The Clairvoyant

'The Clairvoyant' is an obscure British thriller that fans of Claude Rains ('The Invisible Man') and Fay Wray ('King Kong') should try and hunt down. While slightly flawed it's still extremely entertaining, and Rains and the beautiful Wray make a great team. Watching it I sometimes wondered what Alfred Hitchcock could have done with the material (incidentally Charles Bennett who scripted Hitch's classic 'The 39 Steps' co-wrote it), but that's not to say it isn't interesting as it stands. Rains plays Maximus, a fake psychic who has a music hall act with his wife Rene(Wray). He unexpectedly finds himself getting genuine premonitions when he is near Christine Shawn (Jane Baxter). This leads to many complications, a strain on his marriage, and his eventual prosecution. The movie mixes light comedy, romance and darker moments into a nice blend that should be appreciated by anybody who enjoys Hitchcock's 1930s movies. I don't think 'The Clairvoyant' is anywhere near as good as Hitchcock's best from this period, but it's still above average, and Rains in particular is wonderful. This talented and charismatic actor is always a joy to watch.

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.

"The Clairvoyant", also known as "The Evil Mind", is a far-fetched but interesting story, which works primarily because of Claude Rains' excellent acting in his role as a phony music-hall psychic who suddenly discovers that he has genuine psychic powers whenever a particular woman is nearby.

Rains was one of the finest actors of his era, and was at his best in playing complex, multi-faceted characters. In "The Clairvoyant", his character must struggle both to understand the nature of the unexpected ability that he has discovered, and also to handle the complications that it produces in his life and marriage, since the woman whose presence grants him real extra-sensory ability is not his wife.

The concept itself is an interesting premise, although quite implausible. It preserves some believability that no convoluted attempt is ever made to explain just why the psychic gift worked as it did - the film concentrates instead on the gift's consequences. The rest of the film works as well as it does because of Rains and also because of good work by Fay Wray and Jane Baxter as the women in his life.

There is a good suspense climax and an amusing final scene.

The writing is also good. The screen version was written by Charles Bennett, who is better known for writing the screen adaptations for several of Alfred Hitchcock's finest movies, including "The 39 Steps", "Foreign Correspondent", and both versions of "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

"The Clairvoyant" will definitely appeal to any fan of Rains, and it is a short, fast-moving picture that should also provide good light entertainment to who anyone who enjoys vintage cinema.

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

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.