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The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre
Often typecast as a menacing figure, Peter Lorre achieved Hollywood fame first as a featured player and later as a character actor, trademarking his screen performances with a delicately strung balance between good and evil. His portrayal of the child murderer in Fritz Lang's masterpiece M (1931) catapulted him to international fame. Lang said of "He gave one of the best performances in film history and certainly the best in his life." Today, the Hungarian-born actor is also recognized for his riveting performances in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942). Lorre arrived in America in 1934 expecting to shed his screen image as a villain. He even tried to lose his signature accent, but Hollywood repeatedly cast him as an outsider who hinted at things better left unknown. Seeking greater control over his career, Lorre established his own production company. His unofficial "graylisting" by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, however, left him with little work. He returned to Germany, where he co-authored, directed, and starred in the film Der Verlorene (The Lost One) in 1951. German audiences rejected Lorre's dark vision of their recent past, and the actor returned to America, wearily accepting roles that parodied his sinister movie personality.The first biography of this major actor, The Lost A Life of Peter Lorre draws upon more than three hundred interviews, including conversations with directors Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Huston, Frank Capra, and Rouben Mamoulian, who speak candidly about Lorre, both the man and the actor. Author Stephen D. Youngkin examines for the first time Lorre's pivotal relationship with German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, his experience as an émigré from Hitler's Germany, his battle with drug addiction, and his struggle with the choice between celebrity and intellectual respectability.Separating the enigmatic person from the persona long associated with one of classic Hollywood's most recognizable faces, The Lost One is the definitive account of a life triumphant and yet tragically riddled with many failed possibilities.
619 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2005
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296 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 19, 2009
i've been reading this book forever!!!! it takes breaks in between other reads and that's not because it's awful or anything....BUT i certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't a Peter Lorre freak. at times it's a bit dry and overloaded with more information than anyone could ever want to retain. a positive BUT is that there are many bits of Lorre magic that make me feel happy--my favorite parts are when we get to relive some of his old radio performances!
June 10, 2018
I never dreamed how much Peter/Laszlo Lorre suffered. To find his first big part in theatrical acting, he suffered with dire poverty. But, once he got the breaks from icons such as Bertolt Brecht, he had another problem: morphine addiction. He knew he was destined for acting:
“Although Lorre expounded by the paragraph when questioned later about the psychology of acting, he had little to say on the subject of his beginnings. He later explained, seemingly searching his own past for the seeds of his first flowering, that as a young boy he had “read a great deal [“ like somebody else is eating,” said Francis] and lived in fantasies wherein I acted, all unconsciously, my many parts.” Francis recalled that he and László debuted as dwarfs in a grade school production of Snow White. “I was the smallest of these people,” recalled his brother.”
And:
“During the making of I’ll Give a Million some fifteen years later, Lorre told actor John Carradine that he had lived in packing crates and even “robbed people out of necessity.” However much romance he read—and later related—into his poverty, he did sleep on wooden benches in the nearby Prater. With the metallic grind of its giant Ferris wheel, the pinging of the shooting gallery, and the cacophony of outdoor concerts, it is no surprise that he sought out, as he later claimed, a bed of pine needles in the woods"
Lorre, or “parrot” in German, could mimic, parody, and used cut your throat wit to gain the attention of his prominent cafe group. And his growth as an intense player spread, as did his addiction.
The author has Done close, revised and extensive research on his subject. We see Lorre’s life, before his triumph in Lang’s “M” (1931), as a constant struggle and as a figure of karmic miracles. I thank the author, too, was his gesture to Berlin between the wars. I had forgotten how rich and literary was this “Cabaret “ environment, and I have lined-up books to tell me more about the eta.
This work does not glamorize, nor polish the main character. We are presented, thanks to the author’s Zola-esque eye, a truthful assessment of this exuberant actor. We can understand his character in “Casablanca” better, thanks to Youngkin’s detailed portrait. This is well worth the effort, readers!
“Although Lorre expounded by the paragraph when questioned later about the psychology of acting, he had little to say on the subject of his beginnings. He later explained, seemingly searching his own past for the seeds of his first flowering, that as a young boy he had “read a great deal [“ like somebody else is eating,” said Francis] and lived in fantasies wherein I acted, all unconsciously, my many parts.” Francis recalled that he and László debuted as dwarfs in a grade school production of Snow White. “I was the smallest of these people,” recalled his brother.”
