Because of the shadow of Graham Greene, Eric Ambler was prevented from being fully recognized by the public for the great novelist he was. Greene's themes on sins and redemption, and his heavy Catholicism, made him the favorite of serious critics. Only lovers of spy novels fully appreciated Ambler's ironic tales. Of his first five novels the best one was A COFFIN FOR DEMETRIOS (1940). It is the basis for THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS (1944).
Ambler was quick to notice the realities of the European world in fiction. In one of his novels he includes an introduction about the history of the spy novel, and mentions only three or four predecessors (one of whom is Joseph Conrad - for THE SECRET AGENT). The 1920s and 1930s saw a Europe in turmoil with five major powers either drifting (England and France) or in the grips of dictatorships (Germany, Italy, Russia). The Balkans (and Eastern Europe) were in the hands of minor dictators, who were jockying for positions among themselves. It was a fit area for fictional development.
In THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS Ambler dealt with the career of a truly evil character (based somewhat on the career of munitions kingpin Sir Basil Zaharoff). Demetrios Makroupoulos is dead when the movie begins, when his body washes up on the coast near Istanbul. A novelist named Leyden is at a party where he meets Col. Haki, head of the Turkish police. Haki tells him about the recently deceased Demetrios. Leyden decides to do a biography, and goes across Europe discovering how Demetrios began by killing a money-lender in Smyrna, and leaving a trail to his inebriated confederate/patsy (who gets hanged); got involved as a political assassin for hire in Bulgaria (using a woman named Sonia, and discarding her); getting involved in international spy-rings in Belgrade (and double-crossing his partners); and getting into the international drug trade in Marseilles. He is assisted in this by a Mr. Peters, who turns out to be a Mr. Peterson who was one of the drug ring betrayed by Demetrios. Peterson has tracked down Demetrios to Paris - the dead man in Istanbul was just another victim of his, used as a decoy. Peterson and Van Leyden confront Demetrios and are paid a sum of money to keep quiet. But he has found their hide-out, and surprises them there, shooting Peterson. But Peterson manages to turn the tables on Demetrios, and kills him (finally and fully).
The film makes the most of a grand cast of character actors led by Greenstreet as Peters/Peterson, Lorre as Van Leyden, and Scott as Demetrios. Stephen Geray, as a stooge of a clerk who is blackmailed into betraying Yugoslavian secrets,is the most sympathetic character. Victor Francken has an amusing bit as a retired spymaster in Geneva, who was involved in the Belgrade affair (Eduardo Cianelli was also involved), and who explains he spends his retirement working on a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, which he fully hopes he doesn't complete. The story manages to mingle true history with fiction: the assassination attempt involving Demetrios was an attempt on the life of Stambouliski, the agrarian radical Premier of Bulgaria who finally was assassinated in 1923. Unlike other Warner films using flashbacks ( PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES comes to mind as a horrible example), they were used properly here. Jean Negulesco, a fine director, did well with Greenstreet and Lorre here, and would have a good second chance at it in THREE STRANGERS in a year.
But while the film is an excellent example of a spy noir, it does not do the novel full justice for the extent of it's irony. As I mentioned above, Demetrios is supposed to be based on Zaharoff, who raised himself from the slums of the Balkans to immense wealth and influence (supposedly as a bad influence - he would encourage war because of his munitions interests), and finally to a title. In the novel, nobody Demetrios Makroupoulos rises step by step to the post of a director of a French cartel bank in Paris, which has financed many of the evil crimes that he has been involved in. Now Monsiur M. is a supposedly respectable upper-class figure. His interest in silencing Peters and Van Leyden is really to avoid any type of revelation that will cost him his hard won respectability.
In the movie, Peters (with Van Leyden's help) turns the table on Demetrios, and we finally see the craven creep that is behind this evil man - just before he dies. Peters is arrested, but he is satisfied that he did rid the world of Demetrios. But in the novel Peters/Peterson dies too, but in killing Demetrios he has destroyed his face, making identification impossible. The papers refer to the dead man as unknown (and we realize the cartel bank will not make an effort to identify it's missing director - they will probably make up a story that the latter has retired). The final irony of the story is that the real Demetrios Makroupoulos, having killed and hurt his way to fortune will end up buried in an anonymous grave.
