Wasn't this a pleasant surprise! I adore "The Maltese Falcon" so "The Mask of Dimitrios" was essential viewing since I love both Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. Dimitrios (as portrayed by the wooden, but dashing, Zachary Scott) is a murderer, thief, scoundrel, spy, turncoat, double-crosser, predator, and manipulator who preys on the weaknesses of others to further benefit his own means. Lorre portrays a detective novelist who has a particular interest in the life of Dimitrios, his stabbed, very dead, body found washed ashore (or we assume is his body, since the coat the corpse wears has a French identification card with Dimitrios' name), after seeing the corpse for himself thanks to a fan of his books, an inspector who takes him to the morgue. Greenstreet takes a peculiar interest in Lorre's activities, the two eventually "joining forces" to participate in the potential novelization of Dimitrios' career/life of crime. But Greenstreet's motives are complex which could drag Lorre into a dangerous situation. I just enjoyed the compelling complications and twists that arise as the story unfolds in regards to all the lives destroyed by Dimitrios, a really evil and crafty criminal who goes from a ragged, impoverished petty thief/murderer to a sophisticated, well-groomed, debonair master of disguise. We see how slick and charming Dimitrios is as he convinces victims to aid him in what seem like innocent partnerships, only to stab them in the back, take their pride, and leave their lives shattered into pieces (one poor schlep is taken for all that he's worth, is duped by a successful con into gambling away money he thought was legitimately his through a business venture, forced into betraying his country, eventually committing suicide—this is the kind of life that is reduced to shambles thanks to the malevolence of Dimitrios) in flashbacks told through various victims Lorre interviews. But Greenstreet drags Lorre into a far more perilous plot including blackmail and the revelation that his eyes were perhaps deceived (again, was or was not Dimitrios the man on that morgue slab?).
I think just viewing the film for Greenstreet and Lorre's many scenes together is reason enough to see "The Mask of Dimitrios". I think they have a magic in both presentation and dialogue; they simply just work well off each other and their scenes have a sense of realism in how they communicate one to another. While movies about a character told in flashback don't necessarily always excite me, I think it works in this case because Zachary Scott is a rather boring actor (to me anyway) and seeing him in small doses helps the film. I prefer the structure of this film as other far more interesting actors (like Victor Francen, a charismatic rich heel who has a huge mansion and charming air about him, as Wladislaw Grudek) tell of how Dimitrios betrayed them. Following the downfall of Steven Geray's Karel Bulic, a timid, meek, naïve fellow who is perfect fodder for Dimitrios' kind of villain, was painful to watch for me. Quite simply, Dimitrios is a disease that infects anyone who comes into his orbit. I will say that you must prepare for a dialogue-heavy movie, because "The Mask of Dimitrios" is built around plot developments and characterization—I think, though, if you are not intimidated by this you are in for a rewarding experience. This is a MUST-SEE for Lorre fans as he is the star, not Scott, and approaches his character as one of an innocent, logical, practical man just trying to place a history behind a subject he's morbidly fascinated in. He's innocent because Lorre doesn't like this man in the least and when he actually abruptly halts his own murder, crying "You cannot continue to go around murdering people!" it proves that this guy's unmoral, reprehensible behavior must come to an end (which is where Greenstreet earns top honors as a hero, a criminal for sure, but someone who has been waiting a long time to confront the man who has caused him such heartbreak).
I think just viewing the film for Greenstreet and Lorre's many scenes together is reason enough to see "The Mask of Dimitrios". I think they have a magic in both presentation and dialogue; they simply just work well off each other and their scenes have a sense of realism in how they communicate one to another. While movies about a character told in flashback don't necessarily always excite me, I think it works in this case because Zachary Scott is a rather boring actor (to me anyway) and seeing him in small doses helps the film. I prefer the structure of this film as other far more interesting actors (like Victor Francen, a charismatic rich heel who has a huge mansion and charming air about him, as Wladislaw Grudek) tell of how Dimitrios betrayed them. Following the downfall of Steven Geray's Karel Bulic, a timid, meek, naïve fellow who is perfect fodder for Dimitrios' kind of villain, was painful to watch for me. Quite simply, Dimitrios is a disease that infects anyone who comes into his orbit. I will say that you must prepare for a dialogue-heavy movie, because "The Mask of Dimitrios" is built around plot developments and characterization—I think, though, if you are not intimidated by this you are in for a rewarding experience. This is a MUST-SEE for Lorre fans as he is the star, not Scott, and approaches his character as one of an innocent, logical, practical man just trying to place a history behind a subject he's morbidly fascinated in. He's innocent because Lorre doesn't like this man in the least and when he actually abruptly halts his own murder, crying "You cannot continue to go around murdering people!" it proves that this guy's unmoral, reprehensible behavior must come to an end (which is where Greenstreet earns top honors as a hero, a criminal for sure, but someone who has been waiting a long time to confront the man who has caused him such heartbreak).