Behind the Mask

Brian Desmond Hurst is best remembered for his SCROOGE starring Alistair Sim. Here, he tackles the usual story of a young surgeon, played by Tony Britton, starting out under the aegis of Michael Redgrave -- Britton's character is engaged to Redgrave's daughter, played by Vanessa Redgrave in her screen acting debut.

Careful attention has been paid to technical issues of the era, and the capable cast handles their roles well enough. However, the standard plots of such movies are in full evidence, making this movie lack more than the standard levels of emotional involvement -- it's obvious that certain roles are going to behave in certain ways at certain times. In addition, DP Robert Krasker's color cinematography has a late-40s green cast to it and it looks like the color separations have shrunk at microscopically different rates making it slightly out of focus. I suspect the green cast may have something to do with the drug-addict-doctor subplot, adding an absinthe tint to the affair.

Still, Hurst's usual highly competent work keeps things moving along nicely. This one is definitely worth your time.

All the faults of the Fifties British movie - phoney characters in uninvolving situations and artificial looking studio sets. Characteristic dialogue "You've blotted your copy book pretty badly" or "Independence is like that. If you have plenty, you're glad to give it away." Talented people, notably Michael Redgrave and Carl Mohner make little impression.

The hospital Redgrave has built up is passing to the control of his opponent doctor. "If they're left alone, the Isherwoods will turn it into a laboratory., a much smaller thing."

Interest does pick up in the enquiry scene with the facts known but Malleson's committee trying hand out blame, while Sir. Michael strives to clear Britton, who refuses to take the easy option - compare the much better The SMALL BACK ROOM, which is likely to have influenced this, with Ken Loach still to come.

A serious film with an appropriate cast that fails to live up to its initial promise, though it does have a certain charm. Tony Britton is a promising young surgeon who becomes engaged to the senior surgeon's daughter (the young Vanessa Redgrave giving a slightly precious performance, though one I quite enjoyed.) Retrospective interest is added by the manners of the period, not least hospital staff who ceaselessly smoke everywhere with carefree abandon. Gradually though the story evolves into two strands, neither very persuasive. The first details Britton's involvement with a drug-addicted Polish colleague which lands him in serious trouble and in which he is then portrayed as becoming virtuous and altruistic to an improbable degree. The second, regarding the senior surgeon's deep concerns about his junior, played by the talented Niall MacGinnis (whom as well as being a first-rate character actor was also a qualified physician), is opaque as nothing is shown to justify his fears, though it looks as if we are intended to sympathise with them.

One of the more ambitious of the medical dramas then popular, 'Behind the Mask' boasts superior production values including photography by Robert Krasker and a memorable score by Geoffrey Wright.

Despite its overall subdued tone it manages to contain a graphic depiction of heart surgery in colour and a subplot involving drug addiction; while seen today possibly the film's most remarkable feature is the presence of Michael Redgrave's young daughter Vanessa - receiving an 'Introducing' credit - who later dismissed the film as "a stinker" and is plastered with makeup and speaks with a patrician accent she plainly found it politic to lose.