Classic Entertainment Autographs

Cat. #0015143123: PAUL HENREID

Uncommonly early inscribed black fountain pen signature on a 4x6-inch tan autograph album page, acquired in-person in New York City around 1934. In good condition. Discovered by Otto Preminger in the early 1930s, he was cast in a handful of German films, then billed as Paul von Henreid. His break came in 1939, with a supporting role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, after which he landed the plum role of villain Karl Marsen in Night Train to Munich (1940). That same year, he acquired American citizenship, dropped the "von" in his surname and was built himself up as a Hollywood leading man.  His inbred Continental sophistication struck a responsive chord with wartime audiences in films like Now Voyager (1942) and Casablanca (1942). He went on to memorable roles in The Spanish Main (1945); Of Human Bondage (1946); Rope of Sand,  as villain Hollow Triumph; Last of the Buccaneers (1950); and The Siren of Bagdad (1953). Blacklisted in the 1950s, his star rapidly faded, and he made ends meet by directing forgettable B-movies and television dramas, most notably Dead Ringer (1964), which reteamed him with Bette Davis. In 1977, he made a final screen appearance, as a Catholic Cardinal in the horror flick Exorcist 2: The Heretic (1977).