Tonight's movie was a combination film noir/melodrama starring Peter Lorre, entitled "The Face Behind the Mask"(1941), delivered once again by the amazing Mr. Spinks of Youtube, who has provided us with many a gem and does so here.
Lorre is "Janos Szabo" a Hungarian immigrant fresh off the boat in New York. No sooner does he pass the Statue of Liberty than his heart bleeds red, white and blue. He's the epitome of the grateful newcomer to the good 'ol USA, leaving a less fortunate country for the Promised Land. On the city streets, he tries out his English on other citizens. Janos is looking for a place to stay, and after joking with a friendly policeman (Don Beddoe), the cop directs him to a rent-a-bed hotel owned by a friend of his. "It's not fancy but it's clean".
Janos thanks the officer, "Lt. Jim O'Hara", and walks a few blocks to the flophouse, where he checks in. "We're not strict here", says the owner, "but I do have one ironclad rule - no cooking with hotplates. Too dangerous around the curtains". Well, listen.......when a screenwriter uses that line, whattaya think is gonna happen? And you're right. There's a fire in the hotel, on Janos' very first night.
He doesn't cause it. As we've seen, Janos is eager to please and has no problem abiding by rules. He's anything but a malcontent and is overjoyed to be in America. But the Wiseguy in the room next door is not so honest. He starts the fire by cooking a can of chili. Now the rooms are aflame. The Wiseguy makes it out of the building. Janos doesn't. He lives, but when doctors remove his bandages, his face is horribly disfigured. Naturally he's devastated, but before leaving the hospital he regains a measure of optimism, based on the fact that he's a multi-talented worker.
"In Hungary I was an expert watchmaker", he tells his doctor. "I also worked in the aircraft industry. I know my face is destroyed, but I still have my hands. Surely someone will need me". He then sets out to find a job, but once potential employers get a look at him, they all turn him down. Poor Janos. Once full of hope, now he is despondent. He heads for the waterfront, where he plans to jump in.
At the last second, a man stops him. "Hey! Hey buddy! Whataya think yer doin"? The man's name is Dinky. He tries to cheer Janos up. "Awww, c'mon friend.....nothing could be that bad, to make you wanna kill yourself".
"You haven't seen my face".
"What're you talkin' about? I'm lookin' at it right now. Sure, it ain't perfect, but who cares! Look at mine, it ain't much better"!
"But others don't like my face. No one will give me a job. How am I to earn a living"?
"Aww, pal......that's no problem either. I'll give you a job. I've got lots of jobs lined up that would be perfect for a guy like you. Let's go somewhere and get a bite to eat, then we'll talk".
Dinky appears to be a genuinely nice man. He's also a criminal. The "jobs" he has for Janos range from scams to burglaries to safecracking. Janos' ethics tell him it's wrong to make a living this way. "But what else am I to do"?, he counters. Soon, his intelligence and skill with his hands have propelled him to the top of his criminal enterprise. When the old "boss" gets out of prison, he finds that Janos has taken over. "Jeff" (James Seay) is a pretty tough guy, but Janos is even tougher. All of his former optimism has fermented, turning him into a Grade A Cynic. He's ruthless now, and sends Jeff away with a warning never to come back. "Me and the gang don't need you". This will set up a desire for payback on Jeff's part. He's a case-hardened convict. Nobody gets away with pushing Jeff around.
Pulling job after successful job has given Janos enough money to do something about his face. Through channels he learns of a plastic surgeon who is said to work miracles. "He's even given some of our associates a new mug", says Dinky, referring to gangsters who needed a change of identity. But as talented as the man is, he tells Janos that in his case, there is nothing he can do. "I'm sorry, Mr. Szabo, but you see, the tendons below your scar tissue were destroyed. I'd have nothing to graft to". He does, however, offer Janos an alternative. "There is one other option. I can make you a mask, one that will look just like your old face. Others with severe burns have used them; they're very lifelike. All I need is an old photograph of you to go by".
"And would it allow me to go out in public"?, asks Janos.
"It would indeed. Your friends might not even notice the difference".
Janos accepts and soon has his mask. While it isn't seamless, he looks, and more importantly feels, enough like his old self to regain his sense of virtue. His optimism returns. There's a spring in his step again. On the street, he bumps into a young blind woman (Evelyn Keyes), who spills the contents of her purse on the sidewalk. Janos helps her pick everything up, then starts a conversation. Her name is Helen. She's quite friendly, very beautiful, and Janos notices that, despite her blindness, she shares his optimistic nature. Soon they are seeing a lot of each other. In the park one day, Janos asks about her impairment.
"What's it like being blind"?
I won't try to re-create her answer, it's better you see it yourself, but it's exceptionally beautiful and profound. Keyes gives a monologue on the blessings of being blind. "I live in a magical world of sound and imagination". This is a scene worthy of a Best Picture winner, and the expression on Keyes' face as she's telling Lorre these things lifts the movie to a spiritual dimension, once again similar to the dialogue and themes in "The Enchanted Cottage", which we mentioned recently and which would make a good "companion piece" for this picture.
Janos asks Helen to marry him, and when she accepts, he tells his gang that he's getting out. "I've pulled my last job, fellas". Dinky, the crook with the heart of gold, is sad to see Janos go straight, but he also knows it's for the best because it's Janos' true nature.
But one man lurks in the shadows who's still out to get Janos : Jeff, his old rival in the syndicate. He's got his gang back; with Janos gone, he's the boss again. But that doesn't satisfy Jeff. Janos has to pay. Something happens as he and Helen move into their new home. I'm debating whether to reveal it, and I think I will not, but you should prepare yourself. This event will cause Janos to be involved with his gang one last time, and again, I won't tell you how, but it involves his prior experience with aircraft.
"The Face Behind The Mask" is an excellent thriller with a spiritual undercurrent. Lorre is fantastic as "Janos", whom he invests with real personality. He's playing a man of his own nationality (Hungarian), so maybe he saw something of himself in the character, but at any rate, it's one of his best roles. And, as mentioned, Evelyn Keyes steals the movie as "Helen", the ever-hopeful blind woman. Also good is George E. Stone as "Dinky" the kind-hearted thief. Almost everyone is a good guy in this movie, except Jeff, the angry crime boss.
I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up, and a strong recommendation. Don't miss it. ////
That's all for now. It's lunchtime. My writing schedule is all messed up, haha. But I've been hiking all over the place. Yesterday, I went up past the Slide at Santa Susana, past Lilac Lane and part way down the Spahn Ranch Trail. I have yet to go all the way there, it would add another hour to my hike and the trail is a little steep in places, but one of these days I'll do it. Nothing of the ranch remains, it's just a dirt lot (which you can see from Garden of The Gods across the highway), but there's still that famous rock, and that creek, both from the Life magazine pictures.
Well, anyhow.............man, I wish I had a hiking partner. I'm sick of doing everything by myself. :(
But I shant complain. It's a gorgeous day, so here I go. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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