Skip to content

THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941)

Written By:

Martin Unsworth
face behind

Peter Lorre is often thought of as the lesser of the horror masters of the Golden Age. The fact he only made a handful of films in the genre during the ‘30s and ‘40s probably has a lot to do with that, but his screen presence was a formidable as any of his contemporaries. The Face Behind the Mask has elements of many genres and is prime for rediscovery.

Janos (Lorre) is new to America and as he leaves the boat in New York, he’s befriended by an Irish cop O’Hara (Don Beddoe) who takes pity on the naïve young dreamer who’s looking to make a living in a new country. O’Hara points him in the direction of an affordable hotel, but when a fire rages through the building, Janos is badly burned. With a deformed face and no prospects of work, he falls in with a kindly crook Dinky (George E. Stone). He soon uses his skills to become the head of the underground organisation. His ill-gotten gains give him enough money to buy a new face albeit in mask form. Still dreadfully unhappy, Janos bumps into (literally) a blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) and the pair being a relationship built on the good person Janos really is.

With the tough elements of the gangster film and visually disturbing parts of the horror genre, The Face Behind the Mask is a satisfying melding of styles. Lorre is superb as Janos, loveably innocent in the early scenes and then eaten up with hatred following the fire. His descent into crime isn’t one done by choice but rather necessity and bitterness at a world that shuns him because of his appearance. The romance element is handled beautifully, which makes the climax all the more heartbreaking. There is only one brief moment where we see Janos’ charred face, but it packs a massive punch, and we can imagine it would have been truly shocking when the film was first released. Director Robert Florey was ousted from making Dracula (he was given Murders in the Rue Morgue instead) but he had an impressive CV of films and would later go on to direct episodes of all the major anthology shows of the sixties. However, this is arguably his masterpiece for genre fans.

Running little over an hour, you could be forgiven for dismissing this as a B-movie programmer, but there’s much more to it and will stay with you longer than others in its ilk. Admirably, Australian label Imprint has given the film a suitably impressive complement of extras. They all add something to the appreciation of the movie and make it a worthwhile purchase for fans of classic cinema.

You May Also Like...

andy and barbara muschietti, aka the muschiettis, teaming with skydance for horror label nocturna

The Muschiettis Launch Horror Label NOCTURNA With Skydance

The It-team are joining forces with Skydance to launch a brand new horror division named Nocturna, THR reports. The brother-sister filmmaking duo known as the Muschiettis – Andy and Barbara
Read More
patty jenkins returns to the star wars film rogue squadron

Patty Jenkins Returns With STAR WARS’ ROGUE SQUADRON Film

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has given an encouraging update on what was presumed to be a dead project, stating that she’s back in active development on her Star Wars
Read More

Comic Book CAPITAL P Launched

Capital P Book One is the first part of a twelve-issue comic book maxi-series from writer Sam Gardner Jr and artist Jerome Canty. The official tag line is “A hero
Read More
neve campbell as sidney prescott in scream

Neve Campbell Returns To SCREAM Franchise

In an unexpected turn of events, Neve Campbell is confirmed to be returning to the Scream franchise, after several upsets to the production of Scream VII. It’s particularly surprising news
Read More

The First Trailer for THE CROW is Here

The highly anticipated remake of The Crow has its first trailer, which you can check out below. The film stars Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven and FKA Twigs as Shelly
Read More

Submit Your Film to THE RAY HARRYHAUSEN AWARDS

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation is once again holding an awards programme to recognise excellence in the field of stop-motion effects. This year’s submission fees have also been reduced!
Read More