Tag: Sidney Greenstreet

DVD Review: The Mask Of Dimitrios (1944)

In Mask of Dimitros, Cornelius Leyden (Peter Lorre), a Dutch mystery writer becomes intrigued when the body of a notorious criminal named Dimitros (Zachary Scott in his first role) washes up on shore. Leyden begins to trace the sordid career of Dimitros. Along the way, he encounters the mysterious man named Mr. Peters (Sidney Greenstreet) who also has an interest in Dimitros.

Leyden is a very different from the typical Lorre role. While Leyden’s a mystery writer, prior to seeing Dimitrios, he’s never seen a dead body. He goes through the story with a certain innocence and naivete that makes the character likable.

Greenstreet is far closer to type with Peters, an experienced criminal with genteel manners. It’d be tempting to view Peters as just another version of the Kasper Gutman character from the Maltese Falcon, but there’s a bit more to Peter than that, which becomes clear as the movie plays out. The film’s best scenes are the ones between Lorre and Greenstreet. The chemistry between the two is superb and every moment with them sharing the screen is a joy.

Most of the scenes with Zachary Scott were flashbacks to his very active criminal career as a sinister ruthless criminal. Sometimes, it felt these scenes went on too long particularly as the mystery surrounding Mr. Peters became far more interesting than recalling that Dimitros was a scoundrel. Still Scott was a great heavy.

The film was made in 1944 and arguably this would have looked better had it been filed without the restrictions inherent with wartime filmmaking but in the pre or post war eras, but still the movie doesn’t look bad and has some great atmospheric scenes.

This isn’t a must-watch film or a classic but it’s certainly a well-made film featuring two of Hollywood’s most memorable actors in roles that are a little out of the ordinary.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

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EP1040s: Play It Again Adam: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Calculated Risk

Sidney Greenstreet

 A man plans to carry out a revenge on a man who framed him for Murder, and wants Wolfe to clear his name if he fails. Wolfe refuses, but ends up drawn into the case when the potential client is murdered.

Original Air Date: January 19, 1951

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The Stuff Dreams are Made Of….

This past week, I had occasion to listen to the Lux Radio Theater version of The Maltese Falcon.  Humphrey Bogart and the rest of the original cast were not available, but the great Edward G. Robinson was chosen to fill Bogart’s substantial gumshoes.

At the end of the hour performance, I was struck by how the Lux performance even with an “A” lead came off as a pale imitation when compared to the Bogart classic.  I then listened to the  half hour Academy Award Theater radio presentation with Bogart in the lead and Sidney Greenstreet and Mary Astor

I had the same feeling when I heard radio’s attempt to create a made-for-radio sequel to the Maltese Falcon with Howard Duff as Spade. Duff had successfully created his own version of Spade, and played the famous hard boiled eye more often than anyone else. And the Khandi Tooth Caper is a fine radio play in its own right, but it couldn’t come close to living up to the wonder of the movie.

The radio  adaptations are helpful to showing the true wonder of the movie and what makes it a great clasisc.  The biggest key is the dialogue with lines such as Kasper Gutman’s, “I’m a man who likes talking to a man that likes to talk.” However, not just any actor can deliver these sort of lines.

I’d insist the magic of the movie comes back to the cast. While Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, and even Elisha Cook, Jr. (who played Wilmer) turned in solid performances, they aren’t irreplacable. In fact, neither the Lux or the Academy Award Theater version featured Lorre and the Lux version didn’t feature Astor, and neither featured Cook. The only rule is if you don’t have Peter Lorre playing Joel Cairo don’t have an actor doing a bad Peter Lorre impression (as was the case with the Khandi Tooth Caper.)

The key to the greatness of the movie is found in Bogart and Greenstreet as Spade and Gutman. As Spade, Bogart delivers a spell-binding performance. Bogart’s is tough, cynical, sarcastic and may seem mildly sociopathic at times as he tries to play both sides to square the murder of his partner.

And  Greenstreet’s performance was a classic that would be imitated countless times on radio, in television, and screen. He served up a definitive template of the sophisticated, polite, and yet ruthless villain and earned an Oscar nomination.

Those two performances make the film a definitive screen classic that thankfully, no one in the modern era has tried to remake.

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EP0407: Nero Wolfe: The Case of Room 304

Sidney Greenstreet

A woman offers Wolfe $1000 to help her and is then shot while talking to Archie on the phone.  It looks like a suicide, but Archie and Wolfe know it was murder.

Original Air Date: April 27, 1951

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EP0402: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Lost Heir

Sidney Greenstreet

Nero Wolfe is hired to find out if a woman is really the air of a wealthy blind man, but Wolfe suspect the man also fears being murdered.

Original Air Date: April 20, 1951

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EP0397: Nero Wolfe: A Slight Case of Perjury

Sidney Greenstreet

A man is acquitted of murder on perjured testimony and  hires Wolfe to locate the real killer.

Original Air Date: April 6, 1951

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EP0392: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Tell-tale Ribbon

Sidney Greenstreet

A strange old man delivers Archie and Wolfe a letter requesting immediate help. Archie heads to the home, only to be told that no detective is needed.

Original Air Date: March 30, 1951

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EP0387: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Final Page

Sidney Greenstreet

Wolfe and Archie arrive for a dinner date to find their host, a best-selling novelist, murdered.

Original Air Date: March 23, 1951

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EP0382: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Midnight Ride

Sidney Greenstreet

Nero’s Wolfe dentist and Archie both receive a mysterious call from a woman leading to a ride in the country to do away with them.

Original Air Date: March 16, 1951

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EP0377: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds

Sidney Greenstreet

A burglar comes to Wolfe to ask him to prove he didn’t commit murder and steal a fortune in diamonds.

Original Air Date: March 9, 1951

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EP0372: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Hasty Will

Sidney Greenstreet

A man hires Archie to witness a new will and then disappears.

Original Air Date: March 2, 1951

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EP0367: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Malevolent Medic

Sidney Greenstreet

The wife of a millionaire dies. The doctor says its a heart attack, but the husband suspects murder and hires Wolfe.

Original Air Date: February 23, 1951

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EP0362: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Party for Death

Sidney Greenstreet

Nero Wolfe sends Archie to a party, advising him to call when the murder occurs, and occur it does.

Original Air Date: February 16, 1951

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EP0357: Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Vanishing Shells

Sidney Greenstreet

Archie gets Nero Wolfe hired by an actress who is afraid of being cut out of a lead role in a play.

Original Air Date: February 2, 1951

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EP0352:Nero Wolfe: The Case of the Phantom Fingers

Sidney Greenstreet

While driving to buy some black orchids, Wolfe and Archie find themselves stranded with three complete strangers, one of whom is a murder.

Original Air Date: January 26, 1951

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