The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Eric Ambler (novel)
Frank Gruber (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 July 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

The Fabulous Tale OF A MAN OF MYSTERY!

Plot:

A mystery writer named Leyden is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous,...

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Criminal | Gunfire | Morgue | Corpse

Cast

Sydney Greenstreet	...	Mr. Peters
Zachary Scott	...	Dimitrios Makropoulos
Faye Emerson	...	Irana Preveza
Peter Lorre	...	Cornelius Leyden
Victor Francen	...	Wladislaw Grudek
Steven Geray	...	Karel Bulic
Florence Bates	...	Madame Elise Chavez
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Marukakis (as Edward Ciannelli)
Kurt Katch	...	Colonel Haki
Marjorie Hoshelle	...	Anna Bulic
Georges Metaxa	...	Hans Werner
John Abbott	...	Mr. Pappas
Monte Blue	...	Abdul Dhris
David Hoffman	...	Konrad

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9821) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

For a scene taking place in the Parisian subway,which was rebuilt and filmed on Warner sound stage,the name of subway station "Balard" is misspelled and written "Ballard".

Quotes:

Cornelius Leyden: He was my friend...No, he wasn't my friend, but he was a nice man!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "It Takes a Thief: Guess Who's Coming to Rio (#2.13)" (1969)

Soundtrack:

Waltz from 'Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48'

holds up well after 58 years: suspense and intrigue

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.