Peter Lorre

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Peter Lorre sits in a chair while Charles Boyer, wearing a fedora and trench coat, points a gun at him in a tense scene from Confidential Agent (1945).

Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, and Robert Allen in a dramatic black-and-white scene from the 1935 film Crime and Punishment, with Lorre seated between the other two actors.

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in the 1938 film Mysterious Mr. Moto, wearing round glasses and a light-colored suit, looking over his shoulder in dramatic lighting.

Lobby card for The Comedy of Terrors shows Peter Lorre on the left and Vincent Price on the right, with Price holding a bottle labeled poison as they stare at each other.

Quick Facts

Original name:: László Loewenstein

Born:: June 26, 1904, Rózsahegy, Hung.

Died:: March 23, 1964, Hollywood, Calif., U.S. (aged 59)

Married To:: Celia Lovsky (1934–1945); Kaaren Verne (1945–1950); Annemarie Stoldt (married 1953)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Tales of Terror" (1962); "Wagon Train" (1960); "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1963); "F.P.1 antwortet nicht" (1932); "Mr. District Attorney" (1941); "Silk Stockings" (1957); "Suspense" (1952); "Secret Agent" (1936); "Hollywood Canteen" (1944); "The Verdict" (1946); "Nancy Steele Is Missing!" (1937); "Double Confession" (1950); "Was Frauen träumen" (1933); "77 Sunset Strip" (1963); "Rope of Sand" (1949); "The Conspirators" (1944); "Invisible Agent" (1942); "Crack-Up" (1936); "The Sad Sack" (1957); "Stranger on the Third Floor" (1940); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Background to Danger" (1943); "Studio 57" (1955–1958); "You'll Find Out" (1940); "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1957–1960); "Island of Doomed Men" (1940); "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956); "The Comedy of Terrors" (1963); "Five Fingers" (1959); "Route 66" (1962); "Stupéfiants" (1932); "The Cross of Lorraine" (1943); "Mad Love" (1935); "Die Koffer des Herrn O.F." (1931); "Les requins du pétrole" (1933); "The Milton Berle Show" (1958); "Casbah" (1948); "Playhouse 90" (1956–1960); "Lux Video Theatre" (1952); "Hotel Berlin" (1945); "The Best of Broadway" (1955); "Scent of Mystery" (1960); "Strange Cargo" (1940); "Unsichtbare Gegner" (1933); "Schuß im Morgengrauen" (1932); "Mysterious Mr. Moto" (1938); "Hell Ship Mutiny" (1957); "The Gertrude Berg Show" (1961); "They Met in Bombay" (1941); "Mr. Moto's Gamble" (1938); "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954); "Thank You, Mr. Moto" (1937); "All Through the Night" (1942); "Mr. Moto Takes a Chance" (1938); "Bomben auf Monte Carlo" (1931); "I'll Give a Million" (1938); "Der Verlorene" (1951); "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961); "The Red Skelton Show" (1955–1960); "Mr. Moto's Last Warning" (1939); "Climax!" (1954–1957); "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934); "The Constant Nymph" (1943); "The Maltese Falcon" (1941); "Rawhide" (1960); "Der weiße Dämon" (1932); "The DuPont Show of the Week" (1963); "My Favorite Brunette" (1947); "The Best of the Post" (1961); "The Patsy" (1964); "Mr. Moto in Danger Island" (1939); "The Story of Mankind" (1957); "The Beast with Five Fingers" (1946); "Du haut en bas" (1933); "Congo Crossing" (1956); "Three Strangers" (1946); "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942); "Quicksand" (1950); "Lancer Spy" (1937); "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944); "Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation" (1939); "Der weiße Teufel" (1930); "Beat the Devil" (1953); "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944); "The United States Steel Hour" (1953); "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1962); "The Face Behind the Mask" (1941); "Mann ist Mann" (1931); "Checkmate" (1961); "The Big Circus" (1959); "Confidential Agent" (1945); "Casablanca" (1942); "The 20th Century-Fox Hour" (1956); "Think Fast, Mr. Moto" (1937); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1954); "The Star and the Story" (1955); "Screen Directors Playhouse" (1956); "The Buster Keaton Story" (1957); "The Chase" (1946); "I Was an Adventuress" (1940); "The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater" (1955); "Fünf von der Jazzband" (1932); "M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder" (1931); "Muscle Beach Party" (1964); "The Raven" (1963); "Crime and Punishment" (1935); "Black Angel" (1946); "Passage to Marseille" (1944)

Peter Lorre

Hungarian-born American actor

Also known as: László Loewenstein

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 17, 2026 •History

Peter Lorre (born June 26, 1904, Rózsahegy, Hung.—died March 23, 1964, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) was a Hungarian-born American motion-picture actor who projected a sinister image as a lisping, round-faced, soft-voiced villain in thrillers.

Fritz Lang: MPeter Lorre in M (1931), a film directed by Fritz Lang.

A player of bit parts with a German theatrical troupe from 1921, Lorre achieved international fame as the psychotic child murderer in the German classic film M (1931), directed by Fritz Lang. His portrayal is considered one of the screen’s greatest criminal characterizations. Three years later he made his English-language film debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much and then his first Hollywood appearance in Mad Love (1935). It was followed by other roles as malevolent, sadistic characters in such films as Crime and Punishment (1935), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), and The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). He also played the Japanese detective in the Mr. Moto series (1937–39). His later films sometimes burlesque his traditional chilling presence. During the 1950s and ’60s, Lorre made frequent television appearances.

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Peter Lorre

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