Uncommonly early 3.25 x 5.5-inch sepia-tone German "Ross" Verlag postcard portrait, boldly signed in black fountain pen and dated 1932. In good condition for its age. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Major Heinrich Strasser in Casablanca (1942), great villain actor Conrad Veidt began his career in a string of German silent horror films, including Wahnsinn (1919), Earie Tales (1919), Der Graf von Cagliostro (1920), Der Januskopf (1920), and Nachtgestalten (1920). In 1920, he became a sensation with his role as Cesare, the murderous somnambulist in Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and went on to star in Wiene's The Hands of Orlac (1924), Leni's Waxworks (1924), The Man Who Cheated Life (1926), The Last Performance (1927), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). In 1931, Universal Pictures head Carl Laemmle hand-selected Veidt to play Dracula in a film to be directed by Paul Leni based upon the successful New York stage play by Hamilton Deane, but, ultimately, Bela Lugosi landed the role and Tod Browning directed the picture.

• Tweet