Review of The Face Behind the Mask (1977) by Allan C — 20 Jun 2015

Fine low budget early Peter Lorre picture where he plays a watchmaker immigrant who's disfigured in a fire and then dons a creepy mask and sets out on a life of crime. The story then turns more poignant when the love of a good woman (a blind woman) makes him reconsider his criminal ways.

It's kind of a gonzo crime melodrama that is at times more goofy in a not so good way than it is macabre in a good Tod Browning sort of way, but Lorre is great and immensely entertaining. Also, the film has some terrifically moody photography from Franz Planer, who'd later photograph classics like "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "The Caine Mutiny.

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