 Probably best remembered as a leading exponent of Expressionist acting in The
Cabinet of Dr. Calgari (Germany, 1919), or as the villainous Major
Strasser in Casablanca (US, 1942), Conrad Veidt was one of the
few émigré actors to achieve fame in England upon fleeing Nazi Germany in the
1930s. Gaunt-faced, with deep, piercing eyes, he brought an intensity to his
performances that could be almost mesmeric.
Born in a working-class district of Berlin in 1893, he began his acting
career at the age of 20 under Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theatre. After
serving in the German army during WWI he made his film debut in The Spy (Der Spion, Germany, 1917), but it was not until his somnambulant role in The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari that he became an international success. Work followed in Italy and
France, before a move to Hollywood to play Louis XI in The Beloved Rogue (US, 1927). After a memorable performance as a disfigured aristocrat in The Man Who Laughs (US, 1928) he returned to Germany for an
English-language version of The Last Company (Germany, 1930).
Marriage to a Jew meant that his homeland was no longer safe, and from 1933
he based himself in England, making a string of films for Gaumont-British. These
included impressive performances as a victim of religious persecution in Jew
Süss (d. Lothar Mendes, 1934) and an enigmatic, Christ-like boarding house
tenant in The Passing of the Third Floor Back (d. Berthold Vietel, 1935). He
further demonstrated his versatility as a swashbuckling nobleman in Under the
Red Robe (d. Victor Sjostrom, 1937) and a German spy in love with his French
opposite, Vivien Leigh, in Dark Journey (d. Victor Saville, 1937).
After taking British citizenship in 1938, he worked with Powell and
Pressburger in melodramas The Spy in Black (d. Michael Powell, 1939) and
Contraband (d. Michael Powell, 1940). An active supporter of the war effort, he
was persuaded to relocate to America after playing the evil vizier in Korda's
The Thief of Baghdad (d. Ludwig Berger/Michael Powell/Tim Whelan, 1940).
However, he continued to donate most of his US salary to the British government;
somewhat ironically, given that the majority of the roles he was now offered
were wicked Nazis. Less than a year after becoming the highest-paid actor in
Casablanca, he fell victim to a fatal heart attack on a Los Angeles golf
course.
Richard Hewett
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FILM & TV CREDITS
