Claude Rains makes dubious men such agreeable company that we keep listening after we ought to know better. We value the precision of his speech and the unease beneath his charm.
Fi1m perspective
In Casablanca (1943), Claude Rains makes Captain Louis Renault’s politeness sound faintly suspect without making his company any less welcome. We laughed at his agreeableness, then felt uneasy about how readily we had warmed to him. The pleasure comes from Rains allowing us to hear the courtesy and doubt its sincerity at the same time. He gives us reason to mistrust Renault without asking us to stop enjoying him.
The voice was already central to The Invisible Man (1933), his breakthrough screen role, where limited visibility left speech to do much of the work. Through the 1940s, he became a prolific Hollywood character actor, taking supporting parts and occasional leads. He was often cast as an authority figure whose charm made dishonesty surprisingly easy to tolerate. That suited his smooth delivery and taste for irony.
Renault remains the clearest place to hear why it works. Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard E. Koch’s screenplay gives the jokes a reason to be there: people use wit to protect themselves. Rains understands that a line can be funny without its speaker becoming harmless, and his agreeable manner lets the comedy continue while we wonder what he means. Our enthusiasm for Casablanca owes much to the way its humour belongs to its characters, though some of its plotting is decidedly convenient.
His restraint could also convey yearning or melancholy without a raised voice. In Notorious (1946), his Alexander Sebastian is allowed a sensitivity that complicates our response to him. David Lean valued his meticulous timing in The Passionate Friends (1949), and Rains later played Mr. Dryden in Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962). That late supporting performance retains his precision, though we recommend the film chiefly for Lean’s patience and Peter O’Toole’s unsettling performance, rather than as a Rains vehicle.
He was less well suited to the conventional romantic or heroic lead. We prefer him when good manners leave something in doubt, and the writing gives him more to do than sound distinguished. Start with Casablanca, and give that courteous voice your full attention.
Biography
Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was an English stage and film actor. He appeared as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca (1942). Other notable film roles include Dr Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933), Senator Joseph Paine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Sir John Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941), Dr Jaquith in Now, Voyager (1942), Erique Claudin in Phantom of the Opera (1943), Alexander Sebastian in Notorious (1946) and Mr Dryden in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
Rains began his career on the London stage, making his debut at the age of eleven. He later taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where his students included John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier. He served in the First World War with the London Scottish Regiment. Rains received four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Mr. Skeffington (1944) and Notorious.
