Le septième voile

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.

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.

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.

My companions and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this classic movie last night! It came through as a compelling drama, from the premise to the finale. Contrary to the majority of reviews of this movie I've read so far via the internet sites, I found the movie quite enjoyable and thought provoking.

All nitpicking and analysis aside, it told a compelling story, albeit, in the genre of other stories or a universal theme, involving a over-possessive mentor and protégé--similar to the stories of the Phantom of the Opera or My Fair Lady (Pygmalion.)

But, so what? It got my attention. It was good story telling with compelling acting. It reeled me in, and I willingly went with the flow.

I think it should not be compared to our modern day standards of psychology, perhaps, or our understanding of what hypnosis does or doesn't provide for a patient. Maybe, we need to simply view it from the perspective of that era or day. Fit into the shoes of the moviegoer in the mid 1940s, instead.

Using back flashes, hypnosis to reveal the patient's (Francesca James) history, in order to unravel the reason for Francesca's "catatonic" state or phobic fear of playing piano, works well as a tool.

We experience the natural unraveling of the main characters plight through a compelling story about Francesca Cunningham (Ann Todd), a concert pianist's life so far, and how her past reveals the likely causes for her current mental state.

The austere scenes including the stately home of Nicholas, demonstrating wealth with no heart, the concert halls, are excellent settings for the interaction between the players and their characters. It all provided rich fodder for building their characters--though there was only time for quick studies in the movie.

The character of Francesca carried quite a heavy bag of deep rooted emotions--between her desire for music, for love with a man, her compulsion to stay put under the tutelage and power of Nicholas, her guardian (James Mason), intertwined or constricted by her ambivalent feelings and inner turmoil.

She appears to show an ambivalent, resistance to her guardian's obsessive or "stay or go" attitude, which ultimately leads to her breakdown and suicide attempt.

From the first days when Francesca, a fourteen year old young woman who is left as an orphan, arrives at his home, Nicholas thrusts her into his personal web or emotional prison--holding her hostage to his own desires for music and achievement. He drives her, unrelentingly and abusively, to achieve music excellence as a career, concert pianist.

It appears to be for her ultimate good, as he points out repeatedly over the years of her emotional captivity. Or we are led to consider that in fact, it is because of his own agenda as an embittered man and unfulfilled musician himself.

Against her will, in the beginning, Cousin Nicholas, forces or compels her to study and practice piano.She, therefore, studies for years under his "driven" and austere direction--avoiding relationships and normal activities. Her inner life is stunted.

Everything in her life appears to be based on her guardian's demands and the power he seems to have over her. She relinquishes all interest or desire to have a normal life, until she meets and is pursued and wooed by the character played by Peter Gay, an American musician living in England. He breaks through her barrier of shyness and austerity.

To some movie reviewers or critics, this may be a over the top, stylized or melodramatic film, but it is intense and there is a mood created by the sets.

We get the picture of her life with James Mason, Cousin Nicolas, who plays the part with his ever-present aloofness and sinister delivery. Ann Todd is fine. She doesn't reveal much through her dialogue, but looks can say a lot, as they say. The eyes have it.

The music is incredible, and after perusing the web, I finally discovered who was her double as the pianist, Eileen Joyce, who didn't get any credit in the film for her superb playing which made the film a winner. In any case, Ann Todd did a great job of faking it as the real pianist.

The cast of characters, including the Doctor, Herbert Lom, the portrait artist, the American musician, and of course, James Mason as the overly dominant and and cold-hearted, Nicholas, et al, do their parts in unwinding or weaving this tale.

In the end the Seventh Veil is not only lifted from Francesca, but also from Nicholas as her mentor, and subsequent savior of sorts. She returns to him as her trustee and real love. A little melodrama from British films in the 1940s never hurt anyone. It's fun also.

Frankly, if you enjoy classic films, and if you just want to enjoy the ambiance and storyline, and don't want to analyze too much, this is a fine film for an old fashioned, classic movie night at at home, along with friends. Curl up and enjoy. I highly recommend it.

If you like melodrama, check this one out. It is well-made and is acted with sincerity by some fine British actors who achieve great dramatic effect.

Piano music is secondary to the story and only small snippets of music are played. You will barely notice the piano because this movie is overwhelmingly a psychological drama. So much so that the psychiatrist is given almost super-human insight and ability. This is not a negative because it is not crackpot or over the top.

James Mason is outstanding and very believable in a cerebral, complex role. Think of the best James Mason performance you ever saw. This equals it, I guarantee. Ann Todd is solid and believable, although somewhat coldly distant from the audience, but that was her style. She stays in character and keeps it interesting.

Herbert Lom must have made a zillion movies, many obscure or trifling. However, this film proves that he was a first-rate actor. His performance here as the psychiatrist is very straight, serious and effective. You won't believe it is the same actor who was in those "Pink Panther" movies.

Note how the cave-like home of the artist ("Leyden") appears claustrophobic in comparison to the spacious comfort of the main mansion set. This, and the deliberate posing of Todd to look uncomfortable in Leyden's home are subtle examples of the high standard of care and planning that must have gone into this production.

This is high-caliber melodrama, not overdone but just interesting and effective.