The Mask of Dimitrios (Warner Bros.) (1944)

Starred In First Role, Actor Likes Hollywood Years Is Actor’s Success Story Zachary Scott, the good looking, t all : young man whom signed from thecastof the new York hit, “Those Endearing Young Charms,” is especially chip\ per these days. Not only has he found a house to live in, but he has been given the leading role in his very first picture, “The Mask of Dimitrios,” the cast of which includes Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and. Faye Emerson. The film opens Friday at the Strand. But topping both of these pieces of good fortune was the news he received recently that he will soon be joined in Hollywood by his wife, Elaine Anderson, and their eight year old daughter, Waverly. Mrs. Scott, or, professionally, Miss Anderson, is stage manager for the great Broadway musical hit, “Oklahoma,” which was fashioned from Lynn Riggs’ nostalic play “Green Grow the Lilacs.” If it hadn’t been for Riggs, Mat 107 Victor Francen Scott might have hit town without knowing anyone. But Lynn sent the leading man to his good friend Bette Davis, who quickly saw to it that he met a flock of people. And just so he wouldn’t be too lonesome, Jane Wyatt gave him a dog, a French poodle named Jingo. One man Scott did know was Sydney Greenstreet, with whom he appears in “The Mask of. Dfmitrios.” Although they hadn’t appeared together on Broadway, the two became good friends in New York through Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, with whom Greenstreet appeared in many plays. Zachary Scott had the honor of being discovered and signed personally by executive producer for saw him in the Edward Chodorov play “Those Endearing Young Charms,” in which he played opposite Virginia Gilmore. Edward’s brother Jerome Chodorov, authored the stage hit “The Doughgirls,” which has purchased for early production. “Hollywood has been good to me,” says Scott, “but I’ll really get to like the town when my wife and child get off the train at Union Station.” New Type Of Villainy In Mystery At Strand (Current Theatre Story) Undisputed winner of the title, “Season’s Deadliest Villain,” is one Dimitrios Makropolous (as portrayed by screen newcomer Zachary Scott) in latest adventure film, “The Mask of Dimitrios,” starring Sydney Greenstreet, Mr. Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre and Victor Francen, ¢urrently playing at the Stre ad. Indeed, so unscrupulous a cliaracter is he that his record of crimes covers not only ordinary misdemeanours like murder (for him a mundane occurrence) but includes the utmost in villainy— spying, assassination, even betrayal of his accomplices. That he meets a deservedly violent fate not once, but twice, before the film’s end will be welcome news to those of you who like to see justice rare and well done. Adapted from the well-known Eric -Ambler tale, “A Coffin, for Dimitrios,” the film follows along the same breathtaking lines of murderous espionage and intrigue as set down in the book. The body of Dimitrios is found on the shores of a beach at Istanbul one winter. morning in 19388. Though that might ordinarily be considered the end of a tale of villainy, in this case it is only the beginning. For also at Istanbul is a meek little Dutchman, author of mystery stories, one Cornelius Latimer Leyden (Peter Lorre) who is intrigued by the little he has heard about the now defunct scoundrel. On the premise of gathering more _ information about him for a new book, Leyden starts out on one of the strangest hunts in criminal history—where the search is not for a criminal but for the memories of a dead man’s misdeeds. That this is an Herculean task becomes evident only when one realizes that Dimitrios’ crimes occurred across a vast expanse of Europe and over a span of two decades—to be exact, from 1922 through to the present and from Smyrna to Yugoslavia and many other points. Sydney Greenstreet, himself a screen scoundrel of no mean reputation, this time is seen as an unctious Englishman whose path eventually crosses that of Leyden and results in the picture’s hairraising climax. Faye Emerson, recently seen in “Uncertain Glory,” once more plays the part of a girl who ends as a victim of unrequited love, waiting fifteen years in vain for Dimitrios to return. Victor Francen, the kindly French captain in “Passage to Marseille,” is cast in this film as Grodek, an important international figure adept at the art of selling government secrets. The supporting cast also includes Steven Geray as Bulic, a minor Yugoslav government worker who falls prey to Dimitrios’ treachery; Edward Ciannelli as a newspaperman of inestimable value to Leyden; Kurt Katch as Col. Haki of the Turkish Secret Police; Marjorie Hoshelle as the vain and predatory Mrs. Bulic; Georges Metaxa as. Werner,.