him into the life of a thief, and it turns out he's a master at it.

The he encounters a blind woman, Evelyn Keyes, and they fall in love and plan a life together.

Really good film with Lorre giving a marvelous performance. How one guy could come off as so evil in one film and so warm and charming in another is really an achievement. His range was remarkable.

For this role, he needed control over his facial muscles, and he had to simulate a mask that was just white powder and tape. The special lighting helped the mask appearance, but Lorre showed all of his expression in his eyes and kept his face quite still.

Because of his unhappiness with the role and the quick schedule, Lorre was having a 90 proof liquid breakfast, to such an extent that the director had to do as many of Lorre's scenes as he could in the morning.

Despite what Lorre believed, I thought this film had great characters and a good story, and it was a terrific role for him.

The director, Robert Florey, employs all sorts of film techniques to good advantage and had a very expressionistic bend.

Well worth seeing.

The Face Behind The Mask is directed by Robert Florey and collectively written by Paul Jarrico, Arthur Levinson and Allen Vincent. It stars Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe and George E. Stone. Music is by Sidney Cutner and cinematography by Franz Planer.

Hungarian immigrant Janos Szaby (Lorre) arrives in New York City full of hope for the future. Unfortunately he is trapped in a hotel fire which leaves his face severely disfigured. Even though he is a skilled craftsman he is refused employment by many on account of his looks. At his lowest ebb he turns to crime to fund the making of a face mask to hide his disfigurement, while soon enough he is running a little league crime outfit when he happens upon blind Helen Williams (Keyes) and finds a new meaning to life…

The sands of time plays the death rattle.

Lorre dismissed it as a bit of guff, but The Face Behind The Mask showcases one of his greatest performances. It's a film that beats a black heart, where fatalism is dripped over proceedings, the core of the narrative is the shattering of the American dream, and the makers here are not shy to put forward an uncaring society. After a breezy beginning the narrative becomes relentlessly bleak, right up to, and including, a no holds barred chilling finale that's preceded by a monstrous twist.

Florey (also doing some of his best work) and Planer add stark imagery and scene setting that belies the B budget and quick turnover of the production (less than two weeks). A bleak harbour sequence is tonally adroit, the face mask surgery with faces adorning the walls is deliciously macabre, there's torture, too, and oblique backgrounds and shadow play. The dialogue may sometimes be too weak for the haunting story, but the film rises above it because of skills of the cast (Stone and Keyes excellent support for Lorre) and makers alike.

Part noir, part horror and part social drama, it's a film of differing attributes. It's not one for anyone looking to be cheered up, but for those who like to lurk in the shadows and succumb to the dark underbelly of cinema; this is a treat. 8/10