Movies - The Seventh Veil

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	Movies - The Seventh Veil

The Seventh Veil is a 1945 British melodramatic film.

Plot outline

Francesca Cunningham (played by Ann Todd) is a suicidal, amnaesiac, mental patient being treated by Dr. Larsen (Herbert Lom). Larsen leads her to describe her life so he can investigate the events that brought her to attempt suicide. The film largely consists of a series of flash-backs in which Francesca talks about her life, removing successive “veils” to recover memories.

Francesca discovers she has had a difficult life and been abused by many. Only Nicholas, a crippled musician (played by James Mason), has ever shown her compassion, though he is jealous, faintly sadistic and has relentlessly driven her on to practice the piano and avoid romantic entanglements. When she does become interested in another man Nicholas crashes his car, with Francesca a passenger, severely burning her hands. Mason, as usual, is sardonic and brooding.

During the therapy, Francisca discovers who her real love is.

The lush, piano concerto score includes works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninoff and Beethoven. It successfully counterpoints the action. Eileen Joyce doubled the concert scenes, without credit.

Filmed for less than £100,000 the film was the biggest British box-office success of 1946. It won an Academy Award for best Screenplay.

Cast

James Mason
Ann Todd
Herbert Lom
Hugh McDermott
Albert Lieven

Production details

Producer – Sydney Box
Director - Compton Bennett
,
Screenplay – Sydney Box
, Muriel Box
Cinematography – Reginald Wyer
Editor – George Hales
Art Director – Jim Carter
Music – Benjamin Frankel
Length – 94 minutes
Colour - Black & White

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Seventh Veil ]

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