Showing:
BBC TWO, Saturday August 4, 12am
Synopsis:
(1945) A celebrated pianist attempts suicide and, on the psychiatrist's couch, reveals what drove her to it, recounting a life dominated by a sadistic headmistress and a possessive, insanely jealous guardian.
Read the full synopsis on BFI Screenonline.
Director:
Compton Bennett
Cast:
- James Mason (Nicholas)
- Ann Todd (Francesca Cunningham)
- Herbert Lom (Dr Larson)
- Hugh McDermott (Peter Gay)
- Albert Lieven (Maxwell Leyden)
Full cast and credits on BFI Screenonline.
Analysis:
One of James Mason's most indelible contributions to British cinema was the moment in which he smashed his cane down on concert pianist Ann Todd's hands. Given the date (1945) and the motive (obsessive jealousy), it sounds as though it came from one of the many Gainsborough costume melodramas that helped establish Mason as the era's biggest British star, but The Seventh Veil was in fact made independently by producer Sydney Box, its glossy sheen belying the relatively low budget (under £100,000) and rapid shooting schedule.
However, the film largely adopted the Gainsborough formula of a strongly female-centred narrative revolving around a troubled and complex relationship with a brooding, aloof and faintly sadistic man, and emphasised the debt by casting Mason in a familiar role.
Read the full analysis on BFI Screenonline.
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