“The Lost One,” September 30

Wednesday, September 30, 6 p.m.

The Last Picture House, 325 East Second Street, Davenport IA

With the fifth and final offering in its series hailed by Film Threat as a "scalding film noir classic," the German American Heritage Center concludes its “The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1948-1963" film screenings with writer, director, and star Peter Lorre's The Lost One, which enjoys a September 30 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House.

In the post World War II of 1951's The Lost One, the busy doctor Neumeister (Lorre) meets a former colleague again in a refugee camp. The man goes by the name of Nowak (Karl John), but is actually a wanted Nazi named Hösch. Neumeister has also abandoned his original name, Rothe. The down-and-out Nowak hopes for help from the camp doctor, claiming he once did him a favor. In response, Rothe begins to recount their shared history during the Nazi era. The story then flashes back to Hamburg in December 1943, during the war. where Dr. Rothe is a serum researcher whose work is top secret and vital to the war effort for the Nazis. His fiancée Inge (Renate Mannhardt) spies on his research and starts an affair with Rothe’s colleague Hösch, who was planted in the laboratory by the Abwehr (German military intelligence). When Rothe discovers her betrayal, he kills her in a fit of rage. Yet because his work is valuable to them, the Nazis do not want to prosecute Rothe, even though he feels deeply guilty. Hösch consequently covers for him, preventing Dr. Rothe’s conviction. But Rothe finds himself unable to resist killing again, and vows to end the cycle of violence on way or another.

Based on a true story. The Lost One (Der Verlorene in Germany) stands as Lorre's only film as director or writer, and the title translated name has been used as the title of his biography. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Franz Schroedter and Karl Weber. Some scenes were shot at Studio Bendestorf and on provisional stages in the former flak tower on Heiligengeistfeld Hamburg, while location shooting took place around the city. Initially, the film was unsuccessful with most of the German audiences in the 1950s, most of whom had hoped to forget the Nazi era. Lorre's achievement has since achieved greater recognition, and the New York Times wrote that "Lorre's carefully controlled, intense performance" was "moving in a way he could not have foreseen, in that it demonstrates how his physical being - his distinctive looks and manners - would inevitably limit the sorts of roles available to him in spite of his talent."

The Lost One will be shown at Davenport's The Last Picture House on September 30 at 6 p.m., the screening followed by a post-film discussion with Dr. Lisa Seidlitz, and guests are asked to check in at the German American Heritage Center table in the lobby. Admission is $12-15, guests will choose their seats upon arrival, and proceeds from ticket sales will go to Heritage Center programming For more information, call (563)322-8844 and visit GAHC.org.