Conrad Veidt Movies
Like so many German actors who played Nazis during World War II, Conrad Veidt was a fervent anti-Nazi and had fled Europe just one step ahead of the storm troopers. Veidt began his career at age 20 under the guidance of the great Max Reinhardt. His first taste of worldwide fame came by way of his highly stylized portrayal of the tormented Cesare in Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919). His performance in The Student of Prague (1926) led to his being briefly snatched by Hollywood, where he launched his American film career by donning several layers of age makeup and portraying the doddering Louis XI in The Beloved Rogue (1927). Veidt returned to Germany in 1929, but left for England with his Jewish wife when Hitler came to power. On a brief visit to his homeland, Veidt was detained by the German authorities for highly suspect reasons, and had to be rescued by his British studio. In 1940, he was back in America to complete his scenes in the U.S./British co-production The Thief of Baghdad. He remained in Hollywood for the rest of his career, essaying such villainous characters as the cunning Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942). Conrad Veidt died of a sudden heart attack after playing an Austrian undercover agent in Above Suspicion (1943). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A remake of the Swedish film of the same name (see entry 55092), MGM's A Woman's Face was reshaped into one of Joan Crawford's best vehicles. Told in flashback from the vantage point of a murder trial, the story concerns a female criminal whose face is disfigured by a hideous scar. The plastic-surgery removal of this disfigurement has profound repercussions, both positive and tragically negative. The film's multitude of subplots converge when Conrad Veidt, Joan's lover and onetime partner in crime, is murdered. Melvyn Douglas costars as the beneficent cosmetic surgeon who becomes Joan's lover, while Osa Massen appears as Douglas' vituperative wife. Making his American screen debut in the role of Veidt's father is Albert Basserman, who spoke no English and had to learn his lines phonetically. Both A Woman's Face and its Swedish predecessor were based on Il Etait Une Fois, a play by Francis de Croiset. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
- 1943
If you believe all-American Fred MacMurray as an Oxford don, you'll probably swallow the rest of Above Suspicion. Newly married to Joan Crawford, MacMurray goes on a honeymoon in prewar Germany. Actually it's more business than pleasure: they are secret agents for the British, attempting to smuggle back information about a new superweapon being developed by the Nazis. Evil, mean, cruel and also wicked German officer Basil Rathbone imprisons and tortures Crawford (though she still looks like a million bucks), but McMurray comes to the rescue, paving the way for a suspenseful race-to-the-border climax. The tenor of Above Suspicion can be summed up in a scene in which, after being confronted by a monolingual stormtrooper, Fred MacMurray says in English "Nuts to you, dope!," whereupon the Nazi scratches his head and wonders aloud, "Vass iss das 'dope'?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1941
Humphrey Bogart plays Gloves Donahue, a rough-hewn but essentially decent New York gambler. The Runyonesque plot gets moving when Gloves tries to find out what's holding up his favorite restaurant's daily shipment of cheesecake. Paying a call on the bakery, Gloves stumbles into a Nazi spy ring, masterminded by Conrad Veidt. Mixed up in all this is nightclub singer Kaaren Verne, whose loyalties are in question in her early scenes but who turns out to be as true-blue as the patriotic Gloves. Combining a quick wit with quicker fists, Gloves and his "mob" thwart the Nazis before they're able to skip the country. The cast is a movie buff's dream, ranging from Jane Darwell as Bogart's mom to Peter Lorre as a cynical Nazi flunkey to William Demarest, Frank McHugh, Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason as Bogie's favorite cohorts. The film's best scene would have us believe that Bogart could confound a gang of erudite Nazis with a steady stream of Manhattan slang. One shudders to think how leaden All Through the Night would have been had George Raft accepted the role of Gloves Donahue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, (more)
- 1921
aka Danton With Emil Jannings as George Jacques Danton and Werner Kraus (who played the title character in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) as Maximillian Robespierre, this German-made spectacle about the French Revolution should have been more impressive than it was. But it turned out to be a mixed bag and, like most historical films, it bent the past to fit its own agenda. In this case, Danton, the man of the people, is at odds with cold-hearted Robespierre. But when Danton falls for an aristocrat, Lucille (Charlotte Ander), Robespierre is able to turn the tide against him. Danton goes to the guillotine, along with Lucille's husband, Camille Desmoulins (Joseph Rumich) and two others. But Danton hints in his final scene that it won't be long before Robespierre follows him to his death. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Krauss
- 1934
