Having just watched the remake with John Huston as the evil one, how could I not watch the original? Until last night I had no idea either that it was a remake or that it was based on a Roald Dahl short story from 1948. Peter Lorre was a naturally sinister individual - in the nicest possible way. When this was made, four years before his death, he had put on a little weight. I can't quite make up my mind if he was more or less sinister than in his youth, but he was certainly less menacing here than Huston because of the distance of the character; you could imagine Huston's character running a Sunday school or even a kid's party, not so Lorre's. Nevertheless, he turns in a convincing performance. Likewise, King of Cool Steve McQueen doesn't look quite so cool under pressure here.
The ending is distinctly inferior to the remake, primarily because of the way the real owner of the car holds her left hand; this is kind of a giveaway even to a slow-witted individual like Yours Truly, and would have been even if I hadn't known what was coming.
The ending is distinctly inferior to the remake, primarily because of the way the real owner of the car holds her left hand; this is kind of a giveaway even to a slow-witted individual like Yours Truly, and would have been even if I hadn't known what was coming.