Conrad Veidt

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

120

Gender

Male

Birthday

1893-01-22

Day of death

1943-04-03 (50 years old)

Place of Birth

Berlin, Germany

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 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.

Known For

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

  • Tempête sur l'Asie

    Tempête sur l'Asie

  • Casablanca

    Casablanca

  • Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer

    Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer

  • Wilhelm Tell

    Wilhelm Tell

  • The Passing of the Third Floor Back

    The Passing of the Third Floor Back

  • Napoleon

    Napoleon

  • Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad

    Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad

  • Congress Dances

    Congress Dances

  • A Man's Past

    A Man's Past

  • Universal Horror

    Universal Horror

  • The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute

    The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute

  • Lucrezia Borgia

    Lucrezia Borgia

  • The Beloved Rogue

    The Beloved Rogue

  • King of the Damned

    King of the Damned

  • Wilhelm Tell

    Wilhelm Tell

  • Contraband

    Contraband

  • Kurfürstendamm

    Kurfürstendamm

  • The Flight in the Night

    The Flight in the Night

  • The Thief of Bagdad

    The Thief of Bagdad

  • A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

    A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

  • The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi

    The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi

  • Colomba

    Colomba

  • Jew Süss

    Jew Süss

  • Rome Express

    Rome Express

  • The Man Who Laughs

    The Man Who Laughs

  • Prostitution II

    Prostitution II

  • The Many Faces of Dracula

    The Many Faces of Dracula

  • Whistling in the Dark

    Whistling in the Dark

  • Dark Journey

    Dark Journey

  • Rasputin, Demon of the Women

    Rasputin, Demon of the Women

  • Under the Red Robe

    Under the Red Robe

  • Die Japanerin

    Die Japanerin

  • Die Mexikanerin

    Die Mexikanerin

  • All Through the Night

    All Through the Night

  • The Film in the Film

    The Film in the Film

  • The Men in Her Life

    The Men in Her Life

  • Das Land ohne Frauen

    Das Land ohne Frauen

  • Lady Hamilton

    Lady Hamilton

  • Don Carlos und Elisabeth

    Don Carlos und Elisabeth

  • F.P.1

    F.P.1

  • Escape

    Escape

  • Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand

    Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand

  • The Ingmar Inheritance

    The Ingmar Inheritance

  • Above Suspicion

    Above Suspicion

  • Two Brothers

    Two Brothers

  • Not of the Woman Born

    Not of the Woman Born

  • Waxworks

    Waxworks

  • Liebe macht blind

    Liebe macht blind

  • Die Nacht auf Goldenhall

    Die Nacht auf Goldenhall

  • Different from the Others

    Different from the Others

  • The Last Company

    The Last Company

  • A Woman's Face

    A Woman's Face

  • The Night of the Decision

    The Night of the Decision

  • Diary of a Lost Woman

    Diary of a Lost Woman

  • The Last Performance

    The Last Performance

  • Nazi Agent

    Nazi Agent

  • The Great Passion

    The Great Passion

  • The Spy in Black

    The Spy in Black

  • Prinz Kuckuck

    Prinz Kuckuck

  • Künstlerlaunen

    Künstlerlaunen

  • The Student of Prague

    The Student of Prague

  • Eerie Tales

    Eerie Tales

  • Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert

    Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert

  • Journey into the Night

    Journey into the Night

  • Das Rätsel von Bangalor

    Das Rätsel von Bangalor

  • The Man Who Committed the Murder

    The Man Who Committed the Murder

  • The Chess Player

    The Chess Player

  • Husbands or Lovers

    Husbands or Lovers

  • Menschen im Rausch

    Menschen im Rausch

  • Schicksal

    Schicksal

  • Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore

    Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore

  • Patience

    Patience

  • I Was a Spy

    I Was a Spy

  • The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur

    The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur

  • The Merry-Go-Round

    The Merry-Go-Round

  • The Only Girl

    The Only Girl

  • The Love Storm

    The Love Storm

  • Bella Donna

    Bella Donna

  • Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby

    Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby

  • The Story of Dida Ibsen

    The Story of Dida Ibsen

  • The Congress Dances

    The Congress Dances

  • The Head of Janus

    The Head of Janus

  • Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon

    Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon

  • Impetuous Youth

    Impetuous Youth

  • Opfer der Gesellschaft

    Opfer der Gesellschaft

  • The Hands of Orlac

    The Hands of Orlac

  • Opium

    Opium

  • Nocturno der Liebe

    Nocturno der Liebe

  • Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed!

    Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed!

  • Paganini

    Paganini

  • The Other Side

    The Other Side

  • Wahnsinn

    Wahnsinn

  • Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft

    Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft

  • Das Geheimnis von Bombay

    Das Geheimnis von Bombay

  • Landstraße und Großstadt

    Landstraße und Großstadt

  • Moriturus

    Moriturus

  • Manolescu's Memoirs

    Manolescu's Memoirs

  • Prostitution

    Prostitution

  • Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter

    Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter

  • Around the World in 80 Days

    Around the World in 80 Days

  • Glanz gegen Glück

    Glanz gegen Glück

  • The Black Hussar

    The Black Hussar

  • The Wandering Jew

    The Wandering Jew

  • The Count of Cagliostro

    The Count of Cagliostro

  • Evening – Night – Morning

    Evening – Night – Morning

  • Figures of the Night

    Figures of the Night

  • Die Augen der Welt

    Die Augen der Welt

  • The Movie City of Hollywood

    The Movie City of Hollywood

  • Das Dreimäderlhaus

    Das Dreimäderlhaus

  • Wenn Tote sprechen

    Wenn Tote sprechen

  • Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod

    Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod

  • The Wife's Crusade

    The Wife's Crusade

  • Should We Be Silent?

    Should We Be Silent?

  • Der Weg des Todes

    Der Weg des Todes

  • Fear

    Fear

  • Die Okarina

    Die Okarina

  • Liebestaumel

    Liebestaumel

  • Le Comte Kostia

    Le Comte Kostia

  • Der Spion

    Der Spion