MASTERS OF MENACE: GREENSTREET AND LORRE

MASTERS OF MENACE: GREENSTREET AND LORRE. Ted Sennett. E. P. Dutton. 1979.

Ted Sennett supplies an excellent overview of the careers of fine character actors Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, who were on occasion paired together, and whose screen images were often as smiling, sinister heavies, although both also played more benign roles in comedies. Masters of Menace is not a biography. There are some basic notes about the lives of these two actors, but nothing in depth. Instead Sennett analyzes -- and analyzes very well -- the various films they made, together and apart, and cites what the film did or did not do for each actor's career, and if the role suited them to the best advantage or not. Lots of great black and white photos and filmographies. Worth hunting down if you're a fan of both gentlemen -- and who isn't?

Verdict: Very good, fast, and informative read. ***.

THREE STRANGERS

THREE STRANGERS (1946). Director: Jean Negulesco. Written by John Huston and Howard Koch.


Tied in with an old Chinese legend, three strangers share a sweepstakes ticket and an uncertain destiny. Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is determined to get her husband, David (Alan Napier), back from the new woman in his life and will tell any nasty lie to do so. Jerome Arbutny (Sydney Greenstreet) is facing complete and total ruination if it gets out that he played fast and loose with a client's money -- he even goes so far as to ask the old biddy for her hand in marriage. Johnny West (Peter Lorre) is a foolish drunk who is arrested for a murder he didn't commit and was only nominally involved in. Will the goddess Kwan Yin favor them with good fortune, or will their own natures get the better of them? Unusual, cleverly scripted story features some fine performances from the stars and supporting cast, with Peter Lorre playing a more sympathetic -- and romantic -- part than usual. Decidedly offbeat and certainly unpredictable.

Verdict: Something different. ***.