Ambler was quick to notice the realities of the European world in fiction. In one of his novels he includes an introduction about the history of the spy novel, and mentions only three or four predecessors (one of whom is Joseph Conrad - for THE SECRET AGENT). The 1920s and 1930s saw a Europe in turmoil with five major powers either drifting (England and France) or in the grips of dictatorships (Germany, Italy, Russia). The Balkans (and Eastern Europe) were in the hands of minor dictators, who were jockying for positions among themselves. It was a fit area for fictional development.
In THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS Ambler dealt with the career of a truly evil character (based somewhat on the career of munitions kingpin Sir Basil Zaharoff). Demetrios Makroupoulos is dead when the movie begins, when his body washes up on the coast near Istanbul. A novelist named Leyden is at a party where he meets Col. Haki, head of the Turkish police. Haki tells him about the recently deceased Demetrios. Leyden decides to do a biography, and goes across Europe discovering how Demetrios began by killing a money-lender in Smyrna, and leaving a trail to his inebriated confederate/patsy (who gets hanged); got involved as a political assassin for hire in Bulgaria (using a woman named Sonia, and discarding her); getting involved in international spy-rings in Belgrade (and double-crossing his partners); and getting into the international drug trade in Marseilles. He is assisted in this by a Mr. Peters, who turns out to be a Mr. Peterson who was one of the drug ring betrayed by Demetrios. Peterson has tracked down Demetrios to Paris - the dead man in Istanbul was just another victim of his, used as a decoy. Peterson and Van Leyden confront Demetrios and are paid a sum of money to keep quiet. But he has found their hide-out, and surprises them there, shooting Peterson. But Peterson manages to turn the tables on Demetrios, and kills him (finally and fully).
The film makes the most of a grand cast of character actors led by Greenstreet as Peters/Peterson, Lorre as Van Leyden, and Scott as Demetrios. Stephen Geray, as a stooge of a clerk who is blackmailed into betraying Yugoslavian secrets,is the most sympathetic character. Victor Francken has an amusing bit as a retired spymaster in Geneva, who was involved in the Belgrade affair (Eduardo Cianelli was also involved), and who explains he spends his retirement working on a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, which he fully hopes he doesn't complete. The story manages to mingle true history with fiction: the assassination attempt involving Demetrios was an attempt on the life of Stambouliski, the agrarian radical Premier of Bulgaria who finally was assassinated in 1923. Unlike other Warner films using flashbacks ( PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES comes to mind as a horrible example), they were used properly here. Jean Negulesco, a fine director, did well with Greenstreet and Lorre here, and would have a good second chance at it in THREE STRANGERS in a year.
But while the film is an excellent example of a spy noir, it does not do the novel full justice for the extent of it's irony. As I mentioned above, Demetrios is supposed to be based on Zaharoff, who raised himself from the slums of the Balkans to immense wealth and influence (supposedly as a bad influence - he would encourage war because of his munitions interests), and finally to a title. In the novel, nobody Demetrios Makroupoulos rises step by step to the post of a director of a French cartel bank in Paris, which has financed many of the evil crimes that he has been involved in. Now Monsiur M. is a supposedly respectable upper-class figure. His interest in silencing Peters and Van Leyden is really to avoid any type of revelation that will cost him his hard won respectability.
In the movie, Peters (with Van Leyden's help) turns the table on Demetrios, and we finally see the craven creep that is behind this evil man - just before he dies. Peters is arrested, but he is satisfied that he did rid the world of Demetrios. But in the novel Peters/Peterson dies too, but in killing Demetrios he has destroyed his face, making identification impossible. The papers refer to the dead man as unknown (and we realize the cartel bank will not make an effort to identify it's missing director - they will probably make up a story that the latter has retired). The final irony of the story is that the real Demetrios Makroupoulos, having killed and hurt his way to fortune will end up buried in an anonymous grave.