At last, the Lorre biography! | The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre

At Long Last Lorre | The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre | Stephen D. Youngkin

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	• The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre Stephen D. Youngkin University Press of Kentucky, 2005 - 680 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

At last!

A great book on one of the best ever actors. I can't reccomend it enough!

At last, the Lorre biography!

Some time ago I read in "Peter Lorre - Portrait des Schauspielers auf der Flucht" ("Peter Lorre - a portrait of the actor as a fugitive"), belleville, l998, co-authored by Stephen Youngkin, that his part of the book was based on his several hundred pages thick biography of the actor, for which unfortunately it had been impossible to find a publisher because of "a lessening interest in film books and the disappearance of Lorre from the consciousness of the filmgoing public". I thought with great regret of all that invaluable research, the first-hand interviews with family and colleagues - everything which now would never become publicly available.
And then, suddenly one day, I see an advert on the internet from the London Review Bookshop and realize that it`s here! Instantly I reached for the phone to order my copy.
I`d like to say at once that Peter Lorre could not have wished for a better biographer. This is not hagiography like Lotte Eisner`s biography of Fritz Lang nor does it "dish the dirt", but it is the sober, honest and - yes - respectful (I think that is the right word) account of a life which should have turned out differently. When reading the book, I don't know how many times I thought "If only -" or "Why didn't he - " or simply "Poor Peter ".
The game of "what if Hitler had never happened" is a futile exercise, yet I cannot help wondering if Lorre's career would have been so radically different if he had been able to remain in his homeland. With his small size and looks, Lorre was not cut out to be either suave leading man or swashbuckling action hero. It is true that in Germany he did get a wider mix of roles, yet the film in which he was scheduled to appear when he fled the country, "Kaspar Hauser" (a historical character whose true identity was lost when he was murdered in 1833), was another study of a tragic outsider.
To me, Hollywood's criminal waste of this supremely intelligent man's talents is incomprehensible. Only recently I saw his one own film "Der Verlorene" ("The Lost One") about another man whose life was shattered by the war. Flawed it may be, but it is a deeply moving film I cannot get out of my mind. In Germany, however, it was met with hostility, and so it remains a one-off, a tantalising glimpse of what, at that time, Lorre could do as actor and director.
When looking at the photos from Lorre's "thin" American period, one thing amazes me: how that rather chubby young man with the round, soft, innocent child's face matured into this most beautiful and elegant little creature.
Stephen Youngkin's book is a splendid, intelligent and moving account of a unique life and career, capturing as it does the flaws and virtues that went to make up the engaging human being who was Peter Lorre.
Karen Margrethe Halstrøm, Copenhagen, Denmark.

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At Long Last Lorre

Stephen Youngkin spent over thirty years researching The Lost One, his wonderful new biography of Peter Lorre. It's been a long wait for Peter lorre fans, but well worth it.
As a kid in the 1960's, I was aware of Lorre as a Hollywood icon through Warner Bros. cartoons. When I was about ten I saw Arsenic and Old Lace, followed by Lorre's Warner Bros. and Irwin Allen films, finally seeing M as a film major at Emerson College in Boston.
I put Lorre up there with Sellers and Brando, and deplored the fact that no biography had been written. I read about Youngkin's book in Film Comment and immediately bought a copy -- I was sorry to come to the end of it.
I teach Drama at a prep school near Boston, and plan on showing my students the A&E Biography of Lorre in which Youngkin was featured.
Not only is this the definitive biography of Lorre, but certainly one of the best researched and written biographies of the last few years.

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Everything You'd Ever Want to Know About Peter Lorre

An exhaustive biography of the great character actor. He's always been sort of an elusive figure haunting the movies. It is very interesting to see the man behind the image.

An honest and amazing look at Lorre

Peter Lorre onscreen was often seductive and repulsive at once. His sleepy-eyed glance, childlike pout and tantrums masked a sense that there was fetishistic sexuality lurking beneath. Whatever the film, Lorre was captivating to watch. No account of Lorre's life is more complete or completely engrossing as this one. You will want to watch Lorre's films again, from the iconic to the obscure. Youngkin has told the story in stark and poetic terms. You feel he understands Lorre on all levels, and that he knows this life story is tinged with the tragedy and humor of so many of the roles Lorry played. An amazing job and a great, great biography. If you ever wanted to understand what makes a name live on in Hollywood, this is the book to do it. Lorre won no Oscars. He was always the co-star, rarely the star. Why do we remember him? Youngkin reveals the answers beautifully, simply and withe the understanding of an old friend.

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4

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