The Clairvoyant

'The Clairvoyant' is an obscure British thriller that fans of Claude Rains ('The Invisible Man') and Fay Wray ('King Kong') should try and hunt down. While slightly flawed it's still extremely entertaining, and Rains and the beautiful Wray make a great team. Watching it I sometimes wondered what Alfred Hitchcock could have done with the material (incidentally Charles Bennett who scripted Hitch's classic 'The 39 Steps' co-wrote it), but that's not to say it isn't interesting as it stands. Rains plays Maximus, a fake psychic who has a music hall act with his wife Rene(Wray). He unexpectedly finds himself getting genuine premonitions when he is near Christine Shawn (Jane Baxter). This leads to many complications, a strain on his marriage, and his eventual prosecution. The movie mixes light comedy, romance and darker moments into a nice blend that should be appreciated by anybody who enjoys Hitchcock's 1930s movies. I don't think 'The Clairvoyant' is anywhere near as good as Hitchcock's best from this period, but it's still above average, and Rains in particular is wonderful. This talented and charismatic actor is always a joy to watch.

Claude Rains gives one of his finest performances ever -- and that's saying a lot. The rest of the cast is also first-rate in this story of a fake fortune-teller who suddenly starts seeing visions of the future for real. I really liked the small touches that director Elvey put in to make you feel as if Claude and his family really were a family -- little things like the way wife Fay Wray will touch his shoulder, the way the family talks on top of one another -- it's all carefully and perfectly done. Congratulations also to Glen MacWilliams' photography -- his footage of the mine shaft rivals Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS. Good work all around.

Seems very strange to see two famed Hollywood actors, Rains and Wray paired together in this early British low-budget film, but there they are...and a marvellous job they make of it. Rains plays Maximus, a charlatan "clairvoyant", and Wray plays his wife and act sidekick. The act is dying on it's feet when Rains pulls of an act of genuine clairvoyance, with a little help from Jane Baxter. All good fun from there...a nice little twist at the end. Well worth a look at.

Always enjoyed the great acting of Claude Rains, who became very famous for his role in "The Invisible Man",'33. It was after this film that Rains went on to become a great dramatic actor as in "Casablanca",42, and many greater starring roles. Rains never needed cue cards, he remembered his many long lines to perfection in great Classics of the 30's, 40's and 60's with many TV appearances. In this picture Rains plays a Clairvoyant, who is really a con-artist and for some unknown reason gains great powers to foretell the future, but is unable to prevent them from happening. There is a train wreck, a horse race and many more fascinating events he predicts. Fay Wray stars as his wife and looks very attractive without her blonde hair as she appeared in "King Kong". Fay Wray also became very famous because of her role in the Kong picture and went on to have a great acting career, without all the screaming. If you have not viewed this film, try to catch it on TV.

The Clairvoyant is directed by Maurice Elvey and adapted to the screen by Charles Bennett and Bryan Edgar Wallace from the novel written by Ernst Lothar. It stars Claude Rains, Fay Wray and Jane Baxter.

Maximus: King of the Mind Readers.

Out of Gaumont British and Gainsborough Pictures, The Clairvoyant is a compact 80 minute picture that tells of a bogus clairvoyant played by Rains who suddenly finds he does in fact have the gift. However, it's a gift he can only bring out when he is in the presence of a woman named Christine (Baxter), something which greatly unsettles his marriage to Rene (Wray). Film is structured in two wholesome parts, the first finds Maximus and Rene bluffing their way on the entertainment circuit, with Maximus then finding the gift and predicting events that really occur, both good and bad. Then the film greatly shifts in tone to play out as the gift being a curse, Maximus' private life comes under great strain and a turn of events see him come under snarling scrutiny by his peers. The seamless shifts from moody to jovial and back again is a credit to the makers, with Rains turning in a powerful performance in one of the last British films he made before heading to America and the big studio contract.

It will not surprise with the ending, and the running time means that some interesting themes are not fully born out and expanded upon. But it's very well performed across the board and has genuine moments of tension and horror once the jovial atmosphere dissipates. 7/10