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Conrad Veidt
Actor

Conrad Veidt

22 Jan 1893Born
3 Apr 1943Died
50Age at death
114Credits

Biography

Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best-paid stars of Ufa, he was forced to leave Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power.

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They settled in Britain, where he participated in a number of films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which lead to him having a supporting role in Casablanca (1942).

From 1916 until his death, Veidt appeared in more than 100 films. One of his earliest performances was as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in director Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a classic of German Expressionist cinema, with Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. His starring role in The Man Who Laughs (1928), as a disfigured circus performer whose face is cut into a permanent grin, provided the (visual) inspiration for the Batman villain the Joker, created in 1940 by Bill Finger. Veidt also starred in other silent horror films such as The Hands of Orlac (1924), another film directed by Robert Wiene, The Student of Prague (1926) and Waxworks (1924) where he played Ivan the Terrible.

Veidt also appeared in Magnus Hirschfeld's film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919), one of the first films to sympathetically portray homosexuality, although the characters in it do not end up happily. He had a leading role in Germany's first talking picture, Das Land ohne Frauen (Land Without Women, 1929).

He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and made a few films, but the advent of talking pictures and his difficulty with speaking English led him to return to Germany. During this period he lent his expertise to tutoring aspiring performers, one of whom was the later American character actress Lisa Golm.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 114 credits.

  1. 2008Visual Effects: The Thief of BagdadFilm: Jaffar (archival footage)
  2. 1998Universal HorrorFilm: (archive footage)
  3. 1943Above SuspicionFilm: Hassert Seidel
  4. 1943CasablancaFilm: Major Heinrich Strasser
  5. 1942Nazi AgentFilm: Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner
  6. 1942All Through the NightFilm: Franz Ebbing
  7. 1941The Men in Her LifeFilm: Stanislas Rosing
  8. 1941Whistling in the DarkFilm: Joseph Jones
  9. 1941A Woman's FaceFilm: Torsten Barring
  10. 1940EscapeFilm: General Kurt von Kolb
  11. 1940ContrabandFilm: Capt. Andersen
  12. 1940The Thief of BagdadFilm: Jaffar
  13. 1939The Spy in BlackFilm: Captain Ernst Hardt
  14. 1938The Chess PlayerFilm: Le baron de Kempelen
  15. 1938Tempête sur l'AsieFilm: Erich Keith
  16. 1937Dark JourneyFilm: Baron Karl Von Marwitz
  17. 1937Under the Red RobeFilm: Gil de Berault
  18. 1935King of the DamnedFilm: Convict 83
  19. 1935The Passing of the Third Floor BackFilm: The Stranger
  20. 1934Bella DonnaFilm: Mahmoud Baroudi
  21. 1934Jew SüssFilm: Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer
  22. 1934Wilhelm TellFilm: Gessler
  23. 1933The Wandering JewFilm: Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios
  24. 1933I Was a SpyFilm: Commandant Oberaertz
  25. 1933F.P.1Film: Maj. Ellissen
  26. 1933The Only GirlFilm: Marquis de Pontignac
  27. 1932Rome ExpressFilm: Zurta
  28. 1932The Black HussarFilm: Captain Hansgeorg von Hochberg
  29. 1932Rasputin, Demon of the WomenFilm: Grigori Rasputin
  30. 1931The Other SideFilm: Hauptmann Stanhope
  31. 1931Congress DancesFilm: Fürst Metternich
  32. 1931The Night of the DecisionFilm: General Gregori Platoff
  33. 1931The Man Who Committed the MurderFilm: Oberst Marquis de Sévigné
  34. 1930The Love StormFilm: Kingsley
  35. 1930The Last CompanyFilm: Hauptmann Burk
  36. 1929The Last PerformanceFilm: Erik the Great
  37. 1929Das Land ohne FrauenFilm: Dick Ashton
  38. 1928The Man Who LaughsFilm: Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
  39. 1927Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed!Film
  40. 1927A Man's PastFilm: Paul La Roche
  41. 1927The Beloved RogueFilm: King Louis XI
  42. 1927NapoleonFilm: Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade
  43. 1926The Flight in the NightFilm: Count di Nolli, Heinrich IV
  44. 1926The Student of PragueFilm: Balduin, Student
  45. 1926Love Is BlindFilm
  46. 1926Should We Be Silent?Film: Paul Hartwig, Maler
  47. 1926Two BrothersFilm: Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg
  48. 1926Impetuous YouthFilm: Renées Vater
  49. 1926The Wife's CrusadeFilm: Der Staatsanwalt
  50. 1925The Ingmar InheritanceFilm: Hellgum
  51. 1925Le Comte KostiaFilm: Comte Kostia
  52. 1925SchicksalFilm
  53. 1924Husbands or LoversFilm: Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter
  54. 1924WaxworksFilm: Ivan the Terrible
  55. 1924The Hands of OrlacFilm: Paul Orlac
  56. 1924Don Carlos und ElisabethFilm: Don Carlos
  57. 1923Wilhelm TellFilm: Hermann Gessler
  58. 1923PaganiniFilm: Niccolo Paganini
  59. 1923Glanz gegen GlückFilm
  60. 1922Lucrezia BorgiaFilm: Cesare Borgia
  61. 1921The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of EschnapurFilm: Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
  62. 1921The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the YoghiFilm: Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
  63. 1921Lady HamiltonFilm: Lord Nelson
  64. 1921DantonFilm: Minor Role (rumored)
  65. 1921Landstraße und GroßstadtFilm: Raphael, der Geiger
  66. 1921Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden DungeonFilm: Christian Wahnschaffe
  67. 1921Der Leidensweg der Inge KrafftFilm
  68. 1921Die Liebschaften des Hektor DalmoreFilm: Hektor Dalmore
  69. 1921LiebestaumelFilm: Jalenko
  70. 1921Journey into the NightFilm: Der Maler
  71. 1921People in EcstasyFilm: Professor Munk
  72. 1921Das Geheimnis von BombayFilm: Tossi
  73. 1921Desire: The Tragedy of a DancerFilm: Ivan
  74. 1920The Count of CagliostroFilm: Minister
  75. 1920Christian Wahnschaffe I: WeltbrandFilm: Christian Wahnschaffe
  76. 1920Manolescu's MemoirsFilm: Manolescu
  77. 1920Evening – Night – MorningFilm: Brilburn - Maud's brother
  78. 1920MoriturusFilm: Wilmos, sanatorium director
  79. 1920The Head of JanusFilm: Dr. Warren
  80. 1920KünstlerlaunenFilm

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.