Often typecast as a menacing figure, Peter Lorre achieved Hollywood fame first as a featured player and later as a character actor who trademarked his screen performances with a delicately strung balance between good and evil. His portrayal of the grisly child murderer in Fritz Lang's masterpiece M (1931) catapulted him to international fame. Lang said of Lorre: ?He gave one of the best performances in film history and certainly the best in his life.? Today, the Hungarian-born actor is also recognized for his riveting performances in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942). The first full biography of this major actor, The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre draws upon more than three hundred interviews, including conversations with directors Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Huston, Frank Capra, and Rouben Mamoulian, who speak candidly about Lorre, both the man and the actor. Author Stephen D. Youngkin examines for the first time Lorre's pivotal relationship with German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, his experience as an ?migr? from Hitler's Germany, his battle with drug addiction, and his struggle with the choice between celebrity and intellectual respectability. Separating the enigmatic person from the persona long associated with one of classic Hollywood's most recognizable faces, The Lost One is the definitive work of a life triumphant and yet tragically tangled with so many failed possibilities.

"Born Laszlo Loewenstein, Hungarian Lorre (1904 — 1964) transformed himself from minor stage presence to Hollywood character actor through pivotal professional relationships and one breakthrough role. Portraying a child murderer in 1931's M, Lorre conveyed his unique blend of pathos and complexity so acutely that his career blossomed — with hits like 1935's Crime and Punishment; 1941's The Maltese Falcon; and 1942's Casablanca — even as his personal life unraveled with drug addiction, romantic turmoil and personal insecurity. Youngkin, coauthor of two previous books on Lorre, examines his subject with striking rigor. Through interviews with hundreds of Lorre's friends and associates — including Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder — and frequent dips into film and media archives, Youngkin peels back the layers of Lorre's life to reveal a fascinating, nuanced individual who struggled with intellectual issues in the midst of glamour and fame. As a parallel to Lorre's struggles with typecasting, Youngkin details the rise and fall of the studio star system, giving a strong backdrop to the actor's professional as well as personal dramas. Agent, Adam Chromy. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The first full biography of this major actor draws upon more than 300 interviews, including conversations with directors Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Huston, Frank Capra, and Rouben Mamoulian, who speak candidly about Lorre, both the man and the actor.