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The Mask of Diijon

  • 19461946
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
243
YOUR RATING
The Mask of Diijon (1946)
DramaFilm-NoirMystery
A stage illusionist's comeback attempt results in his humiliation. He plots to revenge himself by hypnotizing people into committing murders for him.A stage illusionist's comeback attempt results in his humiliation. He plots to revenge himself by hypnotizing people into committing murders for him.A stage illusionist's comeback attempt results in his humiliation. He plots to revenge himself by hypnotizing people into committing murders for him.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
243
YOUR RATING
    • Lew Landers
    • Arthur St. Claire(story and screenplay)
    • Griffin Jay(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Erich von Stroheim
    • Jeanne Bates
    • William Wright
    • Lew Landers
    • Arthur St. Claire(story and screenplay)
    • Griffin Jay(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Erich von Stroheim
    • Jeanne Bates
    • William Wright
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

    Erich von Stroheim and Jeanne Bates in The Mask of Diijon (1946)
    The Mask of Diijon (1946)
    The Mask of Diijon (1946)
    Erich von Stroheim and Jeanne Bates in The Mask of Diijon (1946)
    Erich von Stroheim and Edward Van Sloan in The Mask of Diijon (1946)
    Erich von Stroheim and Jeanne Bates in The Mask of Diijon (1946)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Erich von Stroheim
    Erich von Stroheim
    • Diijon
    • (as Erich Von Stroheim)
    Jeanne Bates
    Jeanne Bates
    • Victoria
    William Wright
    William Wright
    • Tony Holiday
    Denise Vernac
    • Denise
    Edward Van Sloan
    Edward Van Sloan
    • Sheffield
    Hope Landin
    Hope Landin
    • Mrs. McGaffey
    Mauritz Hugo
    Mauritz Hugo
    • Danton
    Shimen Ruskin
    Shimen Ruskin
    • Guzzo
    Antonio Filauri
    • Alex
    • (as Antonio Filauiri)
    George Chandler
    George Chandler
    • Diner Counterman
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Darmour
    • Mark Lindsay
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Malcolm
    Robert Malcolm
    • Fleming
    • (uncredited)
    Anthony Warde
    Anthony Warde
    • Hold-up Man
    • (uncredited)
      • Lew Landers
      • Arthur St. Claire(story and screenplay)
      • Griffin Jay(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Because of a faulty identification by a non-professional researcher, some modern sources list Mickey Daniels as the uncredited newsboy. Daniels does not appear in this film.
    • Goofs
      Diijon is overcome by tear gas fired into the magic shop, but the cat inside with him is unaffected.
    • Quotes

      [Diijon has hypnotized Victoria and told her to shoot Tony, her piano player]

      Victoria: You'd better play "Hearts and Roses" because I'm going to kill you.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Trumbo (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      White Roses
      Written by Carroll K. Cooper and Lee Zahler

      Sung by Jeanne Bates

    User reviews10

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    THE MASK OF DIIJON (Lew Landers, 1946) **1/2
    Erich von Stroheim's acting career often saw him playing some kind of variety-act performer: in THE GREAT GABBO (1929), which I own but have yet to watch, he was a ventriloquist; in THE GREAT FLAMARION (1945), an expert marksman; and here, as in the French-made L'ALIBI (1937; which I have now acquired), he dabbles in mind-reading (though, in this case, he starts out as a magician who 'trips up' in front of an unforgiving audience and is humiliated – to the consternation of his heavy-set promoter, who has no qualms about receiving guests at home while slumped on a bed in his tank top undershirt!). Incidentally, most sources give the film's title as THE MASK OF DIJON, so that I was surprised to notice the extra "i" in the credits! While the script makes no particular exertion on the star's immense talent, his commanding presence and accented delivery of lines is more than enough for him to create a memorable character nonetheless (making good the publicists' dubbing of the former auteur as "The Man You Love To Hate"!); interestingly, just as he had been flanked by Dwight Frye in THE CRIME OF DR. CRESPI (1935), this time around Edward van Sloan is on hand to evoke that distinct Universal Horror flavor (the director having previously helmed THE RAVEN [1935] for that studio, despite the film under review itself bearing the low-rent PRC logo)! The one other strong point here, in fact, is the atmosphere (aided by alternately odd and menacing camera angles, expressive night-time lighting and even fast cuts during an especially tense and paranoid moment for Stroheim's character). While the remaining supporting cast is weak – fatally, the young leads whose innocuous romance sends the unbalanced yet egomaniacal protagonist off the deep end – it does include Denise Vernac, the star's current real-life partner, as another down-on-her-luck entertainer. Throughout, Stroheim hypnotizes a number of people – among them driving Vernac's associate/husband to suicide and a stick-up man at a diner who immediately returns the dough to the befuddled proprietor – but his efforts to dispose of his amorous rival (again, and much like in the afore-mentioned CRESPI!) ends in disaster, and death for himself…here meted out in unforgettable, and most ironic (given the film's opening sequence), fashion: let me just say it involves a guillotine and a playful kitty and leave it at that!
    helpful•6
    0
    • Bunuel1976
    • Oct 14, 2013

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 7, 1946 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 13 minutes
      • Black and White

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