Máscara de Fogo

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 question is: Is it possible to make Peter Lorre look weirder than he did naturally? This movie answers that question, and the answer is "yes."

"The Face Behind the Mask" gives off major Universal monster movie vibes. The mask in question covers Lorre's face after he suffers severe burns and doesn't have enough money for plastic surgery. No worries though -- he falls in love with a blind woman, played by Evelyn Keyes, who only sees the beauty within. They marry and live happily ever after, and everything is right with the world.

Ok, so that's not how things go. I saw this movie as part of the Noir City film festival at the Music Box Theater in Chicago. And though this doesn't feel like a true noir to me, just by virtue of being on the program you know things can't go quite so smoothly for our protagonist as all that. Lorre goes from meek and idealistic immigrant to crime gang heavy in the space of about two minutes, and this has some definite repercussions on his domestic affairs.

Lorre is one of those actors like Edward G. Robinson who's just so cool to watch on screen that any material is better because he's delivering it. Keyes is absolutely lovely in this, and does a pretty passable impression of someone who can't see. If I hadn't been in the mood to see an old-fashioned noir I might have had a more generous reaction to this movie, but as it is I still had fun with it. You could watch this movie in the amount of time it would take you to binge watch two or three episodes of your favorite Netflix show of the moment, so it's not like it's a huge commitment.

And it's interesting to see a movie about the immigrant experience in 1941, when people would have been fleeing Europe in droves for places like the U. S. When virtually every movie at the time, regardless of genre, felt some obligation to keep up war morale, it doesn't pass notice that this movie has a rather cynical attitude about America being a land of opportunity for those not born in it.

Saw this at a special showing. Great performance from Peter Lorrie as a sweet immigrant who turns to a life of crime after his face is disfigured in a fire. Director Robert Flory uses a variety of wild film techniques to tell this colorful story. A shame it is not available on video.