La maschera di Dimitrios

On the front in 1944 in the Siegfried line I heard there was a movie in the area. It was quiet so in the black of night for about an hour we hunted the tent in blackout to see this show. Twice more I heard there was a movie and it was the same one. I now think it was the only one in Germany at that time being shown by the Army. It was one of the best suspense movies I remember and Zachary Scott was the best. It was chilling and worth it. The Germans didn't start their Battle of the Bulge for 2 more weeks. Sorry I can't tell more but I might ruin it for you. You must see it for yourself.

I saw this at the 2006 Palm Springs Film Noir Festival and it was a film I had never seen before so it was great to see on the big screen. This is the story of the search for the story behind a master criminal whose murdered body bearing his credentials has washed ashore in Istanbul. Dimitrios Makropouls is a criminal who made the leap from being a common street beggar petty thief to murder, robbery and on to racketeering, con man, blackmailer and to the international stage as political assassin and spy. A writer becomes interested in his story and sets out to investigate his background for a book. The story moves from Turkey across the Balkans and Yugoslavia and Bulgaria to Switzerland and France. Zachary Scott is in his film debut as Dimitrios. Peter Lorre is the writer. Sydney Greenstreet is a man of intrigue who doesn't believe that Dimitrios is really dead. Faye Emerson is Dimitrios' ex-girlfriend. Also in the cast are Victor Francen and Steven Geray. This was adapted to screen by Frank Gruber from the popular 1939 crime/thriller novel A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler. The story is set in pre WWII Europe in the year the book was published. This film marked the feature film directorial debut for Jean Negulesco who would go on to direct such films as Humoresque, johnny Belinda, Three Came home, How To Marry a Millionaire, Three Coins in the Fountain and the excellent segment The Last Leaf from O'Henrys Full House. The cinematographer is Arthur Edeson whose long career began in the early silents and was the director of photography on such films as All Quiet On the Western Front, Frankenstein, The Invisable Man, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. I liked the use of the Alberto Dominguez song Perfidia in the film by a Balkan band which was really scored by the Warner Brothers Orchestra as led by Jerome Moross. The now standard classic had been a hit for Glen Miller in 1941 and had showed up in four films already including Gene Autry's Stardust on Stage, Desi Arnez' Father Takes a Wife, Public Deb #1 and The Gay Sisters. This is a dialogue driven film and Lorre is a little stagy at times in his delivery but he has some great comic lines too and is great along with Sydney Greenstreet and they would be paired together in several films. Scott is a little wooden in his delivery. Emerson is outstanding as the young femme fatal/aged nightclub hostess. Great art direction from Ted Smith. I would give this an 8.5 out of 10.

Eric Ambler was in a way the John Le Carré of his generation. A few of his works were turned into fantastic films. The two best ones were "Journey Into Fear" and "The Mask of Dimitrios." From the opening sequence when a body is washed ashore and a group of beachcombers walk up to it, realize what it is, and run away screaming, to the final fade out, this movie grabs the viewer's attention and holds it.

The acting is brilliant, from the stand out performances of the two leads, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet to the smallest bit players. Zachary Scott in his first screen appearance is a knockout as the coldblooded, calculating, ruthless international schemer, Dimitrios Makropoulos. Faye Emerson as one of the women, Irana Preveza, Dimitrios used for his own selfish purposes then discarded is uncanny as she changes from a beautiful nightclub singer (in the flashback) to the worn out haggard shadow of a person she has become when relating her story to Cornelius Leyden (Lorre). She tells Leyden that Dimitrios was the only man she was ever actually afraid of. Adding to the effectiveness of this scene is the haunting "Perfidia (Tonight)," played in the background. Victor Francen gives a powerful portrayal of Wladislaw Grodek, someone else Dimitrios has double crossed.

The story unfolds as Leyden, a writer intrigued by Dimitrios' treachery, sets about to uncover as much information as possible about the archfiend in order to write a book. He views Dimitrios' corpse at the morgue then begins backtracking to separate fact from fiction. Enter a stranger who has been following him, a Mr. Peters or is it Peterson. The stranger too wants the facts on Dimitrios for what purpose is not clear.

Not only is the viewer enthralled by the picture of Dimitrios that slowly emerges, but the international scope of the hunt is riveting, Istanbul, the Hellespont, Sofia, Belgrade, Athens, Paris. This was also the time that Hitler's war was raging across Europe which only adds to the atmosphere involving spying and treason.

I saw this movie 3 times in blackout conditions in 1944 on the German front just before the Battle of the Bulge. That was 3 separate times and apparently it was the only movie on the whole front. I just viewed it again today, 2002, and showed not a bit of age. It is exciting though it is 75% talk and 25% action. But what talk: Greenstreet and Lorre!! All the parts are finely chosen and hand polished until they fit the space perfectly. They don't make them like this anymore. Put it with Casablanca, Maltese Falcon (Bogart one), Key Largo, etc. If you like these, you'll love the Mask. And Col. Haki is great and in a previous movie was played by Orson Wells, i.e., another Eric Ambler movie. It is the Balkans in 1938 and background shots are exciting. If you don't know Faye Emerson, you will wish you did. Rush out and rent it.

It's wartime and Warners is short of those hot, young leading men, so they bring on one of the all-time great screen odd couples - Sydney and Peter - to work their magic. And as always, they deliver, in "The Mask of Dimitrios" starring Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Faye Emerson. Though never leaving the back lot of Warners, the film takes writer Cornelius Leyden (Lorre) through Istanbul, Athens, Sofia, Geneva, Belgrade and Paris, following the life and career of an intriguing figure - Dimitrios - whose dead body Leyden has just seen in the morgue. The more he learns about this man, the more fascinated he becomes, and he smells a great story. Dimitrios is a con man, a thief, a blackmailer, and a spy for hire, and his victims tell their stories in a series of flashbacks. One of these is a nightclub owner (Emerson), who owns a nightclub in Sofia; another is a police detective; another a spy. Finally, Cornelius meets Mr. Peters (Greenstreet) who has some startling information...and a plan.

"The Mask of Dimitrios" captures a European flavor with its international cast and creative sets, and director Jean Negulesco keeps the action moving. In the title role, Zachary Scott is appropriately both attractive and slithery as a man constantly eluding those out to get him. Lorre is just great, becoming more and more worried and confused as he is drawn deeper into Dimitrios' adventures. Sydney Greenstreet gives a performance as big as he is as Mr. Peters - the scene where he passionately embraces French francs is one of his best ever! The last half hour or so belong to these two screen gems, Lorre and Greenstreet, and it's very exciting.

Two odd-sized, talented character men who helped keep Warner Brothers grinding out films during the war, Lorre and Greenstreet made ten films together. Unfortunately, we don't have anything like these two making movies today. Don't miss them in "The Mask of Dimitrios."