ARTE – TUESDAY JUNE 11 AT 12:40 AM – DOCUMENTARY
In M the Accursed, he is such a childish-looking child murderer. A small man with a strange physique, with his baby face and bulging eyes. An actor with incredible presence who, throughout his career, sought to emancipate himself from the figure of the monster interpreted in the masterpiece by Fritz Lang (1890-1976) filmed in 1931. At the time, Peter Lorre (1904-1964), born Laszlo Löwenstein, had only had a career on stage, in Vienna then in Berlin.
Read the review (in 2006): “M the Accursed”, by Fritz Lang
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Why did Fritz Lang choose this young actor, revealed by Bertolt Brecht, to play such a role? “Because I thought no one would believe that someone with such a physique could commit horrible murders!” », he justified. In fact, Lorre may have appeared in more than eighty films, had a career in Hollywood and played with the greatest, but his role in M the Accursed will stick to him for the rest of his life.
This documentary traces the life of this Hungarian Jew, a complex man characterized by the unfathomable solitude of his characters. A person consumed with anxiety since childhood, motherless at 4 years old, addicted to morphine. But also friendly, mocking, nostalgic. And a great seducer, married three times.
Great passion for theater
His great passion was theater, but his meeting in Berlin with Fritz Lang changed his life: “I was having great success on stage and I didn’t want to make a film. With a face like mine, how can you expect a career on the big screen? » However, all it takes is one role, and he is propelled to the rank of international star.
In 1932, Lorre was one of Hitler’s favorite actors, who, of course, was unaware that he was Jewish. Goebbels offers him a film project. Lorre’s response: “There is no place in Germany for two assassins, Hitler and me!” » Such a refusal meant leaving the country quickly, which Lorre did with his first wife, Celia Lovsky.
Exiled in Paris, he was contacted by one of Alfred Hitchcock’s producers. Lorre heads to London and accepts the role of conspirator in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). His career is launched. Spotted by a Columbia agent who offered him a $1,000-a-week contract in Hollywood, Lorre embarked with his wife for the United States.
In search of complex characters
He likes his new Californian life, but he asks Columbia to give him roles. “positive”, Lorre continues to shine in mad scientist or murderer characters. He is looking for more complex characters, but Hollywood doesn’t like ambiguity.
Frustrated, Lorre left Columbia and signed with Century Fox. Later, he would move to Warner. “I can’t play Clark Gable, but that doesn’t mean I can’t play a lover, a teenager, a dreamer”, he said. Wasted effort.
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Until his death in 1964 from a heart attack, Lorre alternated between B series films (including eight from the series Mister Moto) interspersed with supporting roles in masterpieces, including The Maltese Falcon (1941), by John Huston, and Casablanca (1942), by Michael Curtiz.
“His eternal fight against drugs reflected his weakness”, underlines German director Volker Schlöndorff. In 1951, upon returning to Germany, Lorre decided to write and direct his own film. The Lost Man sees him take on a new role as a lone murderer. It will be a commercial failure.
Peter Lorre. Behind the mask of the cursed, documentary by Evelyn Schels (Fr.-Aut., 2024, 53 min). Available on demand on Arte.tv until September 8.
