Late in Claude Rains's distinguished career, a reverent film
journalist wrote that Rains "was as much a cinematic institution as
the medium itself." Given his childhood speech impediments and his
origins in a destitute London neighborhood, the ascent of Claude
Rains (1889--1967) to the stage and screen is remarkable. Rains's
difficulties in his formative years provided reserves of gravitas
and sensitivity, from which he drew inspiration for acclaimed
performances in The Invisible Man (1933), Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington (1939), Casablanca (1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of
Arabia (1962), and other classic films. In Claude Rains: An Actor's
Voice, noted Hollywood historian David J. Skal draws on more than
thirty hours of newly released Rains interviews to create the first
full-length biography of the actor who was nominated multiple times
for an Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Skal's portrait of
the gifted actor also benefits from the insights of Jessica Rains,
who provides firsthand accounts of the enigmatic man behind her
father's refined screen presence and genteel public persona. As
Skal shows, numerous contradictions informed the life and career of
Claude Rains. He possessed an air of nobility and became an emblem
of sophistication, but he never shed the insecurities that traced
back to his upbringing in an abusive and poverty-stricken family.
Though deeply self-conscious about his short stature, Rains drew
notorious ardor from female fans and was married six times. His
public displays of dry wit and good humor masked inner demons that
drove Rains to alcoholism and its devastating consequences. Skal's
layered depiction of Claude Rains reveals a complex, almost
inscrutable man whose nuanced characterizations were, in no small
way, based on the more shadowy parts of his psyche. With
unprecedented access to episodes from Rains's private life, Skal
tells the full story of the consummate character actor of his
generation. Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, gives voice to the
struggles and innermost concerns that influenced Rains's
performances and helped him become a universally respected
Hollywood legend.
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