just uniformly fine talents, a terrific script full of subtle intrigue and surprises, and Negulesco's exciting direction. It's an edge-of-the-seater all the way." Adaptation The Mask of Dimitrios was adapted as a radio play aired on the April 16, 1945 broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater, with Greenstreet and Lorre reprising their roles. Historical inspirations The character Dimitrios Makropoulos in Ambler's book is based somewhat on the early career of munitions kingpin Sir Basil Zaharoff. The assassination attempt involving Dimitrios was based on an attempted assassination of Aleksandar Stamboliyski, the prime minister of Bulgaria. The failed assassination attempt took place on February 2, 1923; Stamboliyski survived it but was murdered on June 14 of that same year. Differences from novel The film remains relatively faithful to the original novel. Major differences are in the relationship between the novelist and Mr. Peters, which is rather closer than in the novel. When Mr. Leyden attacks Dimitrios at the end, it appears to be partially in outrage at what Dimitrios has done to a person who has almost become a friend. Also, in the novel, Peters and Dimitrios kill each other in their confrontation. In the film, Peters emerges wounded but alive, and is hustled away to an uncertain fate. References External links 1944 films 1940s mystery thriller films 1940s psychological thriller films 1940s spy thriller films American mystery thriller films American spy thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Films about writers Films based on British novels Films directed by Jean Negulesco Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Films set in Bulgaria Films set in Greece Films set in Istanbul Films set in Switzerland Films set in Paris Warner Bros. films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films