Conrad Veidt on TCM: More Than Major Strasser

[pvitari]

Dear Moira, sorry I missed your mention of the Cairns article. I looked through your piece thinking you would have mentioned it, but I missed it. I'm not at all surprised that you included it, of course!

Thanks for the info about the Passing of the Third Floor Back DVD... I had no idea it was available. ;) And also thanks for posting that interview with Bret re The Man Who Laughs.

I also did an interview with David Shepard about The Indian Tomb, which is actually on a TCM page (yay!): http://alt.tcm.turner.com/MONTH_SPOTS/0 ... erview.htm It had originally been on Gilda's old Veidt page, but they asked if they could put it on the TCM page when TCM ran The Indian Tomb.

I had the great good fortune to see The Indian Tomb on 35mm on the big screen, when they showed it here at Emory University some years back. If you all think it's impressive on DVD... you should see that thing in the theater. Mind-boggling to say the least! Especially that scene where Veidt emerges in all his godhead glory.

I also got to see Fritz Lang's version of The Indian Tomb in 35mm here at Emory, though the scene that really sticks in my mind in that version is Debra Paget doing her dance.



There is one more interview, with David Pierce about the DVD of Contraband: http://web.archive.org/web/200503052302 ... ndrev.html

I made some screencaps from Anders als die Andern for last year's Film Preservation Festival, though not a complete screencapping (I really should have done that)... they're at http://paulasmoviepage.shutterfly.com. Scroll down and you'll find that album.

[Ann Harding]

Reading all your comments (and Blog) reminded me that I have two German musicals with Conrad Veidt. So he could be lighthearted as well! In Der Kongreß tanzt (1931, E. Charell) he plays a very funny Prince Metternich (I don't think the original one had that much humour!). I also have Ich und die Kaiserin (1933), composer Friedrich Holländer's only film as a director. I remember it as really cute with the diminutive Lilian Harvey in both. I need to give them a look again.

[moira finnie]

Oh, those movies sound good, Ann. I have read that the musical Congress Dances was considered a bit of a breakthrough in America for Connie in the '30s as his comedic gifts, which were always there in his portrayals, became more evident when talkies allowed us to hear the bemused sarcasm in the often menacing caress of his voice. I haven't seen Ich und die Kaiserin (1933), but the description on IMDb makes me think it might be silly fun, especially if some Offenbach is incorporated into the story. I was interested to see Mady Christians and Lilian Harvey in the cast too.

[JackFavell]

Congress Dances is a movie I have wanted to see for years and years - I had a picture of Lillian Harvey from it when I was just a tyke, and her look mesmerized me. I had no idea Veidt was in it!

Has anyone plugged Moira's fascinating post on Veidt at Movie Morlocks yet? OOPPS! I guess so. Oh well, it never hurts to do it again...

http://moviemorlocks.com/2011/01/26/con ... ment-15953

[moira finnie]

Thanks, JF. We had a mention at Vanity Fair too from the Contributing Editor of the magazine, James Wolcott, who is a fan of Veidt too. Connie appeals to a pretty broad group, even if he was born in the century before last, he still seems surprisingly modern at times.

[moira finnie]

I just came across this interesting piece on The Passing of the Third Floor Back by Mike Gebert over on nitrateville:

http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=6608

[TalkieTime]

...On Jan. 31st, TCM at 5:15AM ET will be broadcasting The Spy in Black (1939)...

It appears that The Spy In Black has been bumped off the online schedule.

[moira finnie]

Yeah, it's a bummer, TT, but maybe someday Conrad Veidt will get the Star of the Month treatment he deserves and that film as well as many others will get the showcase they deserve on TCM. Of course, Herr Veidt will have to wait for the month after Douglas Fairbanks is the SOTM...yes, I am a dreamer.

[moira finnie]

Hey, New Yorkers, did you know that MoMA has an exhibit devoted to Weimar Cinema 1919-1933 now through March 7th? You can read more about this here on Leonard Maltin's site:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/archives/german_film_history_uncovered/

The exhibit includes some unique press books from the Museum of Modern Arts archives, like this one that makes it look as though Cesare is waking up inside the pamphlet:

[pvitari]

Moira, is that Fairbanks Sr. or Jr.? Because I could easily consume a month of Junior, too. :)

I may have a little Veidt treat for you all in a few days.. and no, it doesn't involve screencaps! Though I might make some screencaps to go with the treat.

[moira finnie]

Moira, is that Fairbanks Sr. or Jr.? Because I could easily consume a month of Junior, too.

I enjoy both in a different way, but as even Jr. acknowledged, there is only one Doug Sr. and he is such fun--even for people who don't like silents. He deserves to be SoTM as a way of introducing the actor to audiences, though I suspect that a month's worth of mostly silents probably wouldn't do TCM's ratings any good.

I may have a little Veidt treat for you all in a few days.. and no, it doesn't involve screencaps! Though I might make some screencaps to go with the treat.

Oh, cool. I can't wait.

[feaito]

What an interesting thread and thanks to the insightful exchanges by the admirers of Mr. Veidt's talent, Moira, Christine and Paula, I've learnt a lot of new things.

