The Mask of Dimitrios

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Steve D 01/17/2024 With these stars it is hard not to enjoy. See more Morris W 11/14/2023 Heavy Greenstreet bias. The curve is an additional star. See more 08/30/2018 This movie was much better than I thought it would be. I would love to see the same movie done again with color film and Ahmad and sensibility. There are so many ideas left on the table here that could've been explored including the byzantine workings of the Istanbul government, Dimitrios's spy work, and the smuggling operations and many other elements that can make a great film again today. But this holds up pretty well. Glad I watched it. See more stu b 08/30/2018 Another oddity from director Jean Negulesco, starring Peter Lorre as a mild-mannered writer investigating the bloody life and violent death of a notorious international criminal; Sydney Greenstreet co-stars as the dead scoundrel's former confederate, a man seeking answers of his own. Lorre, already firmly established as one of Hollywood's leading villains, plays against type quite effectively as the bumbling, bug-eyed protagonist; the bearish Greenstreet is, as usual, large, lumbering, and menacing. The movie's paint-by-numbers format, however--here we see the very first time the deceased (Zachary Scott) ever killed a man, here we witness his first encounter with the sultry sexpot (Faye Emerson) who soon learns to fear and despise him--comes across as too lazy, too pat; the episodic, flashback nature of the film does it no favors. The direction is bland, the cinematography flourish-free. The result: a flick that lacks a signature look, a distinctive personality. (And that head-scratcher of an ending doesn't help, either.) If you're a Lorre and Greenstreet fan, and you think you might enjoy watching this oddest of cinematic odd couples banter and bicker, this "buddy movie" might be for you. Otherwise--skip it. See more 08/12/2018 Very good entertainment. Recently watched it on TCM. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are their elements. See more 04/30/2017 I watched the movie after reading the book. The movie was astonishingly faithful to the book -- apart from making the central character Dutch instead of English, apparently to accommodate Lorre's accent -- but for some reason the book simply didn't translate to the screen. Perhaps it's because Lorre was miscast? The interplay between Lorre and Greenstreet is the primary strength of the movie. But Lorre didn't come off as the naive mystery writer plunged by obsession into a seamy underworld; he seemed as though it was his natural milieu. Maybe that's the difficulty of typecasting. See more Read all reviews

The Mask of Dimitrios

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