Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was a Hungarian-American actor known for his distinctive bulging eyes, soft voice, and portrayals of sinister or pathetic characters.
He rose to fame in the German film *M* (1931) and later became a Hollywood character actor in films like *The Maltese Falcon* and *Casablanca*.
His name evokes a particular type of creepy, wheedling menace: He did his Peter Lorre impression, all whispers and shifty eyes.
Obscured by darkness
- hardboiledTough, cynical fiction style
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
intrigue · underworld · cynicism · fatalism · gritty · urban · mystery · Casablanca
Theatrical performer
- performerOne who entertains audiences
- character actorSpecialist in memorable sidekicks
- émigréOne who left home
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
star · screen test · audition · rehearsal · filmography · supporting role · typecasting · Warner Bros
Thirteenth alphabet letter
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- menacingConveying threat or danger
grotesque · uncanny · expressionist · mad scientist · psychological · dread · unease · twisted
With protruding, widened eyes
- diminutiveVery small, or nickname form
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- patheticArousing scornful pity
sympathetic · vulnerable · childlike · expressive · melancholic · haunted · enigmatic · pitiable
Quietly soft-spoken quality
- nasalOf the nose
- distinctiveReadily identifiable, set apart
- sibilantFricative with hiss quality
- accentedGiven stress or diacritics
high-pitched · soft-spoken · murmuring · wheedling · sneering · lisping · insinuating · unctuous
- petty criminalOne who commits minor offenses
- henchmanLoyal criminal subordinate
- sidekickSubordinate adventure partner
- tortured soulOne in profound anguish
shadowy
Obscured by darkness
- hardboiledTough, cynical fiction style
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
suspense · intrigue · underworld · cynicism · fatalism · gritty · urban · mystery · Casablanca · The Maltese Falcon
thespian
Theatrical performer
- performerOne who entertains audiences
- character actorSpecialist in memorable sidekicks
- émigréOne who left home
Hollywood · star · screen test · audition · rehearsal · filmography · supporting role · typecasting · Warner Bros · studio system
M
Thirteenth alphabet letter
menacing · grotesque · uncanny · expressionist · mad scientist · psychological · dread · unease · twisted · morbid
bug-eyed
With protruding, widened eyes
- diminutiveVery small, or nickname form
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- furtiveSecretive and sly
pathetic · sympathetic · vulnerable · childlike · expressive · melancholic · haunted · enigmatic · pitiable · desperate
whispery
Quietly soft-spoken quality
- nasalOf the nose
- distinctiveReadily identifiable, set apart
- sibilantFricative with hiss quality
accented · high-pitched · soft-spoken · murmuring · wheedling · sneering · lisping · insinuating · unctuous · breathy
Raskolnikov
- petty criminalOne who commits minor offenses
- henchmanLoyal criminal subordinate
- sidekickSubordinate adventure partner
- German ActorsMarlene Dietrich
- Noir StarsHumphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake, Lauren Bacall
- Screen LegendsHumphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn
- Stage NamesLady Gaga, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Cher
- Slovak Heritage
Peter LorreJohn Wayne
Gary Cooper · James Stewart · Henry Fonda · Roy Rogers · Doris Day
Peter LorreJohn Wayne
Burt Lancaster · Kirk Douglas · Charlton Heston · Rock Hudson · Robert Mitchum
Peter LorreGary Cooper
Henry Fonda · Spencer Tracy · James Stewart · Marlon Brando · Montgomery Clift