Claude Rains
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".
Casablanca
as Captain Louis RenaultIn Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover,...
Movie page
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt...
Movie page
Notorious
as Alexander SebastianIn order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia...
Movie page
The Greatest Story Ever Told
as King HerodFrom his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is...
Movie page
Now, Voyager
as Dr. JaquithA woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a...
Movie page
Phantom of the Opera
as Erique ClaudinFollowing a tragic accident that leaves him disfigured, crazed composer Erique Claudin...
Movie page
The Invisible Man
as Dr. Jack GriffinWorking in Dr. Cranley's laboratory, scientist Jack Griffin was always given the latitude to...
Movie page
The Adventures of Robin Hood
as Prince JohnRobin Hood fights nobly for justice against the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne while striving to win...
Movie page
The Sea Hawk
as Don José Alvarez de CordobaDashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love...
Movie page
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Joseph PaineNaive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed to the United...
Movie page
The Wolf Man
as Sir John TalbotAfter his brother's death, Larry Talbot returns home to his father and the family estate. Events...
Movie page
They Made Me a Criminal
as Det. Monty PhelanA boxer flees, believing he has committed a murder while he was drunk.
Movie page
Caesar and Cleopatra
as Julius CaesarThe aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard...
Movie page
Scrooge
as Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited)Ebenezer Scrooge, the ultimate Victorian miser, hasn't a good word for Christmas, though his...
Movie page
Moontide
as NutsyAfter a drunken night out, a longshoreman thinks he may have killed a man.
Movie page
The Lost World
as Prof. George Edward ChallengerProfessor Challenger leads an expedition of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep...
Movie page
Mr. Skeffington
as Job SkeffingtonA beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her...
Movie page
Deception
as Alexander HolleniusAfter marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy...
Movie page
Passage to Marseille
as Captain FreycinetA freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.
Movie page
The Prince and the Pauper
as Earl of HertfordTwo boys – the prince Edward and the pauper Tom – are born on the same day. Years later, when...
Movie page
The Passionate Friends
as Howard JustinA woman is torn between the love of her life, who is married to someone else, and her older...
Movie page
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas,...
Movie page
Sealed Cargo
as Capt. Henrik SkalderA Newfoundland fishingboat comes to the aid of a wrecked Danish sailing ship and tows it to a...
Movie page
Where Danger Lives
as Frederick LanningtonA young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman and apparently becomes involved in the...
Movie page
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Mr. JordanBoxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on...
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1938
as Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited)Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.
Movie page
Angel on My Shoulder
as NickThe Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make...
Movie page
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
as Mayor of HamelinThe singing, rhyming citizens of Hamelin hope to win a competition with rival towns for royal...
Movie page
Kings Row
as Alexander TowerFive young adults in a small American town face the revelations of secrets that threaten to ruin...
Movie page
They Won't Forget
as District Attorney Andrew J. GriffinA southern town is rocked by scandal when teenager Mary Clay is murdered on Confederate...
Movie page
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
Movie page
Four Daughters
as Adam LempMusician Adam Lemp and his four equally musical daughters, Emma, Ann, Kay, and Thea, live...
Movie page
Forever and a Day
as Ambrose PomfretIn World War II, American Gates Trimble Pomfret is in London during the Blitz to sell the...
Movie page
The Unsuspected
as Victor GrandisonThe secretary of an affably suave radio mystery host mysteriously commits suicide after his...
Movie page
Rope of Sand
as Arthur 'Fred' MartingaleStory of a South African diamond mine watched over by a sadistic policeman tasked with looking...
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1936
as SelfFlubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936.
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1942
as SelfFlubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1942.
Movie page
The Clairvoyant
as MaximusA fake psychic suddenly turns into the real thing when he meets a young beauty. (TCM)
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1937
as SelfFlubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1937.
Movie page
Crime Without Passion
as Lee GentryCaddish lawyer Lee Gentry is going out with Katy Costello, but carrying on an affair with dancer...
Movie page
Stolen Holiday
as Stefan OrloffA young model is set up with her own fashion business by a crooked financier, who sells...
Movie page
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
as Kees PopingaA meek teller thinks he's killed his boss. He flees with a box of cash hoping for a new life...
Movie page
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Colonel FerrisColonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic...
Movie page
Twilight of Honor
as Art HarperA young lawyer defends a drifter accused of murder that he has already confessed to. He asks a...
Movie page
White Banners
as Paul WardA homeless woman named Hannah drifts into the lives of the kindly Ward family, in a small...
