Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

JohnHowardReid Definitely one of my favorite films. True, I do agree with some of the negative comments made by other reviewers both here on IMDb and in contemporary press and magazine reviews, but I thought many of these critics were a bit unfair to director Compton Bennett. True, Bennett has not drawn an entirely convincing portrayal from Herbert Lom. This is an important defect because Lom has a key role, but I can well understand Bennett's problem. Lom is a fine actor but he does not take direction easily, but insists on doing things his own way. I would also agree that Hugh McDermott – never one of my favorite actors - comes really close to his usual obnoxious portrayal, but Todd and Mason are so electric, these deficiencies don't really matter.What's far more important, is that every one of the other support players are all exactly right. Bennett's strengths lie not only in his superlative handling of his two leads, but in the oppressive atmosphere he so meticulously builds up. He often stations his camera at the very back of Carter's vast sets, so that the very clutter of the furniture and fittings themselves contribute to an almost overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. "The Seventh Veil" is such a powerful blend of atmospheric music, moody settings and riveting lead acting that it has lost little of its original impact. I definitely do not recommend that "The Seventh Veil" be made accessible for younger children, who will find its atmosphere too terrifyingly real; but adults will definitely appreciate its impact - even if they find the quickly faded-out conclusion just a mite too pat.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is a good film EXCEPT for the same complaint I often have about British films of that era -- the pace is too slow. And, there are places where it seems a bit melodramatic, but I could over look that if the pacing was better. The other BIG complaint I have are the scenes where Ann Todd is playing her character as a teenager. Just making your legs awkward doesn't work. It would have been MUCH better had a young actress played the part of her character as a teen.What did I like best about the film. Frankly, seeing Herbert Lom in a serious role long before "The Pink Panther" series. And, Ann Todd does a remarkable job of faking playing the piano. While I am certain that was not her playing, I would guess she had some talent in the area, because I have never seen it done so well on screen. What you have here is a story of a young woman who has been boxed into a life not of her own making. She is emotionally abused by her guardian (James Mason)...although you know from the beginning...well, I'd better let you figure out what happens there. Abused by an American band leader who was married. And damaged by a painter who involves her in a car crash (although we really can't blame him for that circumstance). Well, okay...all of that works.The 5 main characters here are: 1. James Mason as the guardian -- excellent performance, although his character is not very likable. 2. Ann Todd as the pianist -- other than the teen scenes, a good performance, although it seemed a tad bit stiff to me. 3. Herbert Lom as the psychiatrist -- a good performance, although the streak of gray in his hair was a little silly. 4. Hugh McDermott as the band leader -- good performance. 5. Albert Lieven as the painter -- good performance. To be honest, it's difficult to criticize the acting here, but Mason does best.The pace here really got to me. It took me several sittings to get through this film, but I was still glad I watched it.