And:
“During the making of I’ll Give a Million some fifteen years later, Lorre told actor John Carradine that he had lived in packing crates and even “robbed people out of necessity.” However much romance he read—and later related—into his poverty, he did sleep on wooden benches in the nearby Prater. With the metallic grind of its giant Ferris wheel, the pinging of the shooting gallery, and the cacophony of outdoor concerts, it is no surprise that he sought out, as he later claimed, a bed of pine needles in the woods"
Lorre, or “parrot” in German, could mimic, parody, and used cut your throat wit to gain the attention of his prominent cafe group. And his growth as an intense player spread, as did his addiction.
The author has Done close, revised and extensive research on his subject. We see Lorre’s life, before his triumph in Lang’s “M” (1931), as a constant struggle and as a figure of karmic miracles. I thank the author, too, was his gesture to Berlin between the wars. I had forgotten how rich and literary was this “Cabaret “ environment, and I have lined-up books to tell me more about the eta.
This work does not glamorize, nor polish the main character. We are presented, thanks to the author’s Zola-esque eye, a truthful assessment of this exuberant actor. We can understand his character in “Casablanca” better, thanks to Youngkin’s detailed portrait. This is well worth the effort, readers!
February 21, 2013
Lorre is a fascinating figure. He began in the ferment of Weimar Germany, was a central part of Brecht's theatre company in the twenties and early thirties, fled Germany after Hitler came to power (I had no idea Lorre was Jewish), was a working actor in Hollywood and early radio. He had the acting chops to be far more than a character actor and film heavy, but both his distinctive looks and Hollywood corporate culture worked against him. The writer of this biography, while strong on biographical detail and anecdote, never succeeds (never really tries, actually) in creating a sense of narrative continuity in this book, though. He jumbles the information together with no scheme more thoughtful than a simple chronology; it's perfectly readable and functional, but the lack of narrative development leaves a lot of interesting patterns unexplored. So read it for the inherent interest in the man, not for any quality of the biography itself.
June 30, 2010
I loved this book. Maybe five stars is extravagant but Lorre is fascinating--he worked with Brecht in Germany and Youngkin presents him intelligently.
July 9, 2013
Taking the title from a film that Lorre hoped would be his ticket to renewed success (and wasn't), this book tells the amazing story of a great performing artist who became known for his supporting roles and was frustrated by the possibilities that were beyond his reach.
I first became familiar with Peter Lorre through one of my favorite series characters, Mr. Moto. In this book, I learned that it was a role he detested, finding that it only used a small portion of his abilities. He may have been correct because when I saw his portrayal of the child murderer in M, I was amazed by the depth of his acting talent.
This is not a smoothly written book as it mixes narrative with interviews. The information presented, though, is fascinating. Here was an artist who was desperately seeking to recapture his glory days and, although there were occasional flashes of brilliance, Hollywood wanted him to stay within the mold they set for him.
The reader is treated to quotations showing his acerbic wit, and I'll admit that I now date some of his films as before and after he had his teeth fixed.
What emerges is a warning to artists who allow the popular view to hold sway over their work. In many ways, it is almost the Orson Welles story told over again with a different cast of characters. For those who have wanted to know more about Peter Lorre, it is a fascinating and worthwhile book.
I first became familiar with Peter Lorre through one of my favorite series characters, Mr. Moto. In this book, I learned that it was a role he detested, finding that it only used a small portion of his abilities. He may have been correct because when I saw his portrayal of the child murderer in M, I was amazed by the depth of his acting talent.
This is not a smoothly written book as it mixes narrative with interviews. The information presented, though, is fascinating. Here was an artist who was desperately seeking to recapture his glory days and, although there were occasional flashes of brilliance, Hollywood wanted him to stay within the mold they set for him.
The reader is treated to quotations showing his acerbic wit, and I'll admit that I now date some of his films as before and after he had his teeth fixed.
What emerges is a warning to artists who allow the popular view to hold sway over their work. In many ways, it is almost the Orson Welles story told over again with a different cast of characters. For those who have wanted to know more about Peter Lorre, it is a fascinating and worthwhile book.
August 3, 2007
Not worth interlibrary loaning. I should have been warned by the table of contents:
"Who are you, really?" -- Facemaker -- M is for morphine -- Escape to life -- Softly, softly, catchee monkey -- Being slapped and liking it -- Insider as outsider -- The swamp -- Smoke gets in your eyes -- Elephant droppings -- The mask behind the face -- Mimesis .
Peter Lorre deserves better!
