A Tribute to the lost films of Conrad Veidt

[Belle]

Somebody from the Conrad Veidt Society has put this 'tribute' together in two parts. It seems that the majority of Veidt's films from the silent era have been lost, which is a genuine tragedy for cinephiles like myself. You can see from these images that Veidt was not only physically beautiful but he was tall and slim, with a graceful bearing and a 'Barrymore profile'. When you look at the footage from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" you see a thin, ethereal figure which reminded me of Olivier's "Hamlet".

And Conrad Veidt was a man of many cinematic faces.

It raises the question of what makes a great actor in cinema and surely some of these qualities are sexual and personal ambiguity, intensity, charisma, style and photogeneity. Having looked at many of his films, most of which saw him cast as a villain, I have noted the humanity which shines through in many of those roles - except as Major Heinrich Strasser in "Casablanca", whom he said was inspired by vile Nazis he had known.

(If only he hadn't been a chain smoker we could have had him with us much longer, instead of dying suddenly at 50. I feel crushed just thinking about it.)

Conrad Veidt will go down in film history as one of the great actors. And these clips also demonstrate an important part of the legacy of German cinema at Decla, UFA and Para-Ufamet.

Here's part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Yg5kaCRUI

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn5iTVhL3xw&t=195s

Veidt's eyes were large, expressive windows to his soul: he did a lot of acting with those beautiful eyes. Then there were those long, elegant hands.....he was the complete package.



Conrad Veidt was a generous and philanthropic man who gave generously to support German refugees/expats from the film industry who were fleeing the Nazis and recently settled in California. He also contributed a large part of his personal fortune in Britain to children affected by WW2.

[Belle]

I found a telegram sent to Conrad Veidt's widow, Lily, in Los Angeles the day after the actor died suddenly in April, 1943 (just 6 days after Rachmaninov). It's from Max Reinhardt, the famous Austrian stage director, intendant and mentor to many leading actors. This telegram speaks volumes about the character of Conrad Veidt. How many of us will receive this kind of valediction from our erstwhile colleagues - or anybody - when we die?

Max Reinhardt was living in New York at the time of Veidt's death and would only live a few more months himself.

The telegram is a very small image and hard to read but I'll copy here what I can read: just one word was obscure to me.

"The terribly unexpected sudden death of Conrad Veidt affected me deeply. For many years it was my desire to work again with this outstanding actor and magnificent and beloved man who began his career under my direction. He was my first choice for Faust in the Salzburg Festivals I (obscure). That this and other great possibilities could not come true please accept my sincerest condolence and sympathy. Yours faithfully Max Reinhardt."

I can't help thinking that Daniel-Day Lewis modelled himself on Conrad Veidt for his performance as Newland Archer in 'The Age of Innocence'. Yes, it makes sense, especially when its director Scorsese is a huge fan of classic films.

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Veidt starred as Franz von Schober in a silent film about Schubert: alas, this film has now been lost. You'll have to access "translate" to read this. "The Three Girls' House", 1918.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Dreim ... aus_(1918)

[Belle]

Conrad Veidt and first wife Augusta 'Gussy' Holl in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, taken after WW1. Holl married Emil Jannings after her divorce from Veidt - and he was the godfather of Conrad's daughter. Jannings later made a propaganda film or two for the Third Reich and Veidt left Germany disgusted with the vile regime. Holl didn't like Veidt's youthful cross-dressing in his 20s but turned a blind eye to Jannings with the Nazis!!

In his autobiography Life and Me, published by Zimmer and Herzog in 1951, Emil Jannings devoted only 72 words to an oblique defence of his work for the Nazis. “There are things one cannot talk about – things that pull us in opposite directions at the same time, as they appear to the head in a different way from the way they appear to the heart, which would like to be in unison with the soul. As my heart and soul belonged to the art of acting, they ordered my head not to worry about things that were none of its concern." Cute, huh?