Customer Reviews

Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (Screen Classics)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I did enjoy this book, a biography of Claude Rains, featuring recollections of his daughter, interviews with actors with whom he worked, notable Bette Davis, and a description of his early years of poverty. Also, Mr. Rains own recollections were drawn upon for much of this book. The successful stage career is analyzed and the years in Hollywood where Rains appeared in such classic films as The Invisible Man, Now Voyager, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, Juarez, Anthony Adverse, Deception, and Lawrence of Arabia. The author details his turbulent private life and six marriages, the longest lasting was his fourth marriage to Frances Propper. I agree with another reviewer that not much information is given re: his wives, particularly to Frances Propper--she disappears for a time in the narrative. It would have been helpful had their daughter Jessica discussed more about her mother and what happened to her after the divorce. Also, it would have been interesting to learn more about Jessica and what she is doing today.

Overall, a good biography but I was hoping for more.

I just finished this book and I totally agree with Candace's review listed here.
The review is right on the mark so I won't be repetitious. Claude was married to Frances for a long time, yet you barely get to know her in the book; hardly any insight into their relationship and what happened to Frances after their divorce. What happened to the son that Claude had when he was in England? Too many loose ends. Not enough informal details about Claude....What music did he like? Food? Interests (other than antiques, farming/gardening)? Not enough stories about him and his daughter's relationship as they got older....which there is no excuse considering she co-authored the book. Claude Rains was a fascinating man and a brilliant actor and there should have been more depth to this book.
Also, here's a few mistakes I found in the book...

Page 101 - Inaccurate synopsis of movie "Juarez" and Bette Davis (Carlotta) did not play Paul Muni's (Benito Juarez) wife but was the wife of Brian Aherne (Maximillian), who was the misguided and deceived King of Mexico.

Page 111 - Doctor's daughter was played by Nancy Coleman not Ann Sheridan.

Photo of Claude in a white dinner jacket holding a gun is from the film "Rope of Sand" not "Song of Surrender."

Photo listed as "With Whitney Bourne in Crime without Passion (1934)" should actually be "With Gertrude Michael in The Last Outpost (1935)."


Claude Rains may have been precise and professional, but the book certainly is not.

This book, long awaited by myself, is a detailed account of the life and credits of William Claude Rains. I must compliment David J Skal for the amount of info he got on this deprived actor, who, not much is known about. The book itself is interesting and witty, as was Rains. The civer art was very good aswell.

The only thing I would have to complain about would not be about the book, but about amazon. The book is supposed to come with a disc full of rare-never before seen interviews and stock footage of Rains, however one never came and the blurb of the book says BIOGRAPHY/FILM. I will definitely have a talk to amazon about this, but even without the disc i found the shipment worth the wait and the money, and an enjoyable read.

I am 70 years old and have always admired Claude Rains as a movie actor.This book greatly enhances my knowledge of him as a person and a performer elsewhere - on the stage and in Radio and Television. We are fortunate to have access to his interviews with Jonathan Root and in the form of this book that material is craftily interspersed with the observations and comments from his daughter. The inclusion of observations from Roddy McDowall, Sir John Gielgud and Bette Davis are wonderful. I knew that Claude Rains was a very accomplished actor; this well written book has taught me that he was very bright and witty, and a very complex person.

As a huge Claude Rains fan, I liked this book because it fleshed out the actor's professional career and background with an amazing amount of detail. It satisfied my need to know the basics about someone who was reclusive to the point that he might have been compared to a famous early movie role 'THE INVISIBLE MAN'. Rains was not essentially a film actor despite the fact that he spent about 20 years doing nothing but film acting. He was remarkably hammy at times, but also understated. Rains was nothing if not a contradiction both personally and professionally. He escaped to the life of a gentleman farmer in Pennsylvania when he wasn't working, tacked up six wives and five divorces, fathered one daughter and possibly an illegitimate son which was vaguely alluded to, and picked up a drinking habit that may have contributed to his death.
While this book supplies a great many facts and input from his collegues(and even his daughter), it becomes rapidly apparent that no one completely knew Claude Rains. When I finally reached the book's inevitable conclusion, it was amply apparent that I wasn't going to get a clear picture of what Rains was like when he wasn't performing and kicked back. Regardless, I this book offered a lot of information and I was glad that David Skal gave this wonderful actor his due.

His is the face and voice we cannot forget. Nor can we forget all those letter-perfect screen and stage performances. In this, the first full bio of the actor, author David J. Skal treats readers to a fascinating, yet never flippant, look into the working-class Brit who overcame a severe speech impediment to become a fixture of the London theater scene. He immigrated in 1926 to America where, despite what Rains described as "the worst screen test of all time," he was hired by James Whale to play the title role in The Invisible Man---a tour-de-force depending completely on his vocal skills. Rains was the ideal character actor, lending charm and charisma to dozens of films, and winning Oscar nominations for his work in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Casablanca, Mr. Skeffington and Notorious. His personal life was as dramatic as his work; he ended his second marriage (while masking his wife's alcoholism), for example, by staging an episode of infidelity. Feel free to Rains on this parade of prose!