That old theatrical war-horse Bella Donna (previously filmed in America by Alla Nazimova) was resurrected by Britain's Twickenham Studios in 1934. Conrad Veidt stars as sinister Egyptian Mahmoud Baroundi, who even before the film gets under way has left a long trail of ruined women behind him. His latest victim is American girl Mona Chepstow (Mary Ellis), whom Baroundi treats like dirt and makes her like it. The plot centers around a murder by poison, as evidenced by the film's deliberately exotic title. Critics in 1934 praised newcomer Mary Ellis for underplaying her role, but many film fans preferred Nazimova's arm-waving histrionics in the earlier version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Mary Ellis, (more)
- 1930
This German drama was advertised as "2% Talkie," meaning that all but 2 1/2 minutes of its running time are silent. The story is set in Australia, where 413 "lottery brides" are shipped to keep the population from depleting. Bride Number 68 is Evelyn Bernheim (Elga Brink), who though she's fallen in love with Australian telegraph operator Dick Ashton (Conrad Veidt) is legally obligated to wed Steve Parker (Clifford McLaglen). Rather than seek out another soulmate, Dick vows to remain an unsullied bachelor for the rest of his life -- which, as it turns out, isn't very long. Likewise coming to a sorry end is an American physician (Matthias), who rescues Steve from an angry mob then falls hopelessly in love with Evelyn himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Elga Brink, (more)
- 1924
This historical costume drama recalls the story of Carlos (Conrad Veidt) the crown prince of Spain and his love for Elisabeth Valois. Eugen Kloepfer plays Philip, with Egede Nissen as Eboil. No name is available for the actress who played Elisabeth. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, (more)
The Danish freighter Helvig approaches English waters in early 1940 and, in keeping with the needs of British security, it is boarded by customs and naval officials in search of contraband cargo. Her skipper, Captain Anderson (Conrad Veidt), is compelled to ascede to British demands, but dreads the delay, pointing out that the medical supplies in his cargo are vital. Anderssen is a dedicated seaman, all business, even where Mrs. Sorenson (Valerie Hobson), a headstrong passenger, is concerned. Then, on their first night in port, Mrs. Sorenson and a Mr. Pidgeon (Esmond Knight) disappear from the ship with Anderson's landing papers, the captain is in hot pursuit. Forced to join the woman in what seems a mad chase across London by night, he plunges into an Alice-in-Wonderland world of the blacked out city, following a set of clues through the maze of darkened streets and uncover a Nazi spy ring operating out of a basement in Soho. Each also discovers that there's a lot to admire and even possibly to love in the other -- the challenge is for Hobson, who is something other than the divorcee and mother she pretends to be, to stay alive long enough for Captain Anderson to effect a rescue and prevent the German spies from turning the British counter-intelligence effort against the Allies. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1937
The unorthodox teaming of Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt is but one of the many pleasures of the 1937 spy yarn Dark Journey. Leigh plays a Stockholm dress-shop owner during World War I, who, being a neutral, is permitted to travel unmolested to and from France. Veidt plays a supposedly disgraced German officer who is actually head of his country's secret service. The two fall in love, despite the fact that Leigh has a secret as well: she is a double agent, sympathetic towards the Allied cause. During one of Leigh's voyages to France, her ship is captured by a German U-boat. Veidt swaggers on board, threatening to sink the ship if Leigh is not turned over to him. But the circumstances reverse themselves, and Veidt finds himself Leigh's prisoner--a circumstance that is not altogether unpleasant for him. When originally released in England, Dark Journey bore the title The Anxious Years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Vivien Leigh, (more)
- 1931
During the 1814 Congress in Vienna, the crowned heads of Europe gather together to decide the shape (and fate) of the continent (which would hold -- with some serious cracks -- for exactly 100 years) and devise a strategy for dealing with Napoleon. The ordinary Austrians chafe at the cost of hosting these dignitaries, while the dignitaries find some of the efforts at entertaining them well-intentioned but absurd; the Russian czar Alexander (Willy Fritsch), for instance, doesn't understand why anyone would think he came all the way to Vienna to watch a Russian ballet. Meanwhile, the Austrian prince chancellor Metternich (Conrad Veidt) hopes to keep the Czar away from the congressional table by diverting him with a bevy of beautiful women. But Alexander is one step ahead of Metternich; the Russian leader has engaged the services of an exact double, Oralski (also played by Fritsch), to fulfill his least important social obligations. Into this game of political deception comes glove-maker Christel Weinzinger (Lilian Harvey), whose efforts at greeting the dignitaries (and promoting her shop) leave her mistaken for an anarchist, until the Czar -- advised of her beauty -- intercedes on her behalf. She ends up being romanced by both the Russian ruler and his double, until Metternich's intrigues and Napoleon's distant machinations combine to bring the focus back to official events. Filmed in German, French, and English-language versions, Der Kongress Tanzt was a worldwide success, and one of Harvey's most popular films. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, (more)
