Peter Lorre was born on 26 June 1904 in Austria-Hungary.

He is one of the most iconic film actors ever. Or perhaps more accurately, he has one of the most iconic voices in all of film. He had a fairly heavy accent. But it wasn’t especially connected with any particular language. As a result, it was more just him.

We have the Nazis to thank for Lorre coming to America. He was Jewish and fled from the Nazis — first to France, then England, and finally the United States. This was early, but it’s not like many were in any doubt about the Nazis. Most of those who stayed did so because they lacked options, not knowledge.

He left a very successful career. M was his early breakthrough performance. But in 1934, he starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. But it turned out, he had nothing to fear from a career standpoint. Columbia Pictures hired him immediately. But his first film was as a loan to MGM for the psychotronic classic Mad Love.

He didn’t stay long at Columbia, despite the studio offering him a ton of money. Instead, he went to 20th Century Fox where he made 8 Mr Moto films. They don’t hold up well but they were very popular at the time. In the early 1940s, he mostly worked with Warner Bros. There, he made probably his two best-remembered films: The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. There are many other notable films during this period.

His career slowed after the war. And like many others, he moved into television in the 1950s. He still appeared in notable films like Beat the Devil, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

But I most admire him for the last few years of his life. His health was failing. But he made three notable films for American International Pictures: Tales of Terror, The Raven, and The Comedy of Terrors.

So let’s watch Tales of Terror. Peter Lorre plays an absolutely horrible man who gets what he deserves!

Other 26 June Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Dick Smith (1922-2014): Make-up artist known for The Exorcist and Scanners.
• Robert Davi (1951-): Character actor known for The Goonies and Die Hard.

Films

• Circus of Horrors (1960): A psychopathic doctor takes over a circus.
• King Kong vs Godzilla (1963): Monster on monster action.
• Three the Hard Way (1974): Three Black heroes stop white supremacists from poisoning the water supply.
• Truck Turner (1974): A bounty hunter goes after a pimp only to find out there is a contract on himself.
• Haunted Forest (2007): Folk horror about a vengeful spirit in the forest.

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Peter Lorre via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.