Strange Cargo   —   MGM, 1940, directed by Frank Borzage, with Peter Lorre as “M’sieu Cochon“ (Mr. Pig), informant to the prison authorities at the penal colony in French Guiana.

An American lobby card advertising the original release of Strange Cargo (1940). Convict Verne (Clark Gable) gives Julie (Joan Crawford), the woman he loves, a choice – him or “the Pig” (Peter Lorre). Courtesy of Mike Hawks.

I Was an Adventuress   —   20th Century-Fox, 1940, directed by Gregory Ratoff, with Peter Lorre as “Polo”, kleptomaniac, pickpocket, and one third of a European trio of con artists operating in the French Riviera.

An American lobby card for I Was an Adventuress (1940). Confidence men Erich von Stroheim and Peter Lorre catch up with their former partner Vera Zorina and her new husband Richard Greene at the couple’s country estate. Courtesy of Mike Hawks.

Island of Doomed Men   —   Columbia Studios, 1940, directed by Charles Barton, with Peter Lorre as “Stephen Danel”, owner of a private island and diamond mine.

An American one-sheet poster advertising Island of Doomed Men (1940).

An American lobby card for the original release of Island of Doomed Men (1940). As the captive Lorraine Danel, Rochelle Hudson tries to soothe Peter Lorre’s temper with a Chopin nocturne in the couple’s opulent, but electric-fence-guarded, home on Dead Man’s Isle.

Stranger on the Third Floor   —   RKO Radio, 1940, directed by Boris Ingster, with Peter Lorre as “the Stranger”, a mysterious figure in a long, white scarf.

An American one-sheet poster advertising Stranger on the Third Floor (1940).

An American title card advertising Stranger on the Third Floor (1940), with Peter Lorre and Margaret Tallichet.

A newspaper ad for the American release of Stranger on the Third Floor (1940), with the leading actors Peter Lorre, John McGuire, and Margaret Tallichet.

The Face Behind the Mask   —   Columbia Studios, 1941, directed by Robert Florey, with Peter Lorre as “Janos Szabo”, a hopeful immigrant watchmaker from Hungary.

A black-and-white American insert poster advertising the 1955 re-release of The Face Behind the Mask.

An American one-sheet poster for the 1955 re-release of The Face Behind the Mask.

This American title card, advertising the 1955 re-release of The Face Behind the Mask (1941), includes images of Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, and James Seay.

An American lobby card for the original release of The Face Behind the Mask (1941). Newly arrived in New York City, Hungarian watchmaker Janos Szabo (Peter Lorre) accosts plainclothes detective Jim O’Hara (Don Beddoe) and a police officer (Lee Shumway).

A lobby card for the American release of The Face Behind the Mask (1941). When the money runs out, the manager (Al Bridge) of their flop-house refuge throws out the down-on-their-luck Dinky (George E. Stone) and Janos (Peter Lorre).

An American lobby card advertising the original release of The Face Behind the Mask (1941). New crime boss Janos (Peter Lorre) informs Jeff Jeffreys (James Seay), just out of prison, about the change in leadership in Jeffreys’ criminal gang.