"Who are you, really?" -- Facemaker -- M is for morphine -- Escape to life -- Softly, softly, catchee monkey -- Being slapped and liking it -- Insider as outsider -- The swamp -- Smoke gets in your eyes -- Elephant droppings -- The mask behind the face -- Mimesis .
Peter Lorre deserves better!
June 26, 2009
While this is a very interesting biography at times it's a little too full of detail so that it becomes digressive.
June 4, 2014
This book gave a lot of detail and at times too much detail. It would mention a person Lorre worked with then go on with that persons life store. Just on and on and on for pages.
March 19, 2021
Everything you could possibly want to know about Peter Lorre in one book. The author provides a very comprehesive analysis of his youth and time in the theater as well as early films. Lorre wasn't just a B actor playing character parts, but rather a time-honored serious actor much respected in his field for his authentic portrayals. I've been going back and watching as much of his work as possible, when available. Things I've seen many times, like "Arsenic and Old Lace," and others I've never seen like "The Mask of Demetrios."
This is a remarkably good book, researched over a period of more then 20 years including interviews with dozens of people who knew and worked with Lorre. I have some disagreement with the way the author chooses to organize Lorre's life, separating concurrent strains into different sections: for example, recounting Lorre's interaction with Hollywood, and then separately, his relationship with Bertolt Brecht and the German LA emigre community, although the event cover the same chronological span. He had his reasons, and the choice succeeds in certain ways. It demands the reader work harder to try and reintegrate these separate strains beak into a single, complex man. But the work, as it is, is certainly excellent, and the portrait of Lorre compelling for anyone interested in theater and film of the middle half of the 20th century. Difficult to believe he died so young at age 59.
This is a remarkably good book, researched over a period of more then 20 years including interviews with dozens of people who knew and worked with Lorre. I have some disagreement with the way the author chooses to organize Lorre's life, separating concurrent strains into different sections: for example, recounting Lorre's interaction with Hollywood, and then separately, his relationship with Bertolt Brecht and the German LA emigre community, although the event cover the same chronological span. He had his reasons, and the choice succeeds in certain ways. It demands the reader work harder to try and reintegrate these separate strains beak into a single, complex man. But the work, as it is, is certainly excellent, and the portrait of Lorre compelling for anyone interested in theater and film of the middle half of the 20th century. Difficult to believe he died so young at age 59.
December 16, 2023
This is a pretty much exhaustive biography of the great character actor. It will make you want to see his films, particularly the great noirs he made at Warner Bros. and the one film he directed, Die Verlorene, which is pretty hard to find in a decent print. At times, Stephen D. Youngkin gets a little too discursive. In writing about Lorre's relationship with Bertholt Brecht when the great writer turned up in Hollywood, he spends so much time on Brecht he seems to have lost sight of his true subject. As a completest, I also wished he'd covered all of Lorre's credits. His curious appearances as a college professor on the short-lived TV series "Mrs. G Goes to College" aren't mentioned, and I felt they should have been.
January 8, 2017
This biography is an in depth look at the life and work of Peter Lorre both here in the United States and in Germany. It is intended for the true Lorre fan and is not one of those light star bios that can be read quickly. Youngkin examines the actor's psychology and acting philosophy and is clear eyed when it comes to examining his faults and virtues.
June 11, 2017
One of the best actor biographies I have ever read. If anything it may even be too in-depth... and yes, I know that's a good complaint to have. Some lengthy passages dealt nearly exclusively with Bertold Brecht's time in America which is important for Lorre but could have probably be shortened. Either way this gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
September 1, 2017
Very well-researched bio of one of my favorite character actors. It lagged a bit at some points - I got a little bored reading about Bertolt Brecht for 30 pages - but the author provides an extensive glimpse into the actor's troubled life, from his flight from Nazi Germany, to his drug addiction, money problems, and endless fight to avoid being typecast as a menacing villain.
August 10, 2020
It's a 5 star book, but in desperate need of editing out about 50 pages of repetition. The book shines brightest when we are reading Peter Lorre's quotes. I also would have appreciated more time spent on my favorite roles of his.The author also comes across a bit dry for my taste. Despite its weaknesses, this is a definitive biography for the talented,type-cast, interesting actor.
August 6, 2018
Peter Lorre Biography
A great book. Unfortunately there isn't much written about one of the most enigmatic and interesting actors of the beginning of movies era. It is enjoyable and informative.
A great book. Unfortunately there isn't much written about one of the most enigmatic and interesting actors of the beginning of movies era. It is enjoyable and informative.
