Claude Rains
Birthday: 1889-11-10
Place of Birth: Clapham, London, England, UK
Synopsis
Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 47 years; he later held American citizenship. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man (1933), a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and, perhaps his most famous performance, Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942).
Rains was born William Claude Rains in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up, according to his daughter, with "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment". His father was British stage actor Frederick Rains, and the young Rains made his stage debut at 11 in Nell of Old Drury.
His acting talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons Rains needed in order to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, teaching John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others.
Rains served in the First World War in the London Scottish Regiment, with fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall. Rains was involved in a gas attack that left him nearly blind in one eye for the rest of his life. However, the war did aid his social advancement and, by its end, he had risen from the rank of Private to Captain.
Rains began his career in the London theatre, having a success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant, the follow-up to the playwright's major hit Abraham Lincoln, and traveled to Broadway in the late 1920s to act in leading roles in such plays as Shaw's The Apple Cart and in the dramatizations of The Constant Nymph, and Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth, as a Chinese farmer.
Rains came relatively late to film acting and his first screen test was a failure, but his distinctive voice won him the title role in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933) when someone accidentally overheard his screen test being played in the next room. Rains later credited director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera".
Acting
Lawrence of Arabia
as Mr. Dryden
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements.
Battle of the Worlds
as Professor Benson
Dr. Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini) and Eve Barnett (Maya Brent) work together at an astronomical station on a bucolic island. The station's scientists learn they must deal with a rogue planet -- "The Outsider" -- that has entered the solar system. which must be controlled by an alien intelligence… Professor Benson's(Claude Rains) expedition discovers a race of humanoid creatures dead...
The Lost World
as Prof. George Edward Challenger
Professor Challenger leads an expedition of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep in the Amazonian jungle to verify his claim that dinosaurs still live there.
Lisbon
as Aristides Mavros
For Capt. Robert John Evans, smuggling black-market goods is nothing out of the ordinary. But one day he's hired by Aristides Mavros for a more involved assignment -- sneaking an imprisoned American out of communist-controlled territory. The job seems challenging enough, but when he meets the prisoner's sultry wife, Sylvia, he realizes his mission comes with a startling catch: Not only must he rescue this man, he must bring him back from the dead.
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Sealed Cargo
as Capt. Henrik Skalder
A Newfoundland fishingboat comes to the aid of a wrecked Danish sailing ship and tows it to a small village, but eventually the captain of the fishingboat realises that it's a U-boat supply ship in disguise, loaded with torpedoes. So, together with his crew and a group of villagers he sets about a plan to blow the ship as well as any U-boats that approach it. Based on the novel "The Gaunt Woman" by Edmund Gilligan.
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Where Danger Lives
as Frederick Lannington
A young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman and apparently becomes involved in the death of her husband. They head for Mexico trying to outrun the law.
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The White Tower
as Paul Delambre
Mountain climbers in the Swiss Alps mull over past problems while trying to conquer a perilous peak.
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Rope of Sand
as Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
Story of a South African diamond mine watched over by a sadistic policeman tasked with looking out for smugglers.
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Song of Surrender
as Elisha Hunt
In 1906 in Connecticut, Elisha Hunt, the 55-year-old curator of a small government museum, marries Abigail, the 19-year-old daughter of a local farmer. In addition to the differences in their ages in this May-to-December union, Elizha is a man of culture while Abigail is uneducated. Bruce Edridge, young, handsome and wealthy, comes into her life, and they fall in love. Abigail is now faced with two choices; the chance of wealth versus her present mediocre circumstances, or her love for Bruce versus her loyalty to Elisha.
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The Passionate Friends
as Howard Justin
A woman is torn between the love of her life, who is married to someone else, and her older husband.
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The Unsuspected
as Victor Grandison
The secretary of an affably suave radio mystery host mysteriously commits suicide after his wealthy young niece disappears.
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Deception
as Alexander Hollenius
After marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.
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Notorious
as Alexander Sebastian
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
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Caesar and Cleopatra
as Julius Caesar
The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard Shaw from his own play.
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Angel on My Shoulder
as Nick
The Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make up for his previous life.
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Strange Holiday
as John Stevenson
An American businessman returns from a hunting trip to find fascists have overrun the country in this propaganda film.
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Passage to Marseille
as Captain Freycinet
A freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.
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Mr. Skeffington
as Job Skeffington
A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.
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Casablanca
as Captain Louis Renault
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
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Phantom of the Opera
as Erique Claudin
Following a tragic accident that leaves him disfigured, crazed composer Erique Claudin transformed into a masked phantom who schemes to make beautiful young soprano Christine Dubois the star of the opera and wreak revenge on those who stole his music.
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Kings Row
as Alexander Tower
Five young adults in a small American town face the revelations of secrets that threaten to ruin their hopes and dreams.
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Now, Voyager
as Dr. Jaquith
A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.
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Moontide
as Nutsy
After a drunken night out, a longshoreman thinks he may have killed a man.
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Four Mothers
as Adam Lemp
Four married sisters face motherhood, financial, marital and family issues together.
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Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Mr. Jordan
Boxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on the job, snatched Joe's spirit prematurely from his body. Before the matter can be rectified, Joe's body is cremated; so the celestial Mr. Jordan grants him the use of the body of wealthy Bruce Farnsworth, who's just been murdered by his wife. Joe tries to remake Farnsworth's unworthy life in his own clean-cut image, but then falls in love; and what about that murderous wife?
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The Wolf Man
as Sir John Talbot
After his brother's death, Larry Talbot returns home to his father and the family estate. Events soon take a turn for the worse when Larry is bitten by a werewolf.
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The Sea Hawk
as Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.
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Saturday's Children
as Mr. Henry Halevy
An inventor and his bride get testy in the city as they try to make ends meet.
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Joseph Paine
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed to the United States Senate by the puppet governor of his state. He soon discovers, upon going to Washington, many shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss.