"This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." The line was uttered by Rick Blaine to Louis the French police captain in the unforgettable closing scene of "Casablanca." Bogie to Rains in one of the immortal closing lines in all film history. Claude Rains was one of the greatest character actors in film history. In this new biography by David J. Skal (with assistance from Rains' only child-daughter Jessica) the life of the complicated man who made such roles come alive as "The Invisible Man"
Louis in Casablanca; Dr Jaquot in Dark Victory and a British diplomat in "Lawrence of Arabia" is presented to a new generation who may not be familiar with his work unless they are fans of Turner Classic Movies or have seen a film classic such as Casablanca at a revival movie theatre.
Rains was born in 1889 (the same year as Hitler and Chaplin!) in Clapham a lower class suburb of London. His father beat him and his mother had mental health issues. Rains became involved in theatre at an early age working for Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company as a call boy, stage manager and assistant director. Rains served in World War I and returned to the British stage. Though short (5 ft. 6 inches) he became a star of British cinema seguing with ease into film. Rains had a beautiful baritone voice and a commanding stage presence. Rains was a professional with a near photographic memory who was always on time and knew his part.
In Hollywood the dapper Rains would win four Oscar nominations for best supporting actor though he never won the coveted award. Late in life he won a Tony on Broadway. Rains was very effective in the Hitchock masterpiece "Notorious" with Bergman and Grant. Ironically his first screen appearance was his star turn in H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" in which he was heard but not seen. Many of Rains best roles were in support of Bette Davis in such gems as "Mr. Skeffington" and "Deception." He was also memorable as the fey King John in "Robin Hood." He was also excellent as the corrupt Senator in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Rains taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where his roster of students included Charles Laughton and John Gielgud.
Rains was a great actor but his private life was messy. Rains married six times; his first wife was the actress Isabel Jeans. He was a serial cheater having many mistresses well into old age. He had one daughter Jessica by his fourth wife a younger woman who left him after a decade of marriage. Rains enjoyed his farm in New York and later in rural New Hampshire. The naturalized American citizen Claude Rains died in 1967 leaving behind a legacy
of great film roles.
I could not admire Rains as a man. He was a serial cheater on his wives; aloof and egocentric. He was often a grouch and difficult to live with. Rains loved the bottle and became an alcoholic. He could be insulting and crude to his family and friends. He could, though, in honesty be a loyal colleague with a wealth of film acting knowledge which he shared with others. He was complex, mecurial and a great actor.
David J. Skal has written a superficial life of Rains. The best part of the book is the filmography of Rains movies and the list of his stage, radio and TV work included in the appendix. Basically this book is just a succinct and shallow review of his various roles on stage and screen. Some attention is given to his private life but this is minimal. The book has boo-boos showing the neeed for an editorial hand: e.g. He says Alben Barkley was a Republican while he was really a Democrat who served as Senator from Kentucky and VEEP under Harry Truman.
The book is overpriced; you can learn as much about Rains by perusing the Wikipedia article on the internet or reading reviews on this book on Amazon.

When Mr. Claude Rains dances around to show his excitement? Well, I'm dancing like that over the release of this fine book! Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I have become a fan of Claude Rains to the point that I simply cannot get enough of him! So, of course, I loved every single minute of reading this book by author David J. Skal with further insights by none other than his daughter, Jessica Rains. I read the book in two days and was amazed at the life of this great actor and gentleman. Mr. Skal's biographical storytelling had me engrossed for two solid evenings! You can tell that he has great respect for Mr. Rains as a subject and anyone who appreciates a good biography, will enjoy this book. I have to hand it to Mr. Skal in keeping the book as Mr. Rains apparently intended to present his life story for his never-finished autobiography. It's so easy to fabricate stories when individuals have passed on, so full marks to Mr. Skal for keeping it real, as they say. I really got the feeling from the book that Mr. Rains was a "regular guy", which was quite interesting. I don't know what I was expecting when I first started to read the book, however, I thought that even made him more charming as a person. The photo section is first rate and for a Claude beginner like myself, I looked through that photograph section over and over and over! I really enjoyed the candid photographs and it was quite fascinating to see the real Claude Rains in action rather than the cinematic Claude Rains as these images are readily available.
I wish I could have learned more about Mr. Rains' fourth wife, Frances. However, if Mr. Skal was maintaining Claude's original vision of an autobiography, one could see why Frances isn't really mentioned, although she was an important part of his life for many years.
Although it was tremendously long, I do like the appendix, notes and sources and bibilography sections of the book. I think it provides fans of Mr. Rains' work an excellent source if one wishes to find out more about this great actor. It's nice to have all these resources in one volume. It certainly had to be a lot of work to compile this information.
If you are a fan of Mr. Rains', you should enjoy this book. I think it is simply marvelous that Mr. Skal worked with Ms. Rains in bringing Mr. Rains' story to life. 2008 has turned out to be a very good year...for Claude Rains fans,of course!

Next, I will be ordering the John Soister/Joanna Wieskowski book, which I hear is another good book on Mr. Rains.

This is the book we've been waiting for. Based on actual tapes that Claude Rains made before he died, this is as close to the facts that we can get. Skal did a masterful job of research and was able to push the memory buttons of Claude's only child, Jessica. It's a good read and is a tribute to the actor and the man. I would recommend this book to fans of Mr. Rains, fans of his era of films and interested bystanders.

Claude Rains, An Actors Voice and the John Soister/JoAnna Wioskowski filmography are the two books that every Rains fan should own. It doesn't get any better than this!

I have read other books by David Skal. Mr Skal has never been in the business of putting his own spin on his subject's motives and objectives. His work is no different here. In this book, he has presented the story as Rains told it.

This is not the Kitty Kelley version of Rains life.

The other reviewers are correct. If you are looking for lots of wild, unproven, gossipy stories, you will be disappointed.

However, if you are looking for Rains own story, as he told it, you will like the book. Most of the information about his early life, theatre career, many marriages, and his later life has never been published before. Skal respects his readers intelligence enough to allow them to draw their own conclusions about the events of Rains life.