August 31, 2020
The only drawbacks was the authors decision to jump back and forth in time...and some patting that slowed the book down to a crawl. I wanted to know about Peter Lorre, not read 50 pages on one of his friends.
February 8, 2019
I don’t think the author told the story very well.
April 18, 2020
The gold standard of celebrity biographies. Thoroughly researched, insightful, and fascinating.
May 7, 2022
Glad he didn't mind making the AIP's (like Basil Rathbone did) cuz I love 'em oh so!
January 3, 2023
lively, enthusiastic, succinct
so readable and entertaining is this book that I frequently recommend it even to people who do not particularly enjoy the genre of biography
so readable and entertaining is this book that I frequently recommend it even to people who do not particularly enjoy the genre of biography
March 3, 2023
A thorough and fascinating biography of a fascinating and compelling man.
December 18, 2024
Haunted by his most famous role as a child-murderer in Fritz Lang's M (1930), former Bertolt Brecht stage-actor Peter Lorre evades, subverts, embraces, resists, and is ultimately entrapped by this most indelible of screen-appearances. From Weimar to Hollywood, author/scholar Stephen D. Youngkin apparently made it his life's obsession to tracing this most singular of actor's varied career, and the title along with his conveyance of character, personality, performing style, and working technique reads throughout its 450 vastly-researched pages as absolutely definitive.
May 12, 2013
An amazing account of an amazing and undervalued and underappreciated actor of his time. Lazlo Lowenstein better known as Peter Lorre was a man far ahead of his time. This is not well used cliché in this instance. He was remarkable as one of the early pioneers of self improvised theatre and film works. His technique not modern by our standards now was unusual and rare in that he sincerely believed and expressed himself from the inside out. He wanted to bring realism to his role, which he succeeded in, and always worked calmly and patiently with directors, actors/actresses and others that worked on the film. He brought humour and joy onto the set as a way of relief and enjoyment to hard work and long hours. He was an active member and had a small but significant role on the Screen Actors Guild both in America and a form of it in Germany. Well ascribed beyond his control to menacing murder roles he could play comedy, romance and drama with the same equal brilliancy if given the chance. However, he was type casted early on with the German film "M", which is now something of a cult film but at the time slid into obscurity unfortunately almost as the actor did himself in his later life. His life as a man and as an actor is both fascinating and equally tragic.
January 9, 2014
I've always appreciated Peter Lorre's acting from classics like The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and others (even some of his 60's stuff like the Roger Corman films The Raven and Comedy Of Terrors and Tales Of Terror) but this is a really detailed and terrific biography, which covers his whole career from beginning to end. It details his work in Europe too, where he was a member of Bertolt Brecht's troupe and his years as an emigre in both Europe and America. It's a very serious look at a very serious artist and catches all the joy and sadness of both his professional and personal lives and what it meant in those times to be underused, underappreciated, typecast, and relegated to work that was beneath his considerable abilities but necessary to his survival as an actor. It also covers in detail the history of his morphine addiction and political troubles. This is a major work on a major figure of the twentieth century. A terrific read. - BH.
November 13, 2014
Standard, almost obsessively detailed reference book on the whispering
menace. Peter gets to stroll the green lanes of Paradise for his work in M, Mad Love, Crime and Punishment, Strange Cargo, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Beat the Devil. He gets censured for taking work away from actors of certain nations and ethnicities, e.g., Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Russian, Dutch and Irish (although I doubt the authenticity of that last one, from Beat the Devil).
menace. Peter gets to stroll the green lanes of Paradise for his work in M, Mad Love, Crime and Punishment, Strange Cargo, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Beat the Devil. He gets censured for taking work away from actors of certain nations and ethnicities, e.g., Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Russian, Dutch and Irish (although I doubt the authenticity of that last one, from Beat the Devil).
February 25, 2011
Though I enjoyed the book, it kind of went of on tangent and came back slowly. At times a paragraph would start in one year and end in 5-10 years in the past. It is sad that he so wanted to break into comedy but was typecast. Yet he was so unique in the roles he played.
Want to read
January 22, 2009So far, I'm finding this fascinating and informative.
April 10, 2009
Only comprehensive bio of Lorre; full review later.
April 2, 2010
Outstanding biography. Winner of Rondo Hatton Award a few years back. One of the best biographies I've read. Essential film reading.
May 28, 2014
Wish it was more about him
It seemed to contextual the events around him instead of just giving us a book about the man. Not a bad read but wish it was a little more personal.
It seemed to contextual the events around him instead of just giving us a book about the man. Not a bad read but wish it was a little more personal.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews