The Clairvoyant

The Clairvoyant (1935)

This is a British movie with the flavor, and look, of Hitchcock's British films, and it's as good in many ways.

And Claude Rains as the title character is sharp, funny, sophisticated, warm, all in that way Rains has of being a little removed, gently above it all without being above his peers. He is way younger (of course) than his famous persona from, say, "Casablanca" or "Notorious" but it's still the same Rains, and in a way if you appreciate him in his American films, you should see this to see where he came from.

The filming and editing feels so much like Hitchcock at times I wondered just what kind of connections there might be between him and the director here, Maurice Elvey, and couldn't find anything obvious (like a shared cinematographer). But Elvey was the most established and famous and therefore the most influential of British filmmakers, making a hundred films before Hitchcock made his first. So the influence is probably one way at first, with Hitch picking up on Elvey's methods.

But by 1932, when Elvey made a talkie remake, "The Phantom Fiend," of an earlier Hitchcock masterpiece, the 1927 "The Lodger," the influence is obviously going the other way. The whole train scene in the first half of this movie is a masterpiece of filming and editing. In all, the plot is so interesting, with some honest twists to accompany what seems at first to be a slightly mystical theme, it deserves an honest remake of its own.

I think it's further worth noting some serious content. The movie deals (at least obliquely) with labor relations in the mines, with the acceptance by the establishment that mediums and clairvoyants are charlatans (or entertainers, as the charlatan says), with greed (in the depression), and with marital fidelity.

The copy you can stream on Netflix is only fair--not especially sharp, and with muddled sound, probably thrown together for television broadcast decades ago. It's good enough to watch anyway, but let's all hope for a remastered version soon.

Always enjoyed the great acting of Claude Rains, who became very famous for his role in "The Invisible Man",'33. It was after this film that Rains went on to become a great dramatic actor as in "Casablanca",42, and many greater starring roles. Rains never needed cue cards, he remembered his many long lines to perfection in great Classics of the 30's, 40's and 60's with many TV appearances. In this picture Rains plays a Clairvoyant, who is really a con-artist and for some unknown reason gains great powers to foretell the future, but is unable to prevent them from happening. There is a train wreck, a horse race and many more fascinating events he predicts. Fay Wray stars as his wife and looks very attractive without her blonde hair as she appeared in "King Kong". Fay Wray also became very famous because of her role in the Kong picture and went on to have a great acting career, without all the screaming. If you have not viewed this film, try to catch it on TV.

Seems very strange to see two famed Hollywood actors, Rains and Wray paired together in this early British low-budget film, but there they are...and a marvellous job they make of it. Rains plays Maximus, a charlatan "clairvoyant", and Wray plays his wife and act sidekick. The act is dying on it's feet when Rains pulls of an act of genuine clairvoyance, with a little help from Jane Baxter. All good fun from there...a nice little twist at the end. Well worth a look at.

Professional mind-reader Maximus (Rains) suddenly becomes a genuine foreteller of the future, causing a bunch of problems.

That early scene of Maximus on stage is a little gem of staging, editing, and directing. The backdrop of a giant The Thinker is impressive, suggesting that a mental force much larger than the dwarfed Maximus is in play, as indeed it is. His transition from professional trickster to derided dunce to man possessed is riveting, especially as echoed in the gamut of audience reactions. Riveting also is Christine's (Baxter) trance-like stare, which oddly becomes Maximus's pathway to the future. I just wish the movie's remainder equaled this early atmospheric plateau.

The main problem is that the screenplay, having set up the compelling premise of genuine clairvoyance, is unsure where to go with it. As a result, events meander into a love story culminating in an utterly conventional ending that unfortunately undercuts that brilliantly ominous stage sequence. Then too, as others point out, the coal mine and court trial sequences are poorly thought out, making that part pretty murky. Just why Maximus is blamed is never made clear-- (although the mine owners responsible for the dangerous conditions could have been implicated for shifting blame).

Claude Rains as a leading man takes some getting used too. Nonetheless, he's excellent at alternating Maximus's many moods, and I especially liked his moment of uncharacteristic gaiety when he thinks he's out-foxed the money men. And, of course, there's the gorgeous Fay Wray—a man like Maximus is truly possessed who would think of leaving her. Plus, Jane Baxter who I haven't seen before is also compelling in a very well-cast film. All in all, the movie comes across as an uneasy combination of the brilliant, the conventional, and the muddled.

(In passing—one direction for the uncertain storyline would have been the question whether the future is ruled by the inalterable hand of fate. If so, then future events cannot be changed no matter how hard we try. Maximus thinks his prophetic ability provides the opportunity to alter the future. However, suppose we factor in the possibility of a future ruled instead by fate. Then the question of how Maximus fits into fate's inalterable equation becomes an interesting one. Anyway, it's a thought.)

1935's "The Clairvoyant" was a Gaumont-British production retitled "The Evil Mind" for US release, starring native son Claude Rains and actress Fay Wray, imported from Hollywood like Boris Karloff in 1933's "The Ghoul." Following on from "The Invisible Man," "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head," and "Mystery of Edwin Drood," Rains plays the title role of The Great Maximus, who has been developing a phony mind reading act with devoted wife Rene (Wray), but whenever in the presence of young Christine Shaw (Jane Baxter) is mysteriously able to foretell actual future events in a trance-like state. Simple predictions such as who will win the Darby earn Maximus top dollar doing his phony routine, but his enjoyment of his newfound fame is soon compromised by the public's demand for prophecies. His loving marriage is strained by his close involvement with Christine, who admits to Rene that she loves him, but the climax comes when the predicted mining disaster is blamed on Maximus himself, his attempt to warn the workers ahead of time labeled a publicity stunt. Among the unbilled faces are Donald Calthrop (soon to appear with Karloff in "The Man Who Changed His Mind"), who convinces Maximus to be true to his wife, and especially Felix Aylmer, memorable presence in such later Hammers as "The Mummy" and "Never Take Sweets from a Stranger," who truly excels as the scene stealing prosecutor tormenting Maximus on the stand. While Rains is excellent, it's really Fay Wray who stands out, turning what could have been a rather thankless role as the neglected wife into a living breathing human being, and a happy ending was had by all.