Editing Claude Rains (section)

== Reception ==
Jessica Rains remembered her father's work ethic:

{{blockquote|He was interested in the process (of film). He loved acting. When he came to California to do a film, I had to "hear him his lines" as he drove me to school every morning, {{convert|10|mi|km|0|disp=sqbr}}. He knew everybody's part. He knew the whole script before he came out (to film). I don't think many people did that.}}

Bette Davis in an interview with [[Dick Cavett]] said about Rains:

{{blockquote|Well, of course he petrified me. The first time I played with him was in [[Carlota of Mexico|Carlotta]] (''[[Juarez (1939 film)|Juarez]]''), and I had to make an entrance [into] the King of France's domain for a rehearsal, and he's playing the King of France (N.B. The character is actually the Emperor of the French [[Napoleon III]]) in rehearsal. As all of us "other era people," we don't just run through lines and say "turn the camera", we rehearse beforehand...Anyway Claude and I couldn't, and he was the King of France who loathed Carlotta, and I was a kid and petrified of Mr. Rains, so I thought he hated ''me''. I didn't know he was playing the character. I thought, he thinks I just stink! What am I going to do? Eventually we worked together quite a lot and became really great friends, really great friends.}}

Davis later went on to describe him: "Claude was witty, amusing and beautiful, really beautiful, thoroughly enchanting to be with and brilliant." She also praised his performances: "He was marvelous in ''[[Deception (1946 film)|Deception]]'' and was worth the whole thing as the picture wasn't terribly good, but he was so marvelous in the restaurant scene where he's talking about all the food...brilliant, and of course in ''[[Mr Skeffington|Mr. Skeffington]]'' he was absolutely brilliant as the husband, just brilliant."

[[Richard Chamberlain]] worked with Rains in what would be his second-to-last film, ''[[Twilight of Honor]]''. In 2009, Chamberlain recorded a tribute to the actor when Rains was featured as [[Turner Classic Movies]]' Star of the Month:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Richard Chamberlain on Claude Rains -- (TCM Original) September, 2009 |url=https://www.tcm.com/video/254747/richard-chamberlain-on-claude-rains-tcm-original-september-2009 |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Claude Rains has to be considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century. As soon as you hear that marvelous, unmistakable voice of honey mixed with gravel, he becomes instantly recognizable. And that scornful right eyebrow which could freeze an adversary faster than and more effectively than any physical threat. He stood at a mere 5′6″, yet his enormous talent and immense stage presence made him a giant among his colleagues. During a stage and film career that spanned six decades, Rains encompassed some of the most memorable and exciting characters ever created by an actor. Villains were a Rains specialty, particularly those of a suave and sarcastic nature; and yet when the role called for it, Rains could be remarkably moving and even add a touch of pathos without losing any of his effectiveness.}}

In ''[[Twilight of Honor]]'' Rains played a retired lawyer acting as a mentor to Chamberlain's character. Reminiscing about his work with Rains, Chamberlain said:

{{blockquote|He was in his seventies then and in failing health, yet he was charming and totally professional on the set. It was clear to us that he loved practicing his craft; he dazzled us all. Claude was an extremely private man—he never discussed his humble beginnings, his six marriages. But get him into a conversation about acting, and he opened up with delightful anecdotes and fascinating stories about his long life as a thespian.

One day on the set I mentioned to him that ''Notorious'' was one of my favorite films, and Claude related with amusement the filming of a particular scene with [[Ingrid Bergman]]. Rains was a very small man and Bergman was quite tall, so in order to shoot them in close-up together (in the key scene) the resourceful [[Alfred Hitchcock]] had a ramp installed, so as Rains approaches Bergman on camera he appears taller than his co-star. Claude found this ramp business a bit embarrassing and very funny.

I got another taste of Claude's witty nature shooting a scene in his [next-to-last] film, in which he had a long piece of dialogue. Generally he had no problem remembering his lines despite getting along in years. However, there was one particularly long scene shot late at night where he was having a lot of trouble with the dialogue, and kept making excuses. And finally he paused and said with a sheepish look "[[Alibi Ike]], good old Alibi Ike" ("Alibi Ike" being an expression based on a 1935 film of the same name, in which the lead character has a penchant for making up excuses). Of course in the finished film he played the scene flawlessly, as he always did. Claude Rains: truly a class act, on and off screen.}}

Many years after Rains had gone to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] and become a well-known film actor, [[John Gielgud]] commented, tongue-in-cheek:
{{blockquote|
There was somebody who taught me a very great deal at drama school, and I am certainly grateful to him for his kindness and consideration. His name was Claude Rains. I don't know whatever happened to him. I think he failed, and had to go to America.<ref>{{cite book |last=Morley| first=Sheridan| author-link=Sheridan Morley| title=John Gielgud: The Authorized Biography| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUdOdkY7_x4C&q=rains| date=11 May 2010| publisher=Simon & Schuster| isbn=978-1-4391-1617-3| page=50}}</ref>
}}

Gielgud later went on to recollect a time when he was in New York and in the audience during an event that included a focus on [[Bette Davis]]: "A number of clips from many of her most successful films were shown and I was particularly delighted, when, as soon as Claude Rains appeared in the close-up of one of the clips, the whole audience burst into a great wave of applause."

Bette Davis often cited Rains as one of her favorite actors and colleagues. Gielgud said that he once wrote that "The London stage suffered a great loss when Claude Rains deserted it for motion pictures," and that he later added, "but when I see him now on the screen and remember him, I must admit that the London stage's loss was the cinema's gain. And the striking virtuosity that I witnessed as a young actor is now there for audiences everywhere to see for all time. I'm so glad of that."