Themes: Haunted By the Past, Doctors and Patients, Amnesia
Main Cast: James Mason, Ann Todd, Herbert Lom, Albert Lieven, Hugh McDermott
Release Year: 1945
Country: UK
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Ann Todd stars as an amnesiac mental patient, Francesca Cunningham, who hopes that psychiatrist Dr. Larsen (Herbert Lom) will help her lift the veils of her memory. In a series of flashbacks counterpointed by a lush piano concerto background score, Francesca discovers that she has been a victim of the cruelties of others all her life. Only Nicholas (James Mason), an embittered, crippled musician, has ever shown her any compassion, training the girl to become a top concert pianist. Even he turned on Francesca when she becomes romantically involved with other men, but as the flashbacks end, Francesca arrives at a startling realization about Nicholas's true feelings for her. Filmed on a shoestring, The Seventh Veil rang in as the biggest British box-office success of 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A powerful drama, The Seventh Veil continues to make an impact decades after its release, in spite of the fact that modern audiences will likely find its psychological underpinnings somewhat dated. As with many films of the period that sought to incorporate psychology into the proceedings, Veil oversimplifies things tremendously, from the ease with which a patient can be hypnotized (and the extent of what they can reveal under hypnosis) to the ability of a doctor to bring about a total transformation in a matter of a few sessions. Yet, if one looks beyond these flaws, one can appreciate the film's attempt to analyze the complexity of certain male-female relationships in which domination and submission play an important role; it may romanticize and "Hollywood"-ize these relationships, but it still presents them in a compelling manner. Much more importantly, Veil's drama is solid, presented in a screenplay that is structurally sound and contains several meaty roles, and which is well realized by Compton Bennett's sturdy, assured, and occasionally imaginative direction. Bennett deserves special praise for the tension he creates in several recital sequences, which is not allowed to resolve until the end of each sequence. Ann Todd does very well with the leading role (although she's a bit too old to pass for a teenager in the early flashbacks) and creates a character that grabs the viewer's attention and sympathy. James Mason is totally absorbing, a dark, broody Rochester-ian figure who nonetheless is undeniably attractive, and Herbert Lom does well as the psychiatrist. Veil has its flaws, but it keeps the viewer glued to the screen throughout. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Yvonne Owen - Susan Brook; David Horne - Dr. Kendal; Manning Whiley - Dr. Irving; Muir Mathieson - Conductor; Grace Allardyce - Nurse; Ernest Davies - Parker; John Slater - James; Beatrice Varley; Margaret Withers
Credit
James A. Carter - Art Director, Dorothy Sinclair - Costume Designer, Compton Bennett - Director, Gordon Hales - Editor, Benjamin Frankel - Composer (Music Score), Muir Mathieson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Reginald Wyer - Cinematographer, Sydney Box - Producer, Muriel Box - Screenwriter, Sydney Box - Screenwriter
Francesca Cunningham (played by Ann Todd) is a suicidal, amnaesiac, mental patient being treated by Dr. Larsen (Herbert Lom). Larsen leads her to describe her life so he can investigate the events that brought her to attempt suicide. The film largely consists of a series of flash-backs in which Francesca talks about her life, removing successive “veils” to recover memories.
Francesca discovers she has had a difficult life and been abused by many. Only her second cousin and guardian Nicholas, a crippled musician (played by James Mason), has ever shown her compassion. Nicholas though is a bitter man, faintly jealous of her talent and very misogynistic because of his relationship with his mother, but a divine music teacher who encourages her to excel but also to avoid all emotional entanglements. While at University she attracts a romantic interest.
During the therapy, Francesca discovers who her real love is.
Eileen Joyce, whose name does not appear in the credits, performed all the piano music, and also recorded a short film for Ann Todd to practise to, and even coached Todd personally in her arm movements. It is Joyce's hands that are seen in all the close-ups.[1]