I have seen most of Mr. Veidt's best known films from the Sound Era: "Casablanca", "The Thief of Bagdad", "A Woman's Face" and also "Above Suspicion" (1943). I recall that during the 1980s, I saw on TV "Dark Journey" (1937) in which he co-starred with Vivien Leigh, but I remember almost nothing of that film.

Yesterday instead of watching the 2nd part of the Documentary "MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1991), I decided to choose one of the many movies that I haven't seen...and I chose Victor Sjöström's "Under the Red Robe" (1937), a British film starring Conrad Veidt, Annabella and Raymond Massey. It's based upon a novel that was also filmed as a Silent in 1923. Veidt plays a sort of anti-hero, a mercenary who kills people by command of Cardinal Richelieu (Raymond Massey) and who is known as "The Black Death". After disobeying one of the Cardinal's Edicts which has forbidden duelling, he's condemned to die and is momentarily pardoned by Richelieu -at the last minute- if he succeeds in arresting and bringing to Paris the Duke of Foix, a Huguenot aristocrat who's plotting a revolt against King Louis XIII in the south of France....Veidt goes to the Duke's Castle -disguised of course- and meets his wife and sister, mistaking one for the other...Annabella, plays the Duke's sister, Marguerite who unwittingly falls for this dark character.

The print I have is rather poor so I could not appreciate very well James Wong Howe's cinematography, but from what I saw it looked good. It was interesting to see Veidt as a romantic (anti) hero ****spoilers ahead*** who redeems at the end because of his love for Marguerite. In my opinion Veidt gives a multi-layered, complex performance in this film, conveying the character's (Gil de Breteil) miseries and contradictions. Annabella is fine as Lady Marguerite and her falling in love with Veidt is believable. In all, not up to Sjöström's talent, but an enjoyable film whose main asset is Veidt's performance as romantic hero in an -above average- swashbuckling adventure yarn. The movie has been criticized for the miscasting of Veidt in an Errol Flynn type of role, but I like when this things happen -casting against type.

[feaito]

What an interesting thread and thanks to the insightful exchanges by the admirers of Mr. Veidt's talent, Moira, Christine and Paula, I've learnt a lot of new things.

I have seen most of Mr. Veidt's best known films from the Sound Era: "Casablanca", "The Thief of Bagdad", "A Woman's Face" and also "Above Suspicion" (1943). I recall that during the 1980s, I saw on TV "Dark Journey" (1937) in which he co-starred with Vivien Leigh, but I remember almost nothing of that film.

Yesterday instead of watching the 2nd part of the Documentary "MGM: When the Lion Roars" (1991), I decided to choose one of the many movies that I haven't seen...and I chose Victor Sjöström's "Under the Red Robe" (1937), a British film starring Conrad Veidt, Annabella and Raymond Massey. It's based upon a novel that was also filmed as a Silent in 1923. Veidt plays a sort of anti-hero, a mercenary who kills people by command of Cardinal Richelieu (Raymond Massey) and who is known as "The Black Death". After disobeying one of the Cardinal's Edicts which has forbidden duelling, he's condemned to die and is momentarily pardoned by Richelieu -at the last minute- if he succeeds in arresting and bringing to Paris the Duke of Foix, a Huguenot aristocrat who's plotting a revolt against King Louis XIII in the south of France....Veidt goes to the Duke's Castle -disguised of course- and meets his wife and sister, mistaking one for the other...Annabella, plays the Duke's sister, Marguerite who unwittingly falls for this dark character.

The print I have is rather poor so I could not appreciate very well James Wong Howe's cinematography, but from what I saw it looked good. It was interesting to see Veidt as a romantic (anti) hero ****spoilers ahead*** who redeems at the end because of his love for Marguerite. In my opinion Veidt gives a multi-layered, complex performance in this film, conveying the character's (Gil de Berault) miseries and contradictions. Annabella is fine as Lady Marguerite and her falling in love with Veidt is believable. In all, not up to Sjöström's talent, but an enjoyable film whose main asset is Veidt's performance as romantic hero in an -above average- swashbuckling adventure yarn. The movie has been criticized for the miscasting of Veidt in an Errol Flynn type of role, but I like when this things happen -casting against type.

[pvitari]

Under the Red Robe is pretty good (and Kino at one time was actually thinking of doing a release but alas those plans have gone the way of the dodo) but... read the original novel by Stanley Weyman.

It's a fabulous adventure with a very moving story at its core, and its Southern France deep forest setting cries -- I mean CRIES -- out for widescreen and Technicolor. I'm not sure who around today could do it, but I'd love to see someone give it a whirl. And even better if they did it in French. Roman Duris... your role is calling you! ;)

[moira finnie]

A watchable but somewhat fuzzy public domain version of Under the Red Robe (1937) is on the Internet Archive here. How sad that this was Victor Sjöström's last film as a director. I liked the odd relationship between Veidt's brooding swashbuckler and Romney Brent, who initially seems to be slightly nerdy, though he turns out to be quite adept as Gil de Berault's sidekick.