The Mask of Diijon is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir suspense film released from PRC Studios, directed by Lew Landers and featuring Erich von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates and William Wright. 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 magic trick. 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." Writing in Horror Noir, author Paul Meehan said the film "manages to transcend its humble origins primarily through the star power of von Stroheim". References External links 1946 films 1940s psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Producers Releasing Corporation films Films directed by Lew Landers Films about magic and magicians Films about hypnosis Films scored by Karl Hajos 1940s English-language films 1940s American films