- 1931
Released in English-speaking countries as The Man Who Murdered, this German melodrama was based on a play by Pierre Frondale (itself inspired by a novel by Claude Farere). Set in pre-WWI Constantinople, the story concerns French diplomatic attache Conrad Veidt, who seduces Trude von Molo, the wife of British aristocrat Heinrich George. Confronted by George, Veidt kills the man, then turns himself into the authorities. But because George was known to be a sadist and a wife-beater, a compassionate Turkish official allows Veidt to return to Paris -- and the arms of Molo -- without fear of arrest or repercussions. Director Kurt Bernhardt regarded Der Mann der den Mord Beging as one of his best films, not so much because of what happens in the film, but because of the omnipresent atmosphere of tension over what might happen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Heinrich George, (more)
Considered the magnum-opus of filmmaker/screenwriter Henrik Galeen, and featuring actor Conrad Veit in one of his finest performances Student of Prague is considered an important work in German Expressionist cinema. It is also the first to present a dark exploration of the inner realms of the self that would obsess German filmmakers for years to come. The decidedly Faustian tale centers on a student (Veit) who encounters a minion of the devil and in exchange for the love of a woman and wealth, sells him his reflection. The student's mirror image turns into a doppelganger. The student marries a baroness, but his happiness is ruined by his troublesome, malevolent double who destroys his marriage and his life. In hopes of ending the torment, the student tricks the doppelganger back into the mirror and then shoots him. Ironically, it is the student who dies. While the haunting story itself is intriguing, it is film's exquisite production design, careful expressionistic lighting that imbues the film with its moody, humanism. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, (more)
- 1931
The "great yearning" of the title refers to the desire of heroine Camilla Horn to become a famous movie star. Fortunately, director Theodor Loos happens to be combing the countryside, searching for "something new" to put before the cameras. He discovers Horn, and the rest can be filled in by the audience blindfolded. The charm of this picture lies not in its corny plotline, but in its handling by young director Stefan Szekely, who refuses to sugar-coat his depiction of movie-studio life but instead offers something very close to the truth. Die Grosse Sehnsucht features cameo appearances by such German film faves as Lil Dagover, Liane Haid, Anny Ondra, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Luis Trenker, Conrad Veidt, and many, many more. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Camilla Horn, Theodor Loos, (more)
Thought to have been lost for decades, German filmmaker Richard Oswald's 1919 picture Different From the Others was eventually discovered to have survived the Nazi era. The films stars Conrad Veidt of Casablanca and centers on the oppression brought upon Germany's homosexual men as a result of the penal code's controversial Paragraph 175. The silent film also stars Leo Connard and Ilse Von Tasso-Lind. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt
- 1940
Based on a novel by Ethel Vance, Escape stars Robert Taylor as a young American, the son of a widowed European woman (Alla Nazimova). The mother has been imprisoned in a German concentration camp, compelling her son to ignore America's neutrality and attempt a rescue. Sneaking into German-occupied Europe, Taylor is befriended by a countess (Norma Shearer) who is the mistress of a Nazi general (Conrad Veidt). Taylor isn't certain of the countess' loyalties, but she proves herself by aiding in the rescue of the imprisoned woman. Escape is distinguished by a surprisingly subtle performance from Norma Shearer, though she gives in to her tendency to "ham" in her final denunciation of her Nazi paramour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, (more)
- 1933
This deluxe German/British production was originally released as simply F.P. 1. The story and characterizations take a back seat to the massive sets and state-of-art (for 1933) special effects. The floating aerodrome which provides the film's centerpiece is a truly impressive creation, far more so than the penny-dreadful espionage plotline involving plans to sabotage the mid-Atlantic airport. Among the scripters were future directors Curt Siodmak, Walter Reisch and Robert Stevenson, all of whom flourished in the dual Berlin/London market that would be broken up with the emergence of Hitler. Retitled F.P. 1 Doesn't Answer, the film was released in the U.S. by Hollywood's Fox Studios, which bestowed top billing upon American actor Leslie Fenton--over and above the more illustrious Conrad Veidt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Albers, Paul Hartmann, (more)
