Remake This: "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944) - popcorn and red wine

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Remake This: "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944)




Thriller author Cornelius Leyden (Peter Lorre) finds himself in Istanbul discovering a real life mystery from a hardcore fan. A well known arch-criminal Dimitrios Makropoulos (Zachary Scott) was found dead and washed up on the beach. Colonel Haki explains this man and his crimes, but serendipity comes into play when just learning about this story, Leyden discovers his hotel room being raided by a Mr. Peters (Sydney Greenstreet) who also have dealings with Dimitrios who he believes isn't really dead. Not entirely involved but fascinated with uncovering the truth, the author becomes a part of a story he was not prepared for.

Reviews were mostly mixed, but it was well-loved in theaters considering the chemistry between Lorre and Greenstreet who had already played off of one another in "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941 and "Casablanca" in 1942. The New York Times were mixed, describing "The Mask of Dimitrios" as the "sort of worldly melodrama [that] calls for refinement in cinematic style, but the writing and direction of this picture betray a rather clumsy, conventional approach."


Paul Dano as Cornelius Leyden

Kyle MacLachlan as Mr. Peters

Brett Dalton as Dimitrios Makropoulos

Elena Satine as Irana Preveza


Diego Klattenhoff as Wladislaw Grodek

Samuel Barnett as Karel Bulic

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