Hans Walter Conrad Veidt

German-born British actor. Born in Berlin, Veidt became an established actor in German silent films in the 1920s. He left Germany with his Jewish wife in 1933 and settled in the UK. After becoming a naturalised British citizen, Veidt contributed towards Britain’s war effort. Before migrating to America in the midst of World War II, his excellence in playing sinister and villainous roles such as a spy, Nazi agent or an evil man won him wide acclaim. One of his most memorable roles was that of the evil minister Jaffar alongside Sabu who played the lovable thief and June Duprez who acted as the beautiful “Arabian Nights” princess in Alexander Korda’s The Thief of Bagdad (1940). His last film was Above Suspicion (1943). He died aged 50 in Los Angeles. After being kept for many years in America, his ashes were brought to the UK and buried at London’s Golders Green Crematorium in 1997.

The above findings are part of the research which ensued in the project – A Hidden Heritage: Indo-British Film Collaboration (1930-1951)