The Mask of Diijon
| The Mask of Diijon | |
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| File:Mask of diijon poster small.jpg
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Lew Landers |
| Produced by | Max Alexander Alfred Stern |
| Screenplay by | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Story by | Arthur St. Claire |
| Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Music by | Karl Hajos |
| Cinematography | Jack Greenhalgh |
| Edited by | Roy V. Livingston |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Producers Releasing Corporation |
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Release dates
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Running time
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73 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Mask of Diijon is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir suspense film directed by Lew Landers and featuring Erich von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates and William Wright .[1]
Contents
Plot
Diijon, a tired magician, gives up his act to study the power of the mind. His wife Victoria, once supportive, now is struggling to pay bills. She urges her stubborn and older husband to return to the magic field where Diijon was considered one of the greats. He refuses but does reluctantly agree to do a hypnotism nightclub act at Victoria's urging. The act goes bad and he's laughed off the stage. He's convinced this is the handiwork of Victoria's ex-lover Tony Holliday. Later, Diijon finds that he does indeed have the power to control men's minds and begins to take revenge on the people he felt made him look like a fool. He hypnotizes his young wife to kill the man. Unfortunately for Diijon, things go horribly wrong.
The opening of the film features a memorable scene depicting a woman being beheaded, with a guillotine—then revealed to be a man.
Cast
- Erich von Stroheim as Diijon
- Jeanne Bates as Victoria
- William Wright as Tony Holiday
- Denise Vernac as Denise
- Edward Van Sloan as Sheffield
- Hope Landin as Mrs. McGaffey
- Mauritz Hugo as Danton
Reception
TV Guide rated it 1/4 stars and wrote, "Except for von Stroheim, the acting was barely adequate."[2] Writing in Horror Noir, author Paul Meehan said the film "manages to transcend its humble origins primarily through the star power of von Stroheim".[3]
References
- ↑ The Mask of Diijon at the American Film Institute Catalog.
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External links
- Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls
- Pages with broken file links
- 1946 films
- English-language films
- 1940s psychological thriller films
- American films
- American thriller films
- Black-and-white films
- Film noir
- Suspense films
- Producers Releasing Corporation films
- Films directed by Lew Landers
- Films about magic and magicians
- Films featuring hypnosis
