''Such Men Are Dangerous'' (a.k.a. ''The Mask of Love'') is a 1930 American pre-Code

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Kenneth Hawks Kenneth Neil Hawks (August 12, 1898 – January 2, 1930) was an American film director and producer. Life and career Hawks served in the United States Army Air Service during World War I. He then graduated from Yale University in 1919. He soo ...

and written by Ernest Vajda. The film is based on a novella by

Elinor Glyn Elinor Glyn ( Sutherland; 17 October 1864 – 23 September 1943) was a British novelist and scriptwriter who specialised in romantic fiction, which was considered scandalous for its time, although her works are relatively tame by modern stand ...

who based her story on the 1928 real-life disappearance of Belgian Banker

Alfred Loewenstein Alfred Léonard Loewenstein (11 March 1877 – 4 July 1928) was a Belgian financier. At his peak in the 1920s, Loewenstein was worth around £12 million in the currency of the time (equivalent to £ million in ), making him the third-riche ...

who vanished on a flight over the English Channel. ''Such Men Are Dangerous'' stars Warner Baxter, Catherine Dale Owen, Hedda Hopper,

Claud Allister Claud Allister (born William Claud Michael Palmer, 3 October 1888 – 26 July 1970) was an English actor with an extensive film career in both Britain and Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 70 films between 1929 and 1955. Life and ...

, Albert Conti and Bela Lugosi. Shortly after a midair collision killed 10 crew members in the "worst air accident in film history", ''Such Men Are Dangerous'' was released on March 9, 1930, by Fox Film Corporation.

Plot

Elinor ( Catherine Dale Owen), encouraged by her ambitious sister, reluctantly agrees to marry wealthy businessman Ludwig Kranz ( Warner Baxter). However she is repulsed by his un-attractive physical appearance and his aloof, materialistic personality. Unable to go through with consummating the marriage, Elinor flees on their wedding night. Kranz angrily plots revenge, hiring an aircraft and heading out over the English Channel where he abandons the aircraft by parachute in order to fake his own death. Kranz goes to Berlin and bribes a plastic surgeon, Dr. Goodman ( Bela Lugosi), to re-model his facial features. After months of work, Kranz is transformed into a different, and much more handsome, looking man. With a fake identity, Kranz returns to England and seeks out Elinor with the intention of seducing and then humiliating her. With his new face, Kranz adopts a warmer, more charming manner and inwardly his previously dour character begins to soften. Elinor falls in love with him and to his surprise, he discovers his feelings for her are heading the same way. Kranz realizes that Elinor never married him for his wealth and that it was the cold, heartless manner of his prior self that drove her away the first time. Kranz decides he is prepared to forget the past and embarks on his new life and love with Elinor.

Cast

* Warner Baxter as Ludwig Kranz / Pierre Villard * Catherine Dale Owen as Elinor Kranz * Hedda Hopper as Muriel Wyndham *

as Fred Wyndham * Albert Conti as Paul Strohm * Bela Lugosi as Dr. Goodman

Production

On January 2, 1930, during aerial filming, a short distance off the Californian coast near Santa Monica two Detroiter aircraft employed as camera platforms collided whilst filming the parachute jump scene. According to witnesses on a nearby beach, the wingtips of the aircraft touched. The two aircraft swung together, colliding and bursting into flame. Both aircraft crashed into the ocean, killing all 10 men on board including director

(the brother of

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

), cinematographer

Conrad Wells Conrad Wells (1892 New York, New York – January 2, 1930 Santa Monica, California) was an American cinematographer and film editor. Biography Wells began his film career as a camera assistant, becoming a full cameraman in 1919. He special ...

, assistant director Max Gold, cameramen Otho Jordan and Ben Frankel, two property men and the two pilots, one of whom was an Army Reserve flier. Only five of the bodies were recovered. Because the accident occurred on one of the last days of filming, the movie was completed and released on schedule. A coroner's inquiry into the incident did not attach blame to any specific incident or person.Wynne 1987, pp. 94–95.Not a reliable reference source.-->

Reception

''Such Men Are Dangerous'' received mixed reviews.

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', praised the screenplay of ''The Mask of Love'', the initial title as reviewed, saying that Ernest Vajda has done "exceedingly well with a minimum number of words". He also praised the cast, in particular Bela Lugosi for his "sincere" performance as Dr. Goodman.Hall, Mordaunt
"Movie Review."
''The New York Times'', March 8, 1930. Retrieved: July 29, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Lennig, Arthur. ''The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi''. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2013. . * Rhodes, Gary Don. ''Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers''. Jefferson, North Carolina: MacFarland & Company, 1997. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 91815, Such Men Are Dangerous 1930 films 1930 drama films American aviation films American black-and-white films American drama films American films about revenge Fox Film films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films