A Tribute to Conrad Veidt

“It is precisely as though I were possessed by some other spirit when I enter on a new task of acting, as though something within me presses a switch and my own consciousness merges into some other, greater, more vital being.”

These words were spoken by a wonderful man, and it blows my mind that today his name is not as well-known as it should be. Conrad Veidt.

Sure, a film buff may recognize the name. But anyone else would be more likely to recognize ‘John Wayne’ than ‘Conrad Veidt’. Born in 1893, the same year of the infamous Chicago World’s Fair, he served briefly in the German army during WWI, but would eventually be discharged due to ill health. Afterwards, his acting career truly began…which is all well and good. Theatre is absolutely marvelous, and Conrad Veidt had the honor of working with Max Reinhardt himself prior to his military service. One can only imagine how brilliantly he must have shined onstage.

In 1920, Mr. Veidt played one of the darkest characters in cinema history. I really mean that, because he was all in black and a dominating character in the most influential expressionist film of the silent era, ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’. I don’t believe anyone else would have brought justice to the role of Cesare, not like Conrad. Seriously. Just look at him!

He was also in ‘Waxworks’, and ‘The Hands of Orlac’, proving further with each role that Conrad was a character actor, and a powerful one at that.

Skipping forward a bit, Conrad left Germany for England when the Nazi party began to take control in Germany. Eventually he was off to Hollywood. And lots of Nazi roles. But there’s one more movie I’d like to talk about, I also believe it was one of his greatest roles: ‘The Man Who Laughs’. A melodrama, a romance, and…perhaps a horror movie? A young boy is kidnapped, sold to gypsies, his face is mutilated to give him a permanent grin, he grows up to be a circus act, and then is practically drug kicking and screaming to take his proper place in ‘society’ when his identity is discovered. The horror wasn’t in the face of the man, but those he faced…

For those of you who love film, for those of you who love horror, and for those of you who love acting…do not pass up the chance to see the movies I mentioned, and anything else with Conrad Veidt in even a minor role (-cough- Casablanca -cough-), for he is one of the most powerful onscreen presences I have ever seen.

Silent Horrors: All Made Up

That picture post I made recently of young horror masters left me thinking about Lon Chaney. For those of us who know horror, and even films, he's the 'Man of 1000 Faces'. Think of the flexibility Gary Oldman has on the screen, and you're pretty much starting to gain an idea of this man. Each role he played was distinctly different from the last, and he was a magnificent character actor. I could devote an entire segment to him and still not even come close to describing how influential Lon ultimately was and is still for horror today, but this isn't going to be about Chaney sr, though I suppose in the future I'll devote something to him (he died 4 days before my birthday, after all. Not the literal day I was born, because I'm 23, but you get the idea.) Anyway, the whole point of this illustration is to talk about the make-up. He's great to start with, because he's the most recognizable. Here's a few great examples of Lon Chaney's monsters...

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Phantom of the Opera

London After Midnight

Silent cinema in particular was very heavy on the atmosphere. That's why body language was infinitely more important, and even moreso when there was proper costuming. Make-up techniques have advanced a lot since then, yet...god they were creepier. Take this older version of Frankenstein, for instance. Inhuman to an extreme degree, and indescribably...disturbing.

Frankenstein

The full feature is available, by the way, on youtube. Generally one picture can never do true justice to a monster. Sadly the same can not be said for the sinister grinning man just above this one. Lon Chaney's 'London After Midnight' is a lost film, and will very likely never be recovered.

Now let's jump onto a few pictures of one of my personal favorites, Conrad Veidt. Even as a monster, he was a beautiful man.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The Man Who Laughs

The extremes it took for the effect on his lips were incredibly painful. In fact, a lot of the monster make-up in these films was pretty excruciating, when it went beyond pancake and mascara.

Here are a few other monsters worth showing off, just for good measure.

Metropolis (with mask)

Metropolis (without mask)

The Golem

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Nosferatu

Ultimately, there is something terrifying about the human form when tiny features are pulled out of proportion, namely fingers, eyes, and teeth. Honestly, half of these people I'm completely willing to believe really were monsters whenever the silver screen brings them back to life.