I bet in the 20s all the weird German emo girls were thirsting after the Somnambulist
German emo girls be like “ich will 😍🥺”
Don’t hide this magnificent piece of info in the tags.
The bloke (Conrad Veidt) was an outspoken opponent of antisemitism, and when he refused to divorce his wife (who was Jewish), Joseph Goebbels had him blacklisted.
He also donated tons and tons of money to poor children who had been negatively effected by the Blitz in London after he moved to the US, following his becoming a naturalised-British citizen after leaving Germany in the 1930s.
Don’t forget that in 1919, he starred in “Different from the Others”, a German film protesting the anti-homosexuality laws in place. It’s widely regarded as the first pro-gay film. Conrad Veidt was a goddamn hero.
I just feel like this pic is relevant to the discussion
He was also the highest paid member of the cast in “Casablanca” (where he played a Nazi officer, again), even if he only got second billing, because he was THAT big a star.
He and his first wife divorced after… well she said it better than I ever could.
“I excused a lot of his failings and whims because I loved him. But one day he did something to me that I couldn’t forgive. I was singing that evening at the cabaret. I left him home and he told me: “I invited a few friends; we’ll dine while we wait for you.” And it just so happened I had received a new dress from Paris. That evening, after work, I arrived home and what do I see? All these gentlemen dressed as women. And Conrad had put on my Paris dress. At this point, I divorced!”
“Any Berlin lady of the night might turn out to be a man; the prettiest girl on the street was Konrad [sic] Veidt.”
Good to see the tumblr sexyman precludes even tumblr
It’s important to mention, I think, that he served in WWI on the Eastern front. He became I’ll in the trenches and while recovering joined up with the theater his girlfriend worked for, and spent his recuperation putting on plays for the troops.
He also believed in spiritualism and thought that he himself was a medium.
He was sexy man, Betty Grable, and Alistair Crowley all at once. So…no wonder tumblr likes him so much.
I was unaware of his existence until just now but this is amazing.
However since Crowley was an antisemitic malicious selfish bastard I’d have to say he was the opposite of Crowley.
Fair point. Didn’t know much about Crowley, just that he invented tarot cards and popularized them. I personally stay well away from all of that nonsense. Alright, let’s amend it to a benevolent psychic witch or something. As you like it.
Veidt’s
role as Grand Vizier Jafar in “The Thief of Baghdad” (1940) was the inspiration for Disney’s version in the animated “Aladdin”.
His makeup as Gwynplaine in “The Man Who Laughs” (1928) was the inspiration for The Joker.
And his role as Cesare The Somnambulist in “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” (1919) was the inspiration for Tim Burton’s…