The Veil

This seems to be the original 'weird stories based on factual happenings' series, coming a year previous to the mighty 'One Step Beyond' which used a similar format but did it better. The stories are good but some of the acting is a little wooden, but overall it is quite entertaining. Amazing it has been almost unseen since it was made.

"The Veil", a 1950's pilot series introduced by and starring Boris Karloff, concerned itself with ghostly tales and psychic phenomena. Although it was never taken up as a full series by a major network it still was quite entertaining. It is worth watching because of Karloff's own unique acting style and also because of the topics covered. One gets the impression that if it had been given a run then "The Veil" would have developed into a long running series investigating topics so well covered by future shows such as "The Twilight Zone" and "The X Files". It is a short series that a public television company would find useful in running in order to capture for a time a loyal viewing audience interested in ghostly tales or psychic phenomena. One of its best shows was the one about Jack the Ripper which will certainly get its viewers once again reading up books on this topic. A series well worth watching.

Back in 1958, some folks decided to make a series about the supernatural that was both narrated by Boris Karloff and acted by him (he appeared in all but one episodes). Now here's the odd part--instead of just a pilot episode, they made 10--only to find that they didn't have a buyer. Because of that, the series fizzled and only a short time later, Karloff made another and more successful foray into television--the show "Thriller".

Fortunately for us, these ten episodes are available for download or viewing at archive.org--and they are well worth your time. The show are well-acted and made extremely well--too good not to have been given the go-ahead. See them for yourself and see what you think. Was the series prematurely and unfairly buried?

Boris Karloff hosted(and sometimes acted in) this ten-episode series that dealt with ghosts and psychic phenomenon. Never aired because the studio went bankrupt, this is still an entertaining series, due to the talent Of Boris Karloff, an acting legend. Episodes included titles like: 'Vision Of Crime', 'Girl On The Road', Food On The Table', 'The Doctors', 'The Crystal Ball', 'Genesis', Destination Nightmare', 'Summer Heat', 'The Return Of Madame Verney', & 'Jack The Ripper'.(the best of the bunch). Often overlooked by "Thriller", also hosted by Karloff, this can also be compared to "One Step Beyond", and can be viewed on DVD. Worth seeking out for fans of Boris Karloff.

I'll be brief, "The Veil" is fine fun, especially if you're a Karloff fan. Too bad it was never finished, but then if it had been we would have probably seen it all a million times by now. Nice to see old Boris on the small screen chewing the scenery in his indomitable style. It is all trying to find what Twilight Zone would do in a very polished style with much tighter writing and higher production values a few years later, with another great host. I miss Karloff and Serling, but am glad to have come across this nugget. Grab yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and watch one or two. They are only twenty-five minutes each and not frightening merely intriguing. The stories remind me of an old story collection called "Strangely Enough" which my friends and I used to read to each other by flashlight after dark. And, after-all, they are hosted by "Karloff the Uncanny", listen to that classic voice and baby that's rich.