After seeing this years ago on TCM, I was finally able to track this down on Youtube. I had remembered the beautiful love story it had portrayed between a disfigured immigrant and a blind girl. It has always stuck with me, and it was a pleasure to see it again. While the story is familiar, I have a soft spot for movies about "different" people, and the story this film tells is tragic and touching.
Peter Lorre's performance is top notch, with a sensitive and well written script to boot. The character development here is fantastic. Janos Szabo goes from an innocent foreigner who can barely understand English, to a hardened criminal in less than an hour. What's remarkable is, he retains some of the good natured qualities he had at the beginning of the film throughout the movie. He knows who his friends are, and never forgets who he is. I guess he reminds me most of Jurgis Rudkus from "The Jungle".
The film also features some elements of horror. There is one scene where you can see Janos' face after the accident, and it is quite unsettling. The mask he wears about halfway in is quite grotesque as well, and the sight of him dressed all in black with the pasty white face and bulging eyes is certainly something to behold.
Except for the somewhat clichéd premise, my only real complaint about the film is it's somewhat anti climactic ending. The gang all get their just deserts, but the way it happens seems a bit out of place. In spite of that though, the movie holds up well, and manages to tell a compelling story, and may even make you shed a tear or two.
Peter Lorre's performance is top notch, with a sensitive and well written script to boot. The character development here is fantastic. Janos Szabo goes from an innocent foreigner who can barely understand English, to a hardened criminal in less than an hour. What's remarkable is, he retains some of the good natured qualities he had at the beginning of the film throughout the movie. He knows who his friends are, and never forgets who he is. I guess he reminds me most of Jurgis Rudkus from "The Jungle".
The film also features some elements of horror. There is one scene where you can see Janos' face after the accident, and it is quite unsettling. The mask he wears about halfway in is quite grotesque as well, and the sight of him dressed all in black with the pasty white face and bulging eyes is certainly something to behold.
Except for the somewhat clichéd premise, my only real complaint about the film is it's somewhat anti climactic ending. The gang all get their just deserts, but the way it happens seems a bit out of place. In spite of that though, the movie holds up well, and manages to tell a compelling story, and may even make you shed a tear or two.
