Nice effects though.

good back-story, and good acting

Absolutely amazing

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Exceptional B movie from Columbia, directed by Robert Florey and starring Peter Lorre as a hopeful, innocent Hungarian immigrant whose face is burned in a fire on his first day in New York. His horrible disfigurement makes it hard for him to get work so he turns to a life of crime. Eventually he's leading his own gang and makes enough money to pay for a realistic mask to hide his burns. When he falls in love with a blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) and wants to go straight, his gang turns on him.There are no bells and whistles here, just fine acting, a decent script, and nice direction. Sensitive, brilliant performance from Peter Lorre that is far better than you would expect to find in a quickie that was filmed in less than a month. The often underrated Evelyn Keyes is terrific in this. Solid support from Don Beddoe and George E. Stone. Robert Florey's noirish direction is a major plus. He would re-team with Lorre later for the classic The Beast with Five Fingers. It's a very good film that's a sort of blend of gangster and horror pictures. If nothing else, see it for one of Peter Lorre's best starring roles.

Popular B-Movie and a Cult item because it was Directed by the Always Interesting and Creative Robert Florey and Starred icon Peter Lorre. Both the Actor and Director are at Their Best here Despite Lorre's Tantrums about the Script. He unwittingly Created a Great Character in a Low-Budget Film that is Beloved and among His Best.The Skimpy Budget and Shooting Schedule would Not Allow the Plot to be Developed and some of the Story may seem Contrived and Forced but Overall it is Gripping Movie making with a Good Supporting Cast including Evelyn Keyes as a Blind Innocent and George E. Stone as Lorre's sympathetic Friend.It's Touching when it Needs to be and Horrific at times. The Film is One of those Lesser Efforts that Emerges Beyond its Limitations and manages to be Amazing in its Striking Simplicity. The Ending is Tragic and goes Against the usual Early WWII Optimism. This should at least be Considered a Forerunner to Film-Noir because of its Powerful Imagery and Downbeat, Gut-Wrenching Story.

Face Behind the Mask, The (1941) *** (out of 4) Peter Lorre's excellent performance highlights this entertaining, if predictable, melodrama from Columbia and director Florey. In the film Lorre plays Janos Szabo, a immigrant who comes to America to earn enough money to bring the woman he loves over so that they can be married. Soon after his arrival his face is horrible disfigured in a hotel fire and he gets to see the ugly side of the country because no one will give him a job or even look at him. He eventually meets a friend (George E. Stone) who talks him into a life of crime so that he can raise enough money to get a new face but soon he meets a blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) who might make him think differently. There's a lot of plot going on in this film but there's no denying that Lorre gives an incredible performance and it makes this thing worth viewing no matter how predictable the screenplay is. There's really nothing here that will come out of left field as we get Lorre's character built up as such a great guy and then we get the accident and then we get the crime and of course he'd just happen to meet a blind girl, which itself turns into a couple more predictable moments. One doesn't mind this as the film does have some very good moments including the actual fire sequence as well as the aftermath when Lorre finally sees his new face. As for Lorre, there's no question this here is one of his strongest performances as we believe him as the good guy getting off the ship and we can also believe him and the anger of what has happened to him. I think the film would have benefited from his bad side behind a lot darker than the film allows but I'm sure this was watered down so that the romance side of things could flourish. Keyes is also very good in his role as the blind girl and Stone, best known for his Boston Blackie films, is very good as well. Don Beddoe adds nice support as the cop who helps Lorre and James Seay is nice as the rival. Florey's direction is very good throughout and especially during some of the darker moments right after the accident. The director does a pretty good job at handling the various aspects of this film and pulls everything together well enough to keep the film going. This is a good film but not a classic one. I think with a little tinkering of the script we could have had something even better but as is, it's great to see Lorre in a role he can do so much with.

I can only figure that only Peter Lorre could star in a film, and for over half of it, have his back to the camera. As others have said, it's a nice noir-y film, but like a lot of those, it's hard to see it as more than just a sequence of events instead of a well-told story/film. Nonetheless, the acting and filmmaking all around is very well done.