The Seventh Veil

I hadn't seen this for over 20 years until tonight: it was a well-made well acted atmospheric potboiler with a touch of Mills & Boon. But the range of emotions and a similar story I think were better displayed in Humoresque.

Young girl austere looking 35 yo Ann Todd grows up under the domination of her handsome guardian limping James "Svengali" Mason who brings out her talent as a (concert) pianist. She falls in love with a handsome American band leader, but the stress of her lifestyle leads to a breakdown and attempted suicide. Grey-haired psychologist handsome Herbert Lom is the man on a mission to help her recover her senses. There's plenty of brooding handsome b&w nitrate photography and splendidly ornate décor to complement all the passion and histrionics – this is a Woman's Picture par excellence! The only thing that let it down for me - and my daughter - was the last 5 minutes and the very contrived resolution, but it had to end somehow!

It must have been totally engrossing to my feminine side because the 90 minutes rushed by, but I'd also recommend it to blokes who appreciate decent competent films made at the time Britain was supposed to be on its knees and broke.

Excellent psychological thriller about a repressed pianist (Ann Todd) and her equally repressed cousin (James Mason) who is also her guardian.

Slow but compelling story about a young girl with musical talent who is sent to live with her odd cousin. They seem to despise one another and have only music in common. He tries to mold her into a concert pianist but she falls in love with an American band leader (Hugh McDermott). He whisks her off to Europe to continue her education. She becomes a famous pianist but is always under the Svengali-like spell of her lame cousin until she attempts suicide by jumping off a bride. Enter the doctor (Herbert Lom) who tries to unlock her secrets.

The music is glorious but it's the stunning Ann Todd who is mesmerizing here. A cool icy blonde with a Garbo mouth, Miss Todd (once married to David Lean) is one of the greatly underrated English actresses of the 40s. She is just superb here as Francesca (not Francis and she's NOT Ann Harding as mentioned in other reviews here). Todd has an uncanny ability to play repressed yet volcanic women. She was equally excellent in films like SO EVIL MY LOVE, MADELEINE, TIME WITHOUT PITY, and THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS. She also got to work for Hitchcock in the US in THE PARADINE CASE.

As Todd and Mason play cat and mouse, the viewer is left to guess what their secrets are and how the men in her life fit in. Todd's story is basically told in flashback while she;s under hypnosis. We never learn Mason's story.

Handsome film and well worth sticking with. Also a word must be said for Todd's amazing piano-playing scenes. She displays about the best keyboard work in any film I can think of. Her scenes as the pianist as excellent; my guess is she could also play in real life.

While Deborah Kerr, Greer Garson, and even Margaret Lockwood became major stars and well-known in the US, Ann Todd remains virtually unknown. What a pity. She's superb.

This utterly enjoyable and utterly daft film tells the tale of a young suicidal pianist. As she slowly confides in her psychiatrist, she begins to understand what she needs to make herself whole and able to play the piano again--basically the love of a man. Which man--her domineering guardian uncle, her musician boyfriend, or the doctor--is only revealed once the last veil has been lifted.

This is a great old film, with James Mason at his best as the brooding, aloof, complicated hero/villain. It contains a lot of cliches, not least of which is Hollywood's fervent faith in the almost occult power of hypnosis and psychiatry. But it also is full of great moments - the black and white photography seems to sing along with the glorious music. The scene where James Mason, from offstage, watches Ann Todd all alone at her piano, glowing in bright stage light against a blank background is superb. Sound and picture come together perfectly, and Mason's acting matches beautifully, as he expresses emotion struggling through layers of impassivity. The ending might seem a little dated to present-day audiences, with its implication that the heroine can be fully healed of her psychic wounds only by giving herself to one of her three suitors, but for those who like good old-fashioned happy endings, this is a fine one. Only one thing seemed rather obviously ridiculous: in the scene where the German psychiatrist is talking to the German painter who is in love with Francesca, they both carry on a long conversation in heavily-accented English, which becomes a bit comical once you realize how much more natural it would be for them just to speak German to each other.

Concert pianist Francesca Cunningham (Ann Todd) flees from her hospital bed late one evening and attempts suicide by tossing herself off of a bridge. Accomplished and successful artist that she is Francesca is a car wreck in the relationship department and once rescued agrees to some intense therapy by Dr. Larson (Herbert Lom) employing the "Seven Veils Theory." After focusing on a school days setback she moves on to boyfriends and the overwhelming supervision of her distant cousin and patron Nicholas (James Mason).

Some movie stars are known for dispatching heroes and villains with guns or some other form of weaponry, James Mason does it with words and in The Seventh Veil he lands some savage blows with magnificent condescension and curtness on his protégé. Cold, distant, he remains firmly on point at creating his own Trilby and dashing her "petty" desires. Ann Todd is fine as she moves well between vulnerability and an icy coolness, though her early teen look is a bit of a stretch. Lom as Larson is both assured and convincing showing controlled understanding where the equally sophisticated Nicholas has none.

The film with nearly every scene an interior retains a crisp look throughout while editing and cinematography economically tell the story. Director Compton Bennett directs this psychological drama ably, weighting each character with enough interest to retain pertinence and intention nebulous. Well crafted as the picture is overall it is Mason's bravura Svengali that remains with you.