Conrad Veidt
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 22, 1893
- Died
- April 3, 1943
- Birthplace
- Berlin, Germany
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 The Hands of Orlac (1924), another film directed by Robert Wiene, The Student of Prague (1926) and Waxworks (1924) where he played Ivan the Terrible. Veidt also appeared in Magnus Hirschfeld's film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919), one of the first films to sympathetically portray homosexuality, although the characters in it do not end up happily. He had a leading role in Germany's first talking picture, Das Land ohne Frauen (Land Without Women, 1929). He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and made a few films, but the advent of talking pictures and his difficulty with speaking English led him to return to Germany. During this period he lent his expertise to tutoring aspiring performers, one of whom was the later American character actress Lisa Golm.
Filmography
Vito 2011
as Self (archive footage)
- Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad 2008
as Jaffar (archival footage)
The Many Faces of Dracula 2000
as Self (archive footage)
Universal Horror 1998
as (archive footage)
- The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute 1974
as Self (archive footage)
Los ojos del siglo (Volumen I) 1957
as Él mismo (material de archivo)
Above Suspicion 1943
as Hassert Seidel
Casablanca 1943
as Major Heinrich Strasser
Nazi Agent 1942
as Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner
All Through the Night 1942
as Franz Ebbing
The Men in Her Life 1941
as Stanislas Rosing
Whistling in the Dark 1941
as Joseph Jones
A Woman's Face 1941
as Torsten Barring
Escape 1940
as General Kurt von Kolb
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound 1940
as Self
Contraband 1940
as Capt. Andersen
The Thief of Bagdad 1940
as Jaffar
The Spy in Black 1939
as Captain Ernst Hardt
The Chess Player 1938
as Le baron de Kempelen
Tempête sur l'Asie 1938
as Erich Keith
Under the Red Robe 1937
as Gil de Berault
Dark Journey 1937
as Baron Karl Von Marwitz
King of the Damned 1935
as Convict 83
The Passing of the Third Floor Back 1935
as The Stranger
Bella Donna 1934
as Mahmoud Baroudi
Jew Süss 1934
as Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer
- William Tell
William Tell 1934
as Gessler
The Wandering Jew 1933
as Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios
I Was a Spy 1933
as Commandant Oberaertz
F.P.1 1933
as Maj. Ellissen
The Only Girl 1933
as Marquis de Pontignac
Rome Express 1932
as Zurta
The Black Hussar 1932
as Captain Hansgeorg von Hochberg
Rasputin, Demon of the Women 1932
as Grigori Rasputin
The Other Side 1931
as Hauptmann Stanhope
Congress Dances 1931
as Fürst Metternich
The Night of the Decision 1931
as General Gregori Platoff
The Man Who Committed the Murder 1931
as Oberst Marquis de Sévigné
The Love Storm 1930
as Kingsley
The Great Desire 1930
as Himself
The Last Company 1930
as Hauptmann Burk
The Last Performance 1929
as Erik the Great
Das Land ohne Frauen 1929
as Dick Ashton
- The Movie City of Hollywood
The Movie City of Hollywood 1928
as Self
The Man Who Laughs 1928
as Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed! 1927
Actor
A Man's Past 1927
as Paul La Roche
The Beloved Rogue 1927
as King Louis XI
Napoleon 1927
as Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade
The Flight in the Night 1926
as Count di Nolli, Heinrich IV
The Student of Prague 1926
as Balduin, Student
Love Is Blind 1926
Actor
Should We Be Silent? 1926
as Paul Hartwig, Maler
- Two Brothers
Two Brothers 1926
as Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg
Impetuous Youth 1926
as Renées Vater
The Wife's Crusade 1926
as Der Staatsanwalt
The Ingmar Inheritance 1925
as Hellgum
Le Comte Kostia 1925
as Comte Kostia
- Schicksal
Schicksal 1925
Actor
Husbands or Lovers 1924
as Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter
Waxworks 1924
as Ivan the Terrible
The Hands of Orlac 1924
as Paul Orlac
The Film in the Film 1924
as Self
Don Carlos und Elisabeth 1924
as Don Carlos
William Tell 1923
as Hermann Gessler
Paganini 1923
as Niccolo Paganini
- Glanz gegen Glück
Glanz gegen Glück 1923
Actor
Lucrezia Borgia 1922
as Cesare Borgia
The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur 1921
as Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi 1921
as Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
Lady Hamilton 1921
as Lord Nelson
Danton 1921
as Minor Role (rumored)
Landstraße und Großstadt 1921
as Raphael, der Geiger
Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon 1921
as Christian Wahnschaffe
- Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft
Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft 1921
Actor
Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore 1921
as Hektor Dalmore
- Liebestaumel
Liebestaumel 1921
as Jalenko
Journey into the Night 1921
as Der Maler
Das Geheimnis von Bombay 1921
as Tossi
People in Ecstasy 1921
as Professor Munk
Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer 1921
as Ivan
The Count of Cagliostro 1920
as Minister
Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand 1920
as Christian Wahnschaffe
- Manolescu's Memoirs
Manolescu's Memoirs 1920
as Manolescu
Evening – Night – Morning 1920
as Brilburn - Maud's brother
Moriturus 1920
as Wilmos, sanatorium director
The Head of Janus 1920
as Dr. Warren
- Künstlerlaunen
Künstlerlaunen 1920
Actor
- Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm 1920
as The devil
- The Eyes of the World
The Eyes of the World 1920
as Johannes Kay
- Die Nacht auf Goldenhall
Die Nacht auf Goldenhall 1920
Actor, Director, Producer
- Patience
Patience 1920
as Sir Percy Parker
The Merry-Go-Round 1920
as Petre Karvan
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920
as Cesare
Figures of the Night 1920
as The clown
Eerie Tales 1919
as Der Tod / Various Other Roles
- Wahnsinn
Wahnsinn 1919
as Bankier Lorenzen, Director
Prinz Kuckuck 1919
as Carl Kraker
Prostitution II 1919
as Alfred Werner
- The Ocarina
The Ocarina 1919
Actor
Different from the Others 1919
as Paul Körner
- Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod
Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod 1919
Actor
Around the World in 80 Days 1919
as Phineas Fogg
Prostitution 1919
as Alfred Werner
The Japanese Woman 1919
Actor
Opium 1919
as Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr.
- Opfer der Gesellschaft
Opfer der Gesellschaft 1919
Actor
- The Mexican
The Mexican 1919
as Dr. von Dossen
- Nocturno der Liebe
Nocturno der Liebe 1919
as Frederic Chopin
Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby 1918
as Doktor Köstling
The Story of Dida Ibsen 1918
as Erik Norrensen
Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter 1918
as Kramer
Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert 1918
as Doktor Köstling
Colomba 1918
as Henryk von Rhyn
Diary of a Lost Woman 1918
as Dr. Julius
Not of the Woman Born 1918
as Satan
Das Dreimäderlhaus 1918
as Schober
The Mystery of Bangalore 1918
as Dinja
Fear 1917
as Indian Priest
- Der Spion
Der Spion 1917
as Steinau
Wenn Tote sprechen 1917
as Richard von Worth
Der Weg des Todes 1917
Actor
Credits from TMDB.