hyped garbage

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The cast is promising (Claude Rains and Fay Wray), and so is the script idea of a fake clairvoyant who gains the ability to really see the future in the presence of one particular woman. But the director, Maurice Elvey, doesn't provide much atmosphere (except for a few close-ups of Rains' face when he goes into his predictive trance); most of the time this plays like a marital drama rather than a supernatural thriller. The best sequence - a mine shaft accident - is actually lifted from a French movie! (thank you IMDb). Also, the alternate title "The Evil Mind" is a misnomer. ** out of 4.

They let you know this is a Claude Rains movie; yeah, but they'll better mention it's a Fay Wray movie—which is way more exciting.And no disrespect implied, but K. Kong didn't grab Rains.Kidding aside, 'The Evil Mind', though execrably played, and tributary to those obsolete tendencies towards the occult and the murky paranormal, is lively and exciting.A varieties hoaxer discovers he's genuinely able to predict things; his newly discovered ability might be somehow linked to a mysterious broad who keeps crossing his way (Jane Baxter). His newfound gift makes him behave like an imbecile, inebriated by success he gives sonorous, empty speeches about caring for humanity, and is lured by a woman. His wife, a balanced person, suffers. Rains was unlikable. But perhaps that's why they gave him the role.Fay was very likable—here, in a homely, unglamorous, Stefania Sandrelli way; Jane Baxter was the classier broad.The script adapts a novel by Ernest Lothar (which sounds a bit like a dignified nickname).The main thing is that this supernatural drama is very enjoyable, genuinely exciting and lively —though disappointingly played by its ever—sour lead, and you'll see his eyeballs glowing as if he were the hound of Baskerville; the two broads, on the contrary, give reasonably good acting.

I saw this film just after seeing Tyrone Power's film NIGHTMARE ALLEY. I had no idea when I picked up the two films that their plots were so similar, though NIGHTMARE ALLEY has a much more cynical and "Noir" edge to it than this Claude Rains film.Claude and his wife have a stage act where they have devised a code so that he appears to be all-knowing--being able to tell what items his assistant is holding even though he is blindfolded. It's all an elaborate trick until one night, out of the blue, Rains starts receiving REAL images of the future. He's able to predict the winner of the famed Royal Darby as well as avoid disasters due to these premonitions. Oddly, these only occur when a young lady is nearby--as if she is somehow enhancing his abilities unintentionally.For some odd reason, everyone in the film behaves stupidly from time to time, because it seemed to take way too long for them to recognize the symbiotic realize the relationship between the two. In fact, at the end of the film, I knew all along that the lady once again NEEDED to be near Claude during the trial, but it never occurred to anyone! These are the biggest negatives about the film--when the audience KNOWS what should happen next but the people in the film only later stumble into these obvious answers.However, despite this problem with the plot, the film is very original and held my interest throughout. The acting was also very good--something I always expect in a film starring Rains. It's a fine film that is worth seeking out--but considering its age and rarity, you may have a devil of a time finding it.

Claude Rains has to be one of the finest actors who ever graced the screen and this very early effort proves it. Although in his 40's at the time, this was only his third film. Frankly, it is not one of his best and appears to be a little on the cheapo side, especially noticeable in the interior scenes. But that aside, the story does hold your interest and the cast performs admirably.Rains is a fake clairvoyant who suddenly finds that he indeed has a power to predict the future, possibly due to the presence of a woman (Jane Baxter) who seems to release his hidden talents. This is complicated by the fact that she is in love with him although he is married to Fay Wray.His predictions bring him fame until the infamous Humber Shaft disaster which is somehow blamed on him. He is brought to trial (which is rather illogical) but saves the day (and his skin) with a final vision. All ends happily for Rains and Wray (not so for Jane Baxter) and a little humor is tacked on at the end as they stroll through a carnival where a "clairvoyant" is performing.All in all, this is a neat little package that gives us a peek at Rains before he went on to be the busiest and most dependable second lead in Hollywood.