Sydney Greenstreet makes polished manners feel faintly dangerous, chiefly by refusing to hurry. We rate the precision of his delivery and his work with other actors, despite the repeated casting as schemers.
Fi1m perspective
Greenstreet takes his time over Kasper Gutman's talk in The Maltese Falcon (1941), and makes us want to hear the next sentence. Peter Lorre's Joel Cairo brings a less comfortable sort of comedy, and their differing manners make their shared determination to get their own way particularly entertaining. We laughed at the contrast, but remained wary of both men. John Huston gives them room to be peculiar without allowing either to become harmless. Greenstreet is a reason to keep listening even when the plotting gets cramped and the dialogue stiffens.
That was his film debut, after decades on stage, and the screen career that followed lasted only eight years. His suave villains use polished speech to conceal calculation and menace. Across the Pacific (1942) reunited him with Huston and Humphrey Bogart, while The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) put him alongside Lorre again. These partnerships suit an actor whose leisurely authority becomes more interesting when someone else has to deal with it. The repeated casting as heavies was a restriction, though: films kept asking for a quality he had already supplied.
In Casablanca (1943), his Signor Ferrari belongs to another company that includes Bogart and Lorre. The wit gives us something to enjoy alongside the hurt of the central romance, and Greenstreet fits comfortably among actors who know how to make a line count. It is a film we recommend without allowances for its age, though Gutman remains the clearer introduction to Greenstreet's particular skills.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945), with Greenstreet as Alexander Yardley, offers the contrast of a sympathetic comic role. It is worth remembering that alternative when the villains begin to seem inevitable. His familiar manner can make the casting predictable, but the pleasure remains in hearing how carefully he handles it. Start with The Maltese Falcon, and do not be in a hurry for the talking to stop.
Biography
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (27 December 1879 – 18 January 1954) was an English character actor. He began his stage career in 1902 with a role in a production of Sherlock Holmes and appeared in numerous plays in Britain and the United States, including work with the Theatre Guild. He became an American citizen in 1925.
Greenstreet made his film debut at the age of 61 as Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon (1941). He appeared in 24 films over the next eight years, often in Warner Bros. productions alongside Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre. His roles included Signor Ferrari in Casablanca (1942), Dr Lorenz in Across the Pacific (1942), Major Duval in Passage to Marseille (1944) and Sheriff Titus Semple in Flamingo Road (1949). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Maltese Falcon.
