Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (Screen Classics)

Late in Claude Rainss distinguished career, a reverent film journalist wrote that Rains “was as much a cinematic institution as the medium itself.” Given his childhood speech impediments and his origins in a destitute London neighborhood, the ascent of Claude Rains (1889–1967) to the stage and screen is remarkable. Rainss difficulties in his formative years provided reserves of gravitas and sensitivity, from which he drew inspiration for acclaimed performances in The Invisible Man (1933), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Casablanca (1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and other classic films.

In Claude Rains: An Actors Voice, noted Hollywood historian David J. Skal draws on more than thirty hours of newly released Rains interviews to create the first full-length biography of the actor who was nominated multiple times for an Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Skals portrait of the gifted actor also benefits from the insights of Jessica Rains, who provides firsthand accounts of the enigmatic man behind her fathers refined screen presence and genteel public persona.

As Skal shows, numerous contradictions informed the life and career of Claude Rains. He possessed an air of nobility and became an emblem of sophistication, but he never shed the insecurities that traced back to his upbringing in an abusive and poverty-stricken family. Though deeply self-conscious about his short stature, Rains drew notorious ardor from female fans and was married six times. His public displays of dry wit and good humor masked inner demons that drove Rains to alcoholism and its devastating consequences.

 Skals layered depiction of Claude Rains reveals a complex, almost inscrutable man whose nuanced characterizations were, in no small way, based on the more shadowy parts of his psyche. With unprecedented access to episodes from Rainss private life, Skal tells the full story of the consummate character actor of his generation. Claude Rains: An Actors Voice, gives voice to the struggles and innermost concerns that influenced Rainss performances and helped him become a universally respected Hollywood legend.

Born into the English working class, Claude Rains (1889–1967) overcame a severe speech impediment to become a fixture of the London theater scene. Rainss personal life was as dramatic as his work onstage: to end his second marriage while masking his wifes alcoholism, he staged an episode of infidelity, though the ensuing scandal made it difficult for him to find work. In 1926 he immigrated to America where, despite what Rains described as “the worst screen test of all time,” he was hired by director James Whale to play the title role in an adaptation of H. G. Wellss The Invisible Man, a tour-de-force depending completely on his vocal skills.

In Claude Rains: An Actors Voice, noted author David J. Skal illustrates how Rainss talents were well suited to Hollywoods studio system, allowing him to become one of cinemas best known character actors. He lent his commanding presence to such landmark films as Casablanca, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Notorious, and Lawrence of Arabia and was nominated for four Academy Awards. Bette Davis considered him her favorite acting partner.

Drawing on over thirty hours of newly released audio interviews with Rains and enriched by daughter Jessica Rainss contributions, Claude Rains is an intimate portrait and the first full biography of this gifted actor.

David J. Skal is the author of numerous books about film and popular culture, including Death Makes a Holiday, Hollywood Gothic and The Monster Show. He has produced and directed two original documentaries about Claude Rains: The Invisible Man and The Phantom of the Opera.

Jessica Rains, the only child of Claude Rains, is a producer and actress whose performance credits include The Sting, Pete and Tillie, Islands in the Stream, and Portnoys Complaint. A graduate of the American Film Institutes producer training program, she has produced eleven independent films and videos. She is currently developing a biographical documentary, A Beautiful Friendship: Claude Rains and the Movies.