After making his film debut with his face wrapped in bandages in THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), Rains again found his face masked ten years later in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943). A bit heavy on the opera, this was the first talking film version of Gaston LeRoux's novel (the famous 1925 film starring Lon Chaney had been silent) and won Oscars for its full-color cinematography and art/set direction.

Memorable Quotations:

• "It is your business as Minister of War to know which side will win a battle before it is fought!" --as Napoleon III in JUAREZ (1939).
• "Democracy--the rule of the cattle, by the cattle, for the cattle!" --as Napoleon III in JUAREZ (1939).

In 1946 Rains earned his fourth and final Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Alfred Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant.  This spy thriller set in post World War II South America still packs a good punch today.

A less successful crime drama, WHERE DANGER LIVES (1950) featured Faith Domergue and Robert Mitchum (both above) in addition to Maureen O'Sullivan.

Sipping champagne in one of his last roles, as Dryden in the Best Picture of 1962, David Lean's desert epic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, also featuring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn and Jack Hawkins.

More Claude Rains Links:

• All Things Claude
• The Claude Rains Appreciation Society
• Meredy's Claude Rains Tribute
• Meredy's Claude Rains Trivia Page
• Fansites: Claude Rains
• TVNow's monthly Claude Rains schedule -when his films will be on TV.
• Greatest Films: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
• Greatest Films: NOTORIOUS
• The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: NOTORIOUS
• A review of NOTORIOUS by Roger Ebert
• A review of NOTORIOUS by Brian Koller
• The script of NOTORIOUS
• Greatest Films: NOW, VOYAGER

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Awards | Downloads | Image Credits | THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD | MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON | CASABLANCA | LAWRENCE OF ARABIA