@ gambler of means; and Monte Blue, staging a remarkable comeback as Abdul, the pathetic Arab accomplice in Dimitrios’ first crime. Jean Negulesco directed the film for Producer Henry Blanke and Frank Gruber adapted the screenplay from the Eric Ambler novel. Original music was contributed by Adolph Deutsch with orchestral arrangements by Jerome Moross under the supervision of Musical Director Leo F. Forbstein. The film covers a vast amount of territory, following Leyden as it does from Istanbul to Athens to Sofia, Geneva, and Paris to mention but a few places touched on by the itinerant author and literally covers more than two decades of the nefarious doings of Dimitrios Makropolous from 1922 through to the present day. The space covered in itself hangs up quite a record for a villain. Mat 108 Zachary Scott From Comedy To Terror In Forty Sydney Greenstreet, Filmdom’s Ace Menace, Once Expert Shakespearean Clown Still MD 94; Mat 203 A graphic demonstration of the old game, "Three-Thirds of a Ghost," with Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet (above) representing a fulsome two thirds, while Zachary Scott, new star, makes up the unseen third in "The Mask of Dimitrios," exciting mystery at the Strand. Also starred are Faye Emerson and Victor Francen. It is today apparent to all students of the screen that fat men carry plenty of: weight in Hollywood. On the directorial side, there is Alfred Hitchcock. On the acting side, there are such assorted man mountains as Edward Arnold, Laird Cregar and Sydney Greenstreet. It is Mr. Greenstreet that this thesis will consider. Mr. Greenstreet is the fat man who broke into the moviegoing eye with his portrayal of the ponderous and sinister antique collector in “The Maltese Falcon.” He is currently one of the luminous lights of “The Mask of Dimitrios,” in which he co-stars with Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter. Lorre and Victor Francen at the Strand Theatre. By this time all moviegoers must be aware that Mr. Greenstreet has obviously been typed by where he is under long term contract, as an oily and menacing type. Yet before he came to Hollywood for “The Maltese Falcon,” Greenstreet had been a mainstay of the legitimate theatre . for forty years. During that time he was a.comedy favorite, with This Cold Blew Somebody Good The common cold has done a lot of damage in Hollywood, but one film actually benefited from it. That was “The Mask of Dimitrios,”’ now at the Strand, starring Sydnev Greensteet, Zachary Scott. Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre and Victor Francen. In the film Faye Emerson plays a 40-year old woman whose voice, according to the script, is supposed to be low and sultry. For 2 whole week Faye tried without success to get her speaking voice low enough to please Director Jean Negulesco. Then, suddenly, she came down with a severe cold, with the result that her voice found the exact register. necessary. Negzulesco ordered her to renort home for rest but Faye, learning that her voice was at last right for the part, waived the order to remain on the set for necessary shots. “The Mask of Dimitrios” is a screen adaptation of Eric Ambler’s famous tale of murder and intrigue, “A Coffin for Dimitrios.”’ nary a touch of insidiousness. He traipsed through musicals and sailed like a small blimp through bedroom farces. More than three-fourths of his roles were on the light and bright side. He acted with Lunt and Fontanne for seven years, appeared in plays from Maine to Manila, and gained an international reputation as a comedian. He turned down all screen offers until a few years ago when Warners lured him West with the role of Gutman in “The Maltese Falcon.” Mr. Greenstreet’s early youth and manhood was far removed from the glamorous precincts of the theatre. His father was a tanner in England and at the age of 18 the son set sail for Ceylon to become manager of a tea plantation. When a drought killed off the crop, Greenstreet, who wasn’t particularly interested in tea anyway, returned to England. There he tried being a salesman for a brewery concern, but beyond the fact that he had a great capacity for drinking beer, he was unsuccessful at the job. More in desperation than anything else, Green Former Star SYNOPSIS (Not for Publication) On a winter morning in 1938 a body is washed ashore on a beach at Istanbul. Colonel Haki (Kurt Katch) of the Turkish police identifies the body as Dimitrios Makropolous, criminal long wanted by European police. Haki meets Cornelius Latimer Leyden (Peter Lorre), Dutch mystery writer, who becomes interested in Dimitrios and views the corpse and knife-wound which caused death. Haki sketches Dimitrios’ criminal beginnings. The film dissolves to 1922. Dimitrios (Zachary Scott), a young fig-packer, stabs and kills a floney lender, then deserts his accomplice, Abdul (Monte Blue) who eventlly is put to death for the crime. Intrigued, Leyden books passage for Athens, determined to follow the criminal's itinerary. Mr. Peters, English traveler, (Sydney Greenstreet) arrives too late at the morgue to view Dimitrios’ corpse. In Athens the mystery writer is under surveillance by Peters. He proceeds to Sofia and is joined by Peters on the train. In Sofia, Marukakis (Edward Ciannelli) takes the writer to a cafe where they see Irana (Faye Emerson), once Dimitrios' sweetheart. The film fades. It is 15 years earlier. Dimitrios is Irana's neighbor. They fall in love and Dimitrios grows rich by blackmailing a man who loves Irana. One day the Prime Minister is shot at. Dimitrios admits he fired the shot, takes money from Irana and goes away, never to -return. The scene fades back to the cafe. Leyden returns to his hotel and is surprised to find an armed Peters ransacking his baggage. At Peter's insistence he next goes to Geneva to see Grodek (Victor Francen) ex-spy, who tells him still more of Dimitrios. The film fades to 1926. It is Yugoslavia and Dimitrios persuades Bulic (Steven Geray) a minor government worker, to become a spy. Bulic complies, then commits suicide. : Leyden takes leave of Geneva, returns to Paris where he learns from Peters that Dimitrios is not dead. The corpse was a victim of murder (a murder done by Dimitrios himself). Peters wants to blackmail Dimitrios and Leyden is important to the scheme as he saw and can identify the corpse. Dimitrios appears, agrees to pay. He hands over the money as scheduled, then later waylays Peters and Leyden, shoots Peters and would also shoot Leyden but in an ensuing struggle the gun is knocked down and retrieved by Peters. Leyden goes for police. But just outside the door Leyden hears more shots, turns, horrified, as the door opens slowly. It is Peters who struggles out*into the hands of oncoming police. (Running Time: 95 Minutes) street drifted into amateur theatricals. He studied diligently with the Ben Greet Players and finally made his professional debut in a dramatization of “Sherlock Holmes” in 1903. Shakespeare, an old English institution, then claimed Greenstreet for some time. He played the Bard—mostly comedy roles like Bottom, Polonius, Casca, Jacques and Dogberry — from one end of England to the other. In 1904 he came to the United States and with the exception of tours abroad has remained here ever since. “Makes Comeback At Strand Ten years to the day since Monte Blue lost every dime he had in the world the former bigtime screen star is taking the greatest strides of his comeback career. Monte plays an feature role in “The Mask of Dimitrios.” “It probably is the best part I’ve had since I was starred in the Lubitsch production, ‘The Marriage Circle,’ made, oddly enough, exactly twenty years ago,” says Monte. A long-memoried director is responsible for Monte’s present good fortune. He is Jean Negulesco, who bossed the making of the “Dimitrios” film. “Monte was my _ favorite sereen star, back there. when I was just breaking into studio work in the Balkans. And he still is,” says Negulesco. “The Mask of Dimitrios,” adapted from Eric Ambler’s novel, is now at the Strand, costarring Sidney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, important. Peter Lorre and Victor Francen. Stil P.L. 15; Mat 110 Peter Lorre