As the sorcerer Jaffar in "The Thief of Bagdad," (1940), Conrad Veidt draws off his significant career in silent film. Here, he uses his shadow to great effect, to convey both his character's evil nature and the power of his magic. In his commentary on the Criterion Collection DVD, Scorsese remarks how this trick with the shadow recalls one of Veidt's most famous performances: Cesare in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
