Apart from Peter Lorre's expectedly unhinged performance, this drama is run-of-the-mill, with an odd, poorly developed plot. To its benefit, it's short and unusually fast-paced, though the pacing comes mostly from abrupt cuts from one scene to the next.
But Lorre lets out a memorable blood-curdling shriek near the beginning and follows up throughout with the cherished mannerisms we know him for from much better films. TCM indicates he was inebriated pretty much throughout the filming, something I'd never have guessed even knowing this was so. Maybe the mask helped? It also helped to view this as a fantasy, to keep in mind that there was no intended message or connection with reality.
But Lorre lets out a memorable blood-curdling shriek near the beginning and follows up throughout with the cherished mannerisms we know him for from much better films. TCM indicates he was inebriated pretty much throughout the filming, something I'd never have guessed even knowing this was so. Maybe the mask helped? It also helped to view this as a fantasy, to keep in mind that there was no intended message or connection with reality.