Terrell-4 One of the most delicious thrills for many British and American moviegoers in 1946 was the unexpected sight of James Mason thwacking down his cane on the fingers of Ann Todd as she played the piano. This one scene is probably better remembered than the movie itself. The Seventh Veil was one of the first British movies to deal with psychiatry; it made a lot of money in both countries; it helped propel Mason to Hollywood; and it undoubtedly is one of the great women's melodramas in movies. Surprisingly, after more than 60 years the movie still holds up reasonably well, thanks to Mason and Todd. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed Women's melodrama? Just hear the names of the two leads...Nicholas and Francesca. If those names don't sound like characters in a steamy Regency romance, what would? But the movie actually is a modern (from the Forties) study of a severely shy young woman's repressed need for love, and her guardian's overbearing need to live his life's dream through her and her talent as a pianist. Francesca's mother had died when she was a child. Her father placed her in a boarding school. When he died, she was 15 and was sent to live with her wealthy guardian in a large London mansion. Francesca was timid, talented at the piano, so unsure of herself at times that she could barely speak. Nicholas, probably 20 years older, was her second cousin. He lived alone in his mansion with only male servants. He was lame, brooding, controlling and a misogynist. One afternoon he learns Francesca can play the piano and slowly entices her to play for him by playing himself. As he listens to her we can see that he is recognizing a rare talent that he most likely, however competent he might be, can never equal. "He was a wonderful teacher," she later says. "He used to say rather bitterly, 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'" He drives her mercilessly for years to train her to excel, and he succeeds. "He never let me out of his sight for seven years," she tells us, "It was seven years of music...of Nicholas turning me into his dream." We learn all this in a series of flashbacks because we first meet Francesca in a hospital after she has attempted to kill herself. She lies mute in bed, seemingly unaware of anything around her. When finally a psychiatrist, Dr. Larsen (Herbert Lom, wearing a scholarly pince- nez), is brought into the case, he slowly encourages her to speak and tell her story. He tells a colleague that the process is much like the removal of the seven veils, with each dropped veil revealing a bit more, and that the removal of the seventh veil will let us know the patient's truest feelings and desires. And so Francesca tells us in flashback how Nicholas drove her to become a gifted, recognized pianist, how he controlled every aspect of her life, how she thought she had fallen in love with two men and how Nicholas had reacted each time. Finally, Dr. Larsen is able to help Francesca through this. At the conclusion, as she walks down the grand staircase in Nicholas' mansion with Dr. Larsen and the three men waiting below, we know that, as Larsen has warned them, Francesca has become a new woman who will go to the man among them whom she loves and trusts. And as she goes down those stairs, smiling and confident, Nicholas knows that the man Larsen described cannot be him. He quietly limps away and closes the door to his study behind him. Care to guess what Francesca does next? The movie still works, despite the now clunky approach to psychiatry, repressed love and inner-most feelings, because of James Mason and Ann Todd. Todd was a cool, finely- sculpted blonde who, at 36, had to convincingly play a young woman between the ages of 15 and about 24. She just about carries it off. She also has to carry the narrative weight of the movie, since all we know is largely from her flashback monologues and her scenes in the film. Mason, however, dark and handsome, dominates the movie. He isn't just glowering, brooding and tormented. There is an element of sadistic insistence in his portrayal of Nicholas that keeps us off balance. If Nicholas had ever reached the point of doing some bodice ripping, there would have been a lot of females in the audience sighing in anticipation.

howardmorley Herbert Lom played the principal part as a psychiatrist, in a successful 1960s British TV series called "The Human Jungle".I feel sure he got this part from his resume in "The Seventh Veil"(1945) playing the role of Dr. Larsen the psychiatrist who unravels the mental problem which plagues a suicidal Ann Todd (Francesca Cunningham).I have a love of films which portray great dexterity at playing classical music.In my collection are Margaret Lockwood in "Love Story" (1944) and John Garfield in "Humoresque (1945), I even liked Cornel Wilde playing Frederic Chopin!Once again Eileen Joyce is called upon to provide the authentic classical piano music heard on the soundtrack.Featured pieces she plays include: the Grieg piano concerto in A, the Pathetique sonata, 2nd movement, by Beethoven, the Brahms lullaby and the Rachmaninov piano concerto no.2 in c minor which she also played as a backdrop to "Brief Encounter (1945).The music is under the expert direction of Muir Matheson with the London Symphony Orchestra.Other reviewers have described the plot adequately so just a few additional notes on the acting.Psychiatry was a popular theme with film makers in the 1940s c.f."Spellbound" with Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman (1945) and it features as a means to rescue a suicidal Ann Todd.She plays the role with a rather expressionless demeanor throughout.Was this because she was directed to play it this way by her director as her character was being totally dominated by her guardian and 2nd cousin Nicholas, as played by a dark, brooding and menacing James Mason?She did however act playing the piano pieces effectively.Did Eileen Joyce give Ann some backstage tutoring to give authenticity to her "playing"?The denouement when Francesca is cured by Dr Larsen and has to choose one of her three male friends is, I agree with a previous reviewer, a bit "Mills & Boon".Overall I enjoyed this film and rated it 6/10 mainly because of the wonderful classical music played.