Like many classic movie fans, I first became familiar with Conrad veidt by seeing him in the variety of Nazi villains he played during the 1940s. Two Humphrey Bogart films in particular, "All Through the Night" and "Casablanca" of course typecast him as the Sinister German whose brutality is hidden by an aura of sophistication and class. Fantasy film fans remember him as the evil assistant to the sultan in "The Thief of Bagdad". Historically, he is remembered for helping his Jewish wife escaped Nazi Germany, first to England and then to the United States. As a silent German film actor, he became immortal in "The Cabinet of Caligari". One of the first films he made in England after escaping the rise of the Nazi party in Germany is this incredibly bold look how power corrupts and how one's own identity makes or breaks one's destiny.
With a voice and stature like his, Conrad Veidt was never going to be a romantic hero. The sharpness of his long face is similar to John Carradine, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, which means that he would mainly be cast as villains. Is his character here a villain? That is up to the viewer to decide because certainly he is a libertine in his lifestyle, craving power and status and the desire to get out of the Jewish ghetto in 18th century Germany. With his intelligence, he becomes the assistant to a powerful duke, basically controlling the finances and with the duke's approval, reporting to nobody. Veidt obviously longs to tear down the walls of the ghetto where he grew up, but when he all of a sudden learns that what he believed his heritage to be is not so (thanks to a touching but brief visit with his mother), his motivations change and his obsession with power grows. Within a short period of time after this, everything in his career grows in his favor but his personal life caves in, especially concerning a young daughter that nobody in his inner circle knew that he had. This causes him to seek revenge and much of his character is revealed in a very haunting scene where he tortures the man who victimized her.
My one issue in getting into the film is that I was so entranced by the opulence of the scenery and costumes that I had a difficult time at first figuring out who was who and how they were all inter involved. Veidt's character has so many women in his life that a sensible viewer may question how a man like that ends up with so many lovers. I will admit there is charm in his power even if his physical demeanor and manner is often harsh in its appearance. Irregardless of that, he gives a powerful performance that is beyond theatrical and certainly surpasses anything that George Arliss was doing at the same time. Had this been an American film with better publicity and perhaps less of a radical message attached, Veidt would have been pushed for an Oscar nomination. The finale is unforgettable, and one that is chilling and mysterious. It is not surprising to learn that this story has influenced opera writers as it certainly has that feeling even without the music.
With a voice and stature like his, Conrad Veidt was never going to be a romantic hero. The sharpness of his long face is similar to John Carradine, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, which means that he would mainly be cast as villains. Is his character here a villain? That is up to the viewer to decide because certainly he is a libertine in his lifestyle, craving power and status and the desire to get out of the Jewish ghetto in 18th century Germany. With his intelligence, he becomes the assistant to a powerful duke, basically controlling the finances and with the duke's approval, reporting to nobody. Veidt obviously longs to tear down the walls of the ghetto where he grew up, but when he all of a sudden learns that what he believed his heritage to be is not so (thanks to a touching but brief visit with his mother), his motivations change and his obsession with power grows. Within a short period of time after this, everything in his career grows in his favor but his personal life caves in, especially concerning a young daughter that nobody in his inner circle knew that he had. This causes him to seek revenge and much of his character is revealed in a very haunting scene where he tortures the man who victimized her.
My one issue in getting into the film is that I was so entranced by the opulence of the scenery and costumes that I had a difficult time at first figuring out who was who and how they were all inter involved. Veidt's character has so many women in his life that a sensible viewer may question how a man like that ends up with so many lovers. I will admit there is charm in his power even if his physical demeanor and manner is often harsh in its appearance. Irregardless of that, he gives a powerful performance that is beyond theatrical and certainly surpasses anything that George Arliss was doing at the same time. Had this been an American film with better publicity and perhaps less of a radical message attached, Veidt would have been pushed for an Oscar nomination. The finale is unforgettable, and one that is chilling and mysterious. It is not surprising to learn that this story has influenced opera writers as it certainly has that feeling even without the music.