Conrad Veidt

Biography

Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best-paid stars of Ufa, he was forced to leave Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power. They settled in Britain, where he participated in a number of films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which lead to him having a supporting role in Casablanca (1942). From 1916 until his death, Veidt appeared in more than 100 films. One of his earliest performances was as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in director Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a classic of German Expressionist cinema, with Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. His starring role in The Man Who Laughs (1928), as a disfigured circus performer whose face is cut into a permanent grin, provided the (visual) inspiration for the Batman villain the Joker, created in 1940 by Bill Finger. Veidt also starred in other silent horror films such as…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Casablanca (1943) — Major Heinrich Strasser
2. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) — Cesare
3. The Thief of Bagdad (1940) — Jaffar
4. The Man Who Laughs (1928) — Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
5. Napoleon (1927) — Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade
6. The Hands of Orlac (1924) — Paul Orlac
7. A Woman's Face (1941) — Torsten Barring
8. All Through the Night (1942) — Franz Ebbing
9. Waxworks (1924) — Ivan the Terrible
10. The Spy in Black (1939) — Captain Ernst Hardt
11. Different from the Others (1919) — Paul Körner
12. Above Suspicion (1943) — Hassert Seidel
13. Dark Journey (1937) — Baron Karl Von Marwitz
14. The Student of Prague (1926) — Balduin, Student
15. Eerie Tales (1919) — Der Tod / Various Other Roles
16. Rome Express (1932) — Zurta
17. Contraband (1940) — Capt. Andersen
18. Journey into the Night (1921) — Der Maler
19. Universal Horror (1998) — (archive footage)
20. The Beloved Rogue (1927) — King Louis XI
21. Congress Dances (1931) — Fürst Metternich
22. Escape (1940) — General Kurt von Kolb
23. Whistling in the Dark (1941) — Joseph Jones
24. The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi (1921) — Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
25. The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur (1921) — Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
26. Nazi Agent (1942) — Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner
27. The Last Performance (1929) — Erik the Great
28. Vito (2011) — Self (archive)
29. The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1935) — The Stranger
30. Fear (1917) — Indian Priest
31. Husbands or Lovers (1924) — Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter
32. F.P.1 (1933) — Maj. Ellissen
33. Under the Red Robe (1937) — Gil de Berault
34. Lucrezia Borgia (1922) — Cesare Borgia
35. A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound (1940) — Self
36. Opium (1919) — Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr.
37. The Wandering Jew (1933) — Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios
38. Jew Süss (1934) — Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer
39. The Men in Her Life (1941) — Stanislas Rosing
40. Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed! (1927)

Directed

1. Wahnsinn (1919) — Director
2. Die Nacht auf Goldenhall (1920) — Director