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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".

Known for

Casablanca

Casablanca

Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

Notorious

Notorious

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

Self (archive footage)

2013

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman

Self (archive footage)

2007

The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked

Erique Claudin (archive footage)

2000

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

Self (archive footage)

1999

Ingrid Bergman Remembered

Self (archive footage)

1996

Svengoolie

Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man · (1 episode)

1995

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

Self (archive footage)

1988

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1983

The Horror Show

(archive footage)

1979

The Greatest Story Ever Told

King Herod

1965

Twilight of Honor

Art Harper

1963

Lawrence of Arabia

Mr. Dryden

1962

Sam Benedict

(1 episode)

1962

Battle of the Worlds

Professor Benson

1961

Dr. Kildare

Edward Fredericks · (1 episode)

1961

The Lost World

Prof. George Edward Challenger

1960

This Earth Is Mine

Philippe Rambeau

1959

Judgment at Nuremberg

Judge Dan Haywood

1959

Rawhide

Alexander Longford · (1 episode)

1959

Naked City

John Winfield Weston · (1 episode)

1958

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Mayor of Hamelin

1957

On Borrowed Time

Mr. Brink

1957

Playhouse 90

Judge Dan Haywood · (1 episode)

1956

Lisbon

Aristides Mavros

1956

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

John Fabian · (1 episode)

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Charles Gresham · (1 episode)

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Andrew Thurgood · (1 episode)

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Father Amion · (1 episode)

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Leonard Eldridge · (1 episode)

1955

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By

Kees Popinga

1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Mr. Brink · (1 episode)

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame

The High Lama · (1 episode)

1951

Sealed Cargo

Capt. Henrik Skalder

1951

Where Danger Lives

Frederick Lannington

1950

The White Tower

Paul Delambre

1950

Song of Surrender

Elisha Hunt

1949

Rope of Sand

Arthur 'Fred' Martingale

1949

The Passionate Friends

Howard Justin

1949

The Ed Sullivan Show

Self · (1 episode)

1948

The Unsuspected

Victor Grandison

1947

Blow-Ups of 1946

Self

1946

Deception

Alexander Hollenius

1946

Angel on My Shoulder

Nick

1946

Notorious

Alexander Sebastian

1946

Caesar and Cleopatra

Julius Caesar

1945

This Love of Ours

Joseph Targel

1945

Strange Holiday

John Stevenson

1945

Mr. Skeffington

Job Skeffington

1944

Passage to Marseille

Captain Freycinet

1944

Phantom of the Opera

Erique Claudin

1943

Forever and a Day

Ambrose Pomfret

1943

Casablanca

Captain Louis Renault

1943

Breakdowns of 1942

Self

1942

Now, Voyager

Dr. Jaquith

1942

Moontide

Nutsy

1942

Kings Row

Alexander Tower

1942

The Wolf Man

Sir John Talbot

1941

Breakdowns of 1941

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1941

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Mr. Jordan

1941

Four Mothers

Adam Lemp

1941

Lady with Red Hair

David Belasco

1940

The Sea Hawk

Don José Alvarez de Cordoba

1940

Saturday's Children

Mr. Henry Halevy

1940

Four Wives

Adam Lemp

1939

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Joseph Paine

1939

Daughters Courageous

Jim Masters

1939

Juarez

Emperor Louis Napoleon III

1939

Sons of Liberty

Haym Salomon

1939

They Made Me a Criminal

Det. Monty Phelan

1939

Breakdowns of 1938

Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited)

1938

Four Daughters

Adam Lemp

1938

White Banners

Paul Ward

1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Prince John

1938

Gold Is Where You Find It

Colonel Ferris

1938

Breakdowns of 1937

Self

1937

They Won't Forget

District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin

1937

The Prince and the Pauper

Earl of Hertford

1937

Stolen Holiday

Stefan Orloff

1937

Breakdowns of 1936

Self

1936

Anthony Adverse

Marquis Don Luis

1936

Hearts Divided

Napoleon Bonaparte

1936

The Making of a Great Motion Picture

1936

Scrooge

Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited)

1935

The Last Outpost

John Stevenson

1935

The Clairvoyant

Maximus

1935

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

John Jasper

1935

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

Paul Verin

1934

Crime Without Passion

Lee Gentry

1934

The Invisible Man

Dr. Jack Griffin

1933

Build Thy House

Clarkis

1920