Movie page
Lisbon
as Aristides MavrosFor Capt. Robert John Evans, smuggling black-market goods is nothing out of the ordinary. But...
Movie page
Juarez
as Emperor Louis Napoleon IIIThe newly-named emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota arrive in Mexico to face popular...
Movie page
Song of Surrender
as Elisha HuntIn 1906 in Connecticut, Elisha Hunt, the 55-year-old curator of a small government museum,...
Movie page
Anthony Adverse
as Marquis Don LuisBased on the novel by Hervey Allen, this expansive drama follows the many adventures of the...
Movie page
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
as Self (archive footage)Her name conjures up beauty, grace, talent and style. One of the greatest actresses of her time,...
Movie page
Four Wives
as Adam LempIn this sequel to Four Daughters, Ann struggles to move on after the death of her husband as...
Movie page
Daughters Courageous
as Jim MastersNan Masters, a single mother living with her four marriageable daughters, plans to marry Sam...
Movie page
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)Uncensored. Laugh along with Hollywood's brightest stars in this hilarious compilation of...
Movie page
Battle of the Worlds
as Professor BensonDr. Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini) and Eve Barnett (Maya Brent) work together at an astronomical...
Movie page
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
as John JasperA choirmaster addicted to opium and obsessed with a beautiful young woman will stop at nothing...
Movie page
The White Tower
as Paul DelambreMountain climbers in the Swiss Alps mull over past problems while trying to conquer a perilous peak.
Movie page
Four Mothers
as Adam LempFour married sisters face motherhood, financial, marital and family issues together.
Movie page
The Wolf Man
as Sir John TalbotAn abbreviated 8 minute version of the 1941 Universal Monsters classic, released on 8mm film in...
Movie page
This Love of Ours
as Joseph TargelAt a convention, medical researcher Michel Touzac goes with colleagues to see stage caricaturist...
Movie page
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
as Self (archive footage)Famous Monster takes a fast-paced, colorful look at the life of science fiction's greatest fan -...
Movie page
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
as Paul VerinA writer discovers he's being used as a pawn by greedy businessmen.
Movie page
Saturday's Children
as Mr. Henry HalevyAn inventor and his bride get testy in the city as they try to make ends meet.
Movie page
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
as uncreditedNarrated documentary of the making of Anthony Adverse (1936), featuring many clips from the...
Movie page
Strange Holiday
as John StevensonAn American businessman returns from a hunting trip to find fascists have overrun the country in...
Movie page
Hearts Divided
as Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon Bonaparte's younger brother, visiting the United States, falls madly in love with a...
Movie page
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
as Erique Claudin (archive footage)A documentary from Universal about their Phantom of the Opera movies.
Movie page
This Earth Is Mine
as Philippe RambeauSet during the Prohibition era, when wine makers were financially challenged and had to decide...
Movie page
Lady with Red Hair
as David BelascoAn actress hopes to regain her lost son by making it to the top.
Movie page
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
as Self (archive footage)Starting with "The Wolf Man" (in 1941), Universal Studios made five movies featuring The Wolf...
Movie page
The Last Outpost
as John StevensonDuring WW1, the destinies of British officers Michael Andrews and John Stevenson seem...
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1941.
Movie page
Build Thy House
as ClarkisA padre, acting for a dying soldier, poses as the heir to a slum property and becomes a Labour MP.
Movie page
Sons of Liberty
as Haym SalomonSet during the American Revolution, this colorful 2 reel short tells the story of Haym Salomon,...
Movie page
Blow-Ups of 1946
as SelfFlubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1946.
Movie page
Judgment at Nuremberg
as Judge Dan HaywoodJudgment at Nuremberg is an American television play broadcast live on April 16, 1959, as part...
Movie page
Dr. Kildare
as Edward FredericksThe story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession,...
TV Show page
Naked City
as John Winfield WestonNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network....
TV Show page
Rawhide
as Alexander LongfordThe tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...
TV Show page
The Ed Sullivan Show
as SelfThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as John FabianA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Charles GreshamA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Andrew ThurgoodA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Father AmionA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Leonard EldridgeA television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Alexander Sebastian (archive footage) (uncredited)A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
TV Show page
Svengoolie
as Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible ManThe host Svengoolie talks about various horror movies while showing the movies, one per episode,...
TV Show page
Playhouse 90
as Judge Dan HaywoodPlayhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to...
TV Show page
Sam Benedict
as uncreditedSam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The...
TV Show page
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Mr. BrinkHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...
TV Show page
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as The High LamaHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...
TV Show page