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.

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.

Claude Rains gives one of his finest performances ever -- and that's saying a lot. The rest of the cast is also first-rate in this story of a fake fortune-teller who suddenly starts seeing visions of the future for real. I really liked the small touches that director Elvey put in to make you feel as if Claude and his family really were a family -- little things like the way wife Fay Wray will touch his shoulder, the way the family talks on top of one another -- it's all carefully and perfectly done. Congratulations also to Glen MacWilliams' photography -- his footage of the mine shaft rivals Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS. Good work all around.

The Clairvoyant is directed by Maurice Elvey and adapted to the screen by Charles Bennett and Bryan Edgar Wallace from the novel written by Ernst Lothar. It stars Claude Rains, Fay Wray and Jane Baxter.

Maximus: King of the Mind Readers.

Out of Gaumont British and Gainsborough Pictures, The Clairvoyant is a compact 80 minute picture that tells of a bogus clairvoyant played by Rains who suddenly finds he does in fact have the gift. However, it's a gift he can only bring out when he is in the presence of a woman named Christine (Baxter), something which greatly unsettles his marriage to Rene (Wray). Film is structured in two wholesome parts, the first finds Maximus and Rene bluffing their way on the entertainment circuit, with Maximus then finding the gift and predicting events that really occur, both good and bad. Then the film greatly shifts in tone to play out as the gift being a curse, Maximus' private life comes under great strain and a turn of events see him come under snarling scrutiny by his peers. The seamless shifts from moody to jovial and back again is a credit to the makers, with Rains turning in a powerful performance in one of the last British films he made before heading to America and the big studio contract.

It will not surprise with the ending, and the running time means that some interesting themes are not fully born out and expanded upon. But it's very well performed across the board and has genuine moments of tension and horror once the jovial atmosphere dissipates. 7/10