The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- A mystery writer named Leyden is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, to learn more about the man. Along the way, he is joined by mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
- Actors:
- Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Victor Francen, Steven Geray, Florence Bates, Eduardo Ciannelli, Kurt Katch, Marjorie Hoshelle, Georges Metaxa, John Abbott, Monte Blue, David Hoffman
- Directors:
- Jean Negulesco
- Writers:
- Frank Gruber, Eric Ambler
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
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Reviews (1) of The Mask of Dimitrios
Balkan Intrigue (spoiler). - The Mask of Dimitrios review by Steve
Spy melodrama from a story by Eric Ambler, which clearly anticipates Graham Greene's The Third Man. Peter Lorre is a Dutch writer visiting Istanbul who hears of a ruthless, inscrutable agent for hire called Dimitrios, who has washed up in the Bosphorus with a fatal stab wound, and decides to research his past for a possible novel.
This proves hazardous because the trail leads to Dimitrios himself (Zachary Scott), who isn't as dead as he is supposed to be. There's an episodic plot made up of flashbacks to international scandals from which the agent provocateur vanishes without capture. For the final part of the film, Lorre allies with Sidney Greenstreet, one of Dimitrios' former gang of murderers, assassins and spies.
Lorre and Greenstreet made eight films together in the five years after The Maltese Falcon. And they are always reliable. Zachary Scott makes his debut in the title role and he is perfect as the outwardly charming, inwardly unscrupulous conspirator, gaming the volatile capitals of the Balkans between the wars.
Production values are high for a moderately budgeted ensemble thriller with no big stars. The art direction and photography are full of shadowy atmosphere. Hollywood routinely used this kind of foreign intrigue for their many serials. The Mask of Dimitrios is a class above that, and while not a prestigious production, it is a minor classic.