Grading every Peter Lorre character from a movie I've seen part 5
•Janos "Johnny" Szabo-The face behind the mask(1941)
Man! This movie is heartbreaking. Janos is so cute and loveable in the first few minutes and after he meets Helen. Considering how naive and chipper he starts off, I can't help but feel like even after everything he's been through, the personality he seems to have after becoming a criminal is a little too different to the one he starts off with, but that's definitely a nitpick-especially since the difference is probably partially just Janos putting on a tough guy act for his crime pals
6/10. Not my favourite, but not a bad egg
•Paul Hyde-Mr Distract attorney(1941)
I'm gonna be honest with ya, all I remember about this film is Peters character not showing up till like the 40 minute mark and then killing some dude and then talking on the phone with that one guy and mentioning them being in a cabin alone and that making me think "ha ha. Secks" and then his wife shooting him. 4/10
•Joel Cairo-The Maltese Falcon(1941)
A bona-fide Blorbo. He's got curly hair, he wears cute lil bow ties, he plays suggestively with a cane, he smells like gardenia, he screams insults at some slimy old british guy(including calling him a fathead) before crying and he spends the film getting beating up-not that he doesn't deserve it more than a Louie or a Polo, but you still really feel for him. Something I enjoy about Joel that not a lot of people point out is that in some respects he's pulling the same fake innocent act as o shaughnessy and despite being much less subtle about it than she is, it kinda works out better for him. Sure, he gets decked a few times, but she ends the film being escorted to the police station and even if the cops were called on him, he does not. Plus throughout the film Brigid can't seem to open her mouth without Spade telling her she's full of shit and he's not sorry for her, while Cairo is so underestimated by Spade that he gets away with pulling a gun on him twice in the span of 5 minutes and the second time it happens Spade can just laugh about it. Idk I just think it's kind of interesting considering how much people talk about Cairo being a poor little meow meow despite him being not only one of 3 meow meows from his film, but in my opinion, being the least meow meowish and most successful of the 3
10/10 ofc Cairos gonna get a perfect score, he's Joel Cairo