The Clairvoyant

Claude Rains, (1889-1967), became a star in 1933 with his appearance in the classic film “The Invisible Man.” Fay Wray, (1907-2004), became a star in 1933 with her appearance in the classic film “King Kong.” Both performers were invited to come to England to appear in an unusual supernatural thriller based on Ernst Lothar’s 1929 novel “Der Hellseher.” It was not a big hit, and it has fallen into obscurity in the years since. Nonetheless the movie offers an opportunity to see both stars in the early days of their careers.

This week’s movie was “The Clairvoyant” from Gaumont British in 1935, directed by the prolific Maurice Elvey, (1887-1967). The script was by Charles Bennett and Bryan Edgar Wallace. In America the picture was released as “An Evil Mind.” Claude Rains stars as “Maximus,” the star of a phony mind-reading music hall act. His wife “Rene,” (Fay Wray), is part of the act. She asks the blindfolded Maximus to identify personal items taken from audience members. She clues him in to the answers by giving him coded messages in the way she words her inquiries. During one performance young “Christine Shaw,” (Jane Baxter), is in the audience. For some unknown reason her presence gives Maximus genuine supernatural powers, and he is able to reveal the contents of a sealed envelope. Later on Maximus and Rene are on a train when he encounters Christine again. He sees a vision of a train wreck, and pulls the emergency cable. Maximus and his family leave the train, as does Christine. Minutes later the train is destroyed. When the story reaches the newspapers Maximus becomes famous. Rene becomes jealous of the growing relationship between her husband and his muse. Maximus remains faithful to his wife, but Christine begins to fall in love with him. Then Maximus has a vision of a disaster in a railway tunnel under construction. He attempts to convince the workers to abandon their work, but he fails. The tunnel floods, and hundreds are killed or missing. Maximus is put on trial. He is blamed for causing the disaster by frightening the workers. During the trial Maximus predicts that the missing workers will be rescued. When this occurs just as he describes the court drops all charges. Maximus gives up his gift and he and Rene pursue a more normal way of life.

The performances are fine and Elvey keeps the story moving along at a good clip. This is a minor film, but a reasonably entertaining picture. The problem I have is that the movie seems as if it has a subtext, but for the life of me I can’t identify what message the film is meant to communicate. It is unlikely that anyone in the audience will learn anything from this story that will actually ever be useful in any actual circumstances that they might face. This picture left me with one of the most annoying questions that I ever ask about a movie: “Why did they want to tell me this story?”