The Mask of Dimitrios

Adapted from Eric Ambler's novel, this begins in Istanbul. A body is found in the Bosphorus, that of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a criminal who has been hunted for years. Cornelius Leyden, a writer of detective fiction played by Peter Lorre, starts investigating the dead man's past for material and follows a trail running from Izmir to Sofia, Belgrade and Geneva. The idea is that Dimitrios is almost never seen. Everyone who knew him describes a different man, and what emerges is not a personality but a hole. Peters, played by Sydney Greenstreet, appears in the middle of the enquiry, more interested in why Leyden is doing this than in what he finds. Among the films Lorre and Greenstreet made together this is generally taken as their most balanced: here Lorre is the protagonist and Greenstreet is not the threat but the partner. Jean Negulesco directed. Who it is for: viewers who like the forties blend of espionage and noir. Who it is not for: anyone expecting action, since the film consists almost entirely of stories being told.