![]() |
World of Westfahl |
Encyclopedia Introduction |
All Entries |
Acknowledgements
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
(1904–1964). Hungarian actor.
From this perspective, the last fifteen years of his career
would represent a regrettable anomaly. One could theorize that the inability of
Lorre's chief rivals in horror, Karloff and Bela
LUGOSI, to break out of the
horror ghetto had the virtue of enabling them to maintain their lean and hungry
look, so that they could at times perform effectively until the very end of
their lives. Lorre, a welcome addition to mainstream hits like The Maltese
Falcon (1940), Casablanca (1942), and My Favorite Brunette
(1947), instead grew fat and complacent. In films like Twenty Thousand
Leagues under the Sea and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, then, the
corpulent Lorre found himself no longer persuasive as a menace, and necessarily
attempted instead to project an incongruous air of avuncular charm.
But one might alternatively posit that Lorre was always a
clown at heart, and that a wry awareness of the essential absurdity of his
mannerisms was always lurking beneath his apparently sincere efforts to be
ominous and disturbing. It doesn't really serve to explain early triumphs like M
and Mad Love, wherein Lorre seemed quite sincerely and convincingly
monstrous, but a bit later, his performances in the Mr. Moto films, The
Invisible Agent, and The Beast with Five Fingers might be
interpreted as unacknowledged anticipations of the overtly humorous Lorre to
come, with subtle signs of a bemused twinkle in his eye. And this was also the
time, of course, that Lorre began to accept roles in outright comedies like The
Boogie Man Will Get You and Arsenic and Old Lace. This take on Lorre
would suggest another reason for his appearances in those all-star horror
farces of the 1960s: those films needed natural comics like Lorre and Price to
balance the work of colleagues like Karloff and Basil RATHBONE who lacked their
flair for a lighter touch. In support of the notion that Lorre is best viewed
as amusing, one might also note that, well after his death, eerie replications
of Lorre's voice and appearance have continued to surface in such comedic
realms as Looney Tunes cartoons and the memorable television series The Ren
and Stimpy Show (1991-1996).
For once, then, I will leave it up to readers to reach your
own judgment about this singular actor: you may cringe at the sight of Peter
Lorre, or you may laugh at him. But there is one thing that everybody can agree
on: you can never forget him.
|
To contact us about encyclopedia matters, send an email to Gary Westfahl.
If you find any Web site errors, typos or other stuff worth mentioning,
please send it to our Webmaster.
Copyright © 1999–2018 Gary Westfahl All Rights Reserved Worldwide