This Hollywood duo made 9 big movies together (including Casablanca)

Casablanca was one of nine movies with the duo of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, the legendary 1942 film never would have become the cinematic icon that it is today. Casablanca Star-studded cast. Featuring a handful of Hollywood’s most talented actors at the time, Casablanca Delivered Academy Award-winning performances from Humphrey Bogart and Claude Reins, as well as some of the most memorable roles in the careers of Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid.

For some, like Bergman and Bogart, Casablanca was their first and last collaboration. But for two of her supporting cast members, Casablanca was only the second in a string of movies to use both of their talents. The film, when viewed alone, does not hint at the recurring partnership between Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in Hollywood, as the actors never shared a scene. But that’s not the case for some of their other movies, which showcased their on-screen chemistry. Together, the two helped create some of the greatest entries in the film noir genre.

Cindy Greenstreet and Peter Lorre appeared in nine movies together

All of their joint appearances took place between 1941 and 1946

Over the course of their careers, Greenstreet and Lorre have crossed paths a total of nine times. This was partly a result of Both are character actors contracted to Warner Bros. Their first film together was The Maltese FalconWhere they both held supporting roles as key figures in the central mystery of the movie. Greenstreet played the menacing villain known as “The fat man,” while Lorre plays his co-worker and one of the film’s secondary antagonists, Joel Cairo. They reunited with Bogart just a year later in CasablancaBut their characters never met, as Lorre’s character died before Greensheet’s Fearri appeared.

In addition to appearing separately in other Humphrey Bogart movies, the couple joined the actor Passage to MarseillesA 1944 film that also featured another comeback Casablanca Cast member, Claude Reins. Based on their previous roles, Warner Bros. cast them background to dangerA spy movie that allowed them to work with another Warner Bros.’ Leading actors, George Raft.

The two maintain busy schedules with their film appearances often overlapping, resulting in Greenstreet and Lorre having nine shared credits in 1946. The duo never worked together again, as Greenstreet retired from acting in 1949, just a few years before his death in 1954. As for Lorre, he died a decade later in 1964, having appeared in many Year. One hundred films at this stage in his long Hollywood career.

Both Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are film noir legends

They contributed a lot to the film noir genre

With both character actors employed by Warner Bros., it’s not exactly surprising that Greenstreet and Lorre have occupied the same screen more than once, but the total number of movies they’ve made together certainly feels like a calculated decision by the studio. Which can probably be attributed to where their talents lie; in their own way, Both felt at home in the film noir genre.

Peter Lorre was adept at playing slimy, despicable characters, an archetype tailor fit for film noir. Film noir movies are defined by their willingness to wade into morally gray territory, often eschewing squeaky-clean protagonists and clear-cut”Good versus evilTherefore, an actor like Lorre, who believed in playing characters that represented the worst drives in humanity, was a natural fit for supporting roles in major film noir movies, such as The Maltese Falcon And Passage to Marseilles. Something similar can be said about Sidney Greenstreet, who could effortlessly demonstrate an air of mystery, which usually gave off sinister vibes.

Despite small roles, Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre were crucial to the success of Casablanca

Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet both had memorable roles in Casablanca

Neither Peter Lorre nor Sidney Greenstreet were major characters in CasablancaHowever Both factor into what made the film work so well. While Lorre’s Ugarte wasn’t a villain, there was an unscrupulous, shady side to him that helped set up one of Humphrey Bogart’s best quotes in Casablanca. When Ugarte asked if he hated him, Rick bluntly said, “If I thought of you, maybe I would.”

similar to lore, Sidney Greenstreet also left a lasting impression CasablancaAt least in a different way. The aspects of his onscreen persona that make him perfect for film noir translate just as well to CasablancaBut with an interesting twist. Playing a crime lord with mysterious intentions, Greenstreet is a character not unlike the many other villains he’s brought to life, making his decision to seemingly help Victor leave Casablanca by pointing him in Rick’s direction a surprising act of selflessness. . This move brought depth to his character, making him a great, nuanced addition. Casablanca Figure.

Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre’s last three movies made them stars

They shine the spotlight on two of Casablanca’s best supporting actors

In contrast to their two most famous films, Casablanca And The Maltese Falcon, Their last three movies cast Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre as the leads. Presumably as a result of the pair’s growing popularity over the past few years and their penchant for film noir, The two gave chances to lead The Mask of Dimitrios, The VerdictAnd Three strangers Squarely on their shoulders in 1946.

Even with them as the stars, none of the three films strive to reinvent Lorre and Greenstreet as heroic leads. Rather, they lean into the problematic nature of the characters they played in the past, helping the films to create dark stories steeped in moral ambiguity. three strangers, for example, See how a woman and two men with complicated passports (played by Greenstreet and Lorre) get shares of a sweepstakes ticket that wind up becoming extremely valuable. Greed and other factors inevitably put them at odds, setting up a violent end.

finally, Three strangers, The verdict And Mask of Dimitrios They were not massive hits and never revered as cinematic masterpieces in the same way as Casablanca. That said, all three are gems of the film noir genre, complete with intriguing mysteries and complex characters. But their greatest legacy, of course, is the well-deserved spotlight given to Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, two of the most underrated actors in Casablanca.