I Watch Films: The Face Behind The Mask

 

The Face Behind The Mask

Janos (Peter Lorre) arrives in New York from Hungary, has a few comic misadventures but due to his good nature makes friends, including a cop who sends him to cheap but decent hotel. Unfortunately someone cooking there (against the rules) sets fire to the place and Janos is hideously burned. Despite having lots of expert mechanical skills (watch-making, lock-smithing, aeroplane mechanic and pilot) he can’t get a job as his face is hideous.

He meets Dinky, a petty criminal, the only one who will accept him. Against his better judgment he cracks a safe, and the two join a gang, Janos taking control in part because the previous leader is in prison. Janos turns his back on his old life, telling his fiancée back home that he’s setting her free.

He consults a plastic surgeon who is unable to help; he can only suggest a lifelike mask. Then Jeff, the former leader of the gang gets out, and tries to get back control; they come to an uneasy arrangement. Janos meets Helen, who is blind, and the two fall for each other. He decides to retire from crime; unfortunately the gang believe he has betrayed them to the police which leads to a cycle of revenge and violence. Lorre moving from soft-spoken, good-hearted comedy immigrant to soft-spoken dangerous criminal is the highlight of this film. The rest is a fairly well-trodden crime thriller that has some gruesome twists at the end.

Watch This: 1940s crime thriller that turns dark on a dime
Don’t Watch This: No matter how Janos turns he can’t get a break