The Face Behind the Mask (DCP)

(Robert Florey, US 1941, 68 min. DCP)

Peter Lorre stars in this cult noir as a Hungarian who takes the slow boat to Manhattan in search of a better life, only to almost immediately have his face horribly disfigured in a tenement fire. With employment prospects nil for a man with an accent and horrifying facial scarring, Lorre begins using his skilled trade (fixing watches) to aid the mafia in cracking safes. He rises through the organized crime racket, only to fall in love with a blind beauty (Evelyn Keyes) who doesn’t care what he looks like, but who would find his secret life as a gangster untenable. Co-written by Paul Jarrico — an active member of the Communist Party who would later be Blacklisted — Face offers savage commentary on how easy it is to lose oneself in pursuit of the American Dream, in the form of devastatingly emotional melodrama. That Lorre is able to break our hearts with a performance given largely with his face hidden by either prosthetics or clever camera work is a testament to both the power of the actor’s inimitable voice, and the director's mastery of the medium.

Introduction by and post-screening discussion with Selznick student Karina Longworth.