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Claude Rains
Born · November 9, 1889
Died · May 30, 1967 (77 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Clapham, London, England, UK
Bio
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".
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
Self (archive footage)
5.5
2013
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
Self (archive footage)
9.0
2007
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
Erique Claudin (archive footage)
8.0
2000
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Self (archive footage)
6.9
1999
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
Self (archive footage)
6.7
1996
Svengoolie
Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man · (1 episode)
8.5
1995
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self (archive footage)
6.0
1988
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
6.5
1983
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
6.0
1979
The Greatest Story Ever Told
King Herod
6.4
1965
Twilight of Honor
Art Harper
6.7
1963
Lawrence of Arabia
Mr. Dryden
8.0
1962
Sam Benedict
(1 episode)
6.0
1962
Battle of the Worlds
Professor Benson
4.6
1961
Dr. Kildare
Edward Fredericks · (1 episode)
5.3
1961
The Lost World
Prof. George Edward Challenger
5.7
1960
This Earth Is Mine
Philippe Rambeau
6.1
1959
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judge Dan Haywood
0.0
1959
Rawhide
Alexander Longford · (1 episode)
7.2
1959
Naked City
John Winfield Weston · (1 episode)
5.5
1958
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Mayor of Hamelin
5.6
1957
On Borrowed Time
Mr. Brink
0.0
1957
Playhouse 90
Judge Dan Haywood · (1 episode)
7.5
1956
Lisbon
Aristides Mavros
6.4
1956
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John Fabian · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Charles Gresham · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Andrew Thurgood · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Father Amion · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Leonard Eldridge · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alexander Sebastian (archive footage) (uncredited) · (1 episode)
7.7
1955
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
Kees Popinga
6.0
1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Mr. Brink · (1 episode)
8.7
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
The High Lama · (1 episode)
8.7
1951
Sealed Cargo
Capt. Henrik Skalder
6.4
1951
Where Danger Lives
Frederick Lannington
6.4
1950
The White Tower
Paul Delambre
5.5
1950
Song of Surrender
Elisha Hunt
0.0
1949
Rope of Sand
Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
5.7
1949
The Passionate Friends
Howard Justin
6.9
1949
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
6.6
1948
The Unsuspected
Victor Grandison
6.7
1947
Blow-Ups of 1946
Self
6.0
1946
Deception
Alexander Hollenius
6.5
1946
Angel on My Shoulder
Nick
6.4
1946
Notorious
Alexander Sebastian
7.7
1946
Caesar and Cleopatra
Julius Caesar
6.1
1945
This Love of Ours
Joseph Targel
5.7
1945
Strange Holiday
John Stevenson
6.4
1945
Mr. Skeffington
Job Skeffington
6.7
1944
Passage to Marseille
Captain Freycinet
6.6
1944
Phantom of the Opera
Erique Claudin
6.2
1943
Forever and a Day
Ambrose Pomfret
7.4
1943
Casablanca
Captain Louis Renault
8.2
1943
Breakdowns of 1942
Self
6.0
1942
Now, Voyager
Dr. Jaquith
7.3
1942
Moontide
Nutsy
6.4
1942
Kings Row
Alexander Tower
7.2
1942
The Wolf Man
Sir John Talbot
7.0
1941
Breakdowns of 1941
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
7.0
1941
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Mr. Jordan
6.9
1941
Four Mothers
Adam Lemp
5.7
1941
Lady with Red Hair
David Belasco
6.5
1940
The Sea Hawk
Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
7.2
1940
Saturday's Children
Mr. Henry Halevy
6.4
1940
Four Wives
Adam Lemp
5.1
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Joseph Paine
7.9
1939
Daughters Courageous
Jim Masters
6.2
1939
Juarez
Emperor Louis Napoleon III
6.5
1939
Sons of Liberty
Haym Salomon
6.0
1939
They Made Me a Criminal
Det. Monty Phelan
6.3
1939
Breakdowns of 1938
Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited)
5.0
1938
Four Daughters
Adam Lemp
6.5
1938
White Banners
Paul Ward
5.8
1938
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Prince John
7.5
1938
Gold Is Where You Find It
Colonel Ferris
6.9
1938
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
6.0
1937
They Won't Forget
District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin
5.7
1937
The Prince and the Pauper
Earl of Hertford
6.7
1937
Stolen Holiday
Stefan Orloff
6.6
1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
0.0
1936
Anthony Adverse
Marquis Don Luis
5.7
1936
Hearts Divided
Napoleon Bonaparte
5.0
1936
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
5.0
1936
Scrooge
Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited)
5.9
1935
The Last Outpost
John Stevenson
6.0
1935
The Clairvoyant
Maximus
5.9
1935
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
John Jasper
5.5
1935
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
Paul Verin
6.0
1934
Crime Without Passion
Lee Gentry
5.8
1934
The Invisible Man
Dr. Jack Griffin
7.5
1933
Build Thy House
Clarkis
0.0
1920