Fella_shibby I saw this few days back on a dvd. The print n sound wasnt that great. The film is about a fake clairvoyant (Claude Rains - The invisible man) who is able to tell about things blindfolded as he is assisted by his devoted wife (Fay Wray - first scream queen) who gives him hidden clues. The fake psychic suddenly turns into a genuine one whenever he is close to Christine... There is romantic angle, drama, off-screen disasters like train n mining accidents n courtroom trial. Rains' eye expressions during psychic visions were laughable. Warning, it is not a horror film.

Spikeopath The Clairvoyant is directed by Maurice Elvey and adapted to the screen by Charles Bennett and Bryan Edgar Wallace from the novel written by Ernst Lothar. It stars Claude Rains, Fay Wray and Jane Baxter.Maximus: King of the Mind Readers.Out of Gaumont British and Gainsborough Pictures, The Clairvoyant is a compact 80 minute picture that tells of a bogus clairvoyant played by Rains who suddenly finds he does in fact have the gift. However, it's a gift he can only bring out when he is in the presence of a woman named Christine (Baxter), something which greatly unsettles his marriage to Rene (Wray). Film is structured in two wholesome parts, the first finds Maximus and Rene bluffing their way on the entertainment circuit, with Maximus then finding the gift and predicting events that really occur, both good and bad. Then the film greatly shifts in tone to play out as the gift being a curse, Maximus' private life comes under great strain and a turn of events see him come under snarling scrutiny by his peers. The seamless shifts from moody to jovial and back again is a credit to the makers, with Rains turning in a powerful performance in one of the last British films he made before heading to America and the big studio contract.It will not surprise with the ending, and the running time means that some interesting themes are not fully born out and expanded upon. But it's very well performed across the board and has genuine moments of tension and horror once the jovial atmosphere dissipates. 7/10

wes-connors Charlatan clairvoyant Claude Rains (as Maximus) and impetuous wife Fay Wray (as Rene) become wealthy and successful when their con act benefits from his acquisition of real powers. The newfound ability to foretell the future comes in handy when Mr. Rains visits the racetrack. Rains' predictive powers seem to stem from mysterious Jane Baxter (as Christine Shawn), which makes Ms. Wray jealous. Call it her "woman's intuition." There are more problems for Rains when he predicts a horrific disaster, inviting some "kill the messenger" reaction from the public. Both Rains and the film's credulity are put on trial - one wins, one loses.***** The Clairvoyant (1934) Maurice Elvey ~ Claude Rains, Fay Wray, Jane Baxter Mary Clare

dougdoepke Professional mind-reader Maximus (Rains) suddenly becomes a genuine foreteller of the future, causing a bunch of problems.That early scene of Maximus on stage is a little gem of staging, editing, and directing. The backdrop of a giant The Thinker is impressive, suggesting that a mental force much larger than the dwarfed Maximus is in play, as indeed it is. His transition from professional trickster to derided dunce to man possessed is riveting, especially as echoed in the gamut of audience reactions. Riveting also is Christine's (Baxter) trance-like stare, which oddly becomes Maximus's pathway to the future. I just wish the movie's remainder equaled this early atmospheric plateau.The main problem is that the screenplay, having set up the compelling premise of genuine clairvoyance, is unsure where to go with it. As a result, events meander into a love story culminating in an utterly conventional ending that unfortunately undercuts that brilliantly ominous stage sequence. Then too, as others point out, the coal mine and court trial sequences are poorly thought out, making that part pretty murky. Just why Maximus is blamed is never made clear-- (although the mine owners responsible for the dangerous conditions could have been implicated for shifting blame). Claude Rains as a leading man takes some getting used too. Nonetheless, he's excellent at alternating Maximus's many moods, and I especially liked his moment of uncharacteristic gaiety when he thinks he's out-foxed the money men. And, of course, there's the gorgeous Fay Wray—a man like Maximus is truly possessed who would think of leaving her. Plus, Jane Baxter who I haven't seen before is also compelling in a very well-cast film. All in all, the movie comes across as an uneasy combination of the brilliant, the conventional, and the muddled.(In passing—one direction for the uncertain storyline would have been the question whether the future is ruled by the inalterable hand of fate. If so, then future events cannot be changed no matter how hard we try. Maximus thinks his prophetic ability provides the opportunity to alter the future. However, suppose we factor in the possibility of a future ruled instead by fate. Then the question of how Maximus fits into fate's inalterable equation becomes an interesting one. Anyway, it's a thought.)