O Sétimo Véu

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.

A confined, upper-class English girl is passed over to a guardian where she is made to practice piano.

Leave it to the British to treat the subject of repressed emotion with such class and restraint. Francesca (Todd) is the very epitome of repressed feeling thanks to those presiding tyrannically over her life. Her only release from a cheerless existence are lushly romantic concerts, where the gloriously surging music echoes what's inside her. Without that, we might never know what lies beyond those tightly pursed lips. Even her quietly assertive flings with Peter and Maxwell are stripped of anything like outward emotions.

And all the time, her crippled guardian (Mason) makes her practice and practice and practice, alone and in an empty mansion. Poor Francesca, no wonder she cracks up. Nonetheless, it's drawing room drama at its most civilized.

I get a kick out of imagining how a boisterous American studio such as Warner Bros. would have handled the material, maybe with Joan Crawford in the lead. Anyway, Todd is appropriately restrained, while Mason is darkly mysterious as the Svengali taskmaster. But, I'm still wondering why that last scene seems so right when the screenplay has given us so little preparation to think it would be. Maybe it's the power of Mason's brooding presence that makes it work, but I think it does.

Anyway, as long as you don't mind presiding psychiatrists (Lom) with an answer for everything that ails us, this may be your cup of tea, British style.

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.

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.

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.