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Page Updated:
Dec. 25, 2007
Home
Table
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Excerpt:
Chapter 3
Peter Lorre's
Credits
(A Sample)
Peter Lorre:
Biographical
Sketch
Peter Lorre
FAQ
Peter Lorre
On DVD
Peter Lorre
Photos
Peter Lorre
Poster Art
Critics Are
Saying . . .
Interview
With
The Author
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In 1962, Peter Lorre signed with American
International Pictures to appear in a film based on two of Edgar Allan Poe's tales, "The Black
Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado." Unlike previous AIP Poe titles (House of Usher,
Pit and the Pendulum, etc.), this three-part movie would be one-part horror/comedy.
AIP publicist Milton Moritz saw no reason to let the audience in on the joke. "As far as the
graphics were concerned," he recalled, "they had a very dark tone to them. The public was
accepting of the fact that maybe someone was trying to put something over on them."
For AIP, it was horror first, comedy second.
For Lorre, however, it was the other way around. Sam Arkoff, co-founder of AIP,
remembered Lorre as a quiet and wistful man who was sad at the thought good roles weren't
coming his way. Anxious to play comedy, Lorre balanced the appreciation of a Poe purist
against the opportunity to inject humor into his roles.
"The Edgar Allan Poe films had a tremendous
following," said Moritz. "They still play and play and play." He believed that the films won't
ever go out of style because there was something fun about them. That they (and the actors
who appeared in them) never took themselves too seriously explains their appeal: "Even with
Vincent Price, he could jest about the parts he played. He'd say, 'I guarantee any three actors
in Hollywood would love to do what I'm doing. The fact is that I'm having fun and I can ham it
up and the people are with me.'"
So too were they with Peter Lorre.
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Tales of Terror -- American International Pictures, 1962,
directed by Roger Corman, with Peter Lorre as "Montressor Herringbone", a man
who hated a cat -- a black cat.
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An American duo-tone one-sheet poster advertising Tales of Terror
(AIP, 1962).
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A Mexican lobby card advertising Destinos Fatales (1962),
which translates as Fatal Destinies. The color inset illustrates a scene
from "The Black Cat" segment, the second of the three stories, while the
black-and-white inset is from part three, "The Case of M. Valdemar".
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The Raven -- American International Pictures, 1963, directed
by Roger Corman, with Peter Lorre as "Dr. Bedlo", a 16th-Century magician.
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This original American half-sheet poster, with the heads of Boris Karloff,
Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre, advertised horror over comedy in The Raven
(1963).
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An American one-sheet color poster for The Raven (1963), with
the three leading actors in prominent display.
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A Mexican lobby card for the original release of El Cuervo
(The Raven, 1963). The ad-line reads "The terror began at midnight!".
Dr. Bedlo (Lorre) informs the incredulous Dr. Craven (Price) that the deceased
Lenore (Hazel Court) is actually alive and well -- at Dr. Scarabus' (Karloff) castle.
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An original Mexican lobby card advertising El Cuervo or
The Raven (1963). Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre) narrowly escapes the bewitched
Grimes (William Baskin).
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A Mexican lobby card for El Cuervo (The Raven, 1963),
featuring the three sorcerers: Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price.
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An American lobby card for The Raven (1963), with William
Baskin (Grimes) under the spell of Dr. Scarabus (Karloff) and in pursuit of Dr. Bedlo
(Peter Lorre).
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A poster for the Belgium release of Le Corbeau (AIP, 1963), or
The Raven. The artwork emphasizes the film's horror elements over its
comedy.
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The Comedy of Terrors -- American International Pictures,
1964, directed by Jacques Tourneur, with Peter Lorre as "Felix Gillie", who -- as
assistant to a crooked undertaker -- believes "there must be a little more honest
way to conduct a funeral business."
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An American lobby card advertising the original release of
The Comedy of Terrors, with Peter Lorre. A "master craftsman" who hates
to see anyone buried "naked" (i.e., dumped into a grave without a coffin), Felix
Gillie (Lorre) uses a piece of rope to measure wood for a new casket.
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An original American lobby card for The Comedy of Terrors
(1964), with Peter Lorre and Vincent Price -- and a bottle of "medicine".
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A Mexican lobby card for Comedia de Terror (Comedy of
Terror, 1964). In the inset, Waldo Trumbull, "entrepreneur of death", intends
to finish off his landlord, John F. Black (Basil Rathbone).
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This original one-sheet poster for the American release of
The Comedy of Terrors (1964) advertised the re-teaming of Vincent Price,
Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff, following the "old fiends'" appearance in AIP's
The Raven (1963) the previous year.
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Except where noted, all images are from the collection of Stephen Youngkin.
For a larger view, click on the thumbnail. A new window will open.
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The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre
by Stephen Youngkin -- now in its second printing and
winner of the Rondo Award for "Best Book of 2005" -- is available in bookstores
everywhere, as well as these on-line merchants.
The Films of Peter Lorre
(1982), also by Youngkin, is out of print, but copies may be
purchased through Amazon and Barnes & Noble below. Interested in Lorre's radio and
television performances? Check out Radio Showcase and Movies Unlimited. Netflix has
Lorre movies for rent.
University Press of Kentucky
Powell's Books
Overstock.com
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Movies Unlimited
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US fans: Purchase an Amazon Gift Certificate
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Canadian fans: Purchase an Amazon Gift Certificate
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