THE VEIL (1958)
Article #299 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 1-8-2002
Posting date: 5-25-2002

An anthology of stories about people who experience events that pierce the veil of reality.

Stringing episodes of a TV series together to create a movie has never been IMHO a good idea; however, since this TV series was never aired, it was probably the only way that these shows would ever get exposure. The concept works a little better with an anthology series, too, as it adheres to a recognizable and workable cinematic style. Two other anthologies would be created from the series “The Veil,” called JACK THE RIPPER and DESTINATION NIGHTMARE; both are available on DVD, as well as a DVD set of the entire series. All four episodes of this one deal with men who see things that they shouldn’t be able to see; two see events that happen in places far removed from their current location, one sees an event three days before it happens, and several people see a man who actually couldn’t have been there. The show is pretty so-so, but I suspect Boris Karloff, who appears in each of these four episodes in a wide variety of roles, was enjoying himself; it’s strange seeing him as a French rake, but I like even this performance when I put aside my preconceptions about what is the right role for Karloff.