The Veil (Starring Boris Karloff)
The Veil (Starring Boris Karloff)
When we hear the name Boris Karloff, the first thing that comes to mind are iconic roles like the Frankenstein's Monster and The Mummy, but later in his career he was doing a lot of horror anthology television shows. One of these shows was the 1956 The Veil, which has been hailed by some critics as the "best television series that has never been seen", since The Veil was actually never aired on television. 10 episodes were produced before there were issues within the studio. Since so few episodes were made it was never put into syndication. There are two extra episodes of The Veil, in addition to the 10 episodes of the actual series, one was a backdoor pilot that was included as part of anthology series, Telephone Time, an episode called "The Vestris". The other episode "Whatever Happened To Peggy" was for many years not included in the DVD releases of The Veil, until 2008 Timeless Media Group DVD release. The DVD collection that I have, is only the 10 episodes version.
The Veil is a horror/suspense anthology series starring Boris Karloff as both the host, and he also stars in every episode except "The Jack The Ripper" episode that was produced by a different production company. The episodes are supposedly based on true stories of the unexplained and supernatural, described as the mysteries of what "lies behind the veil". The series plays out as short horror/suspense films, and are really well done, and interesting stories. In addition to Karloff the series features Patrick Macnee (famous for his role as John Steed in The Avengers, which is one of my favourite televisions shows), Tudor Owen, George Hamilton, and others. The stories are pure classic horror, and any of them would have been a great basis for a film, I love these classic horror anthologies, they are like bite-size slices of classic horror films, and they are so wonderfully done with Boris Karloff adding a classic elegance and credibility to each episode.
If you can find a copy of The Veil I highly recommend checking it out, though since it is a public domain work, you can find all of the episodes on Youtube if you can't find them anywhere else. Definitely check them out, they are worth the watch. I also wanted to mention how impressed I am with the quality of these episodes, they were well preserved and restored in the DVD copy that I have, and that alone makes it worth finding an actual DVD copy, the folks that did the wonderful work on the restoration of the film and sound should get paid for their work. I am glad that unknown classics like this have found their way to high quality DVD releases that have helped to preserve them and restore them so that they can be enjoyed by future generations.
The Veil is a horror/suspense anthology series starring Boris Karloff as both the host, and he also stars in every episode except "The Jack The Ripper" episode that was produced by a different production company. The episodes are supposedly based on true stories of the unexplained and supernatural, described as the mysteries of what "lies behind the veil". The series plays out as short horror/suspense films, and are really well done, and interesting stories. In addition to Karloff the series features Patrick Macnee (famous for his role as John Steed in The Avengers, which is one of my favourite televisions shows), Tudor Owen, George Hamilton, and others. The stories are pure classic horror, and any of them would have been a great basis for a film, I love these classic horror anthologies, they are like bite-size slices of classic horror films, and they are so wonderfully done with Boris Karloff adding a classic elegance and credibility to each episode.
If you can find a copy of The Veil I highly recommend checking it out, though since it is a public domain work, you can find all of the episodes on Youtube if you can't find them anywhere else. Definitely check them out, they are worth the watch. I also wanted to mention how impressed I am with the quality of these episodes, they were well preserved and restored in the DVD copy that I have, and that alone makes it worth finding an actual DVD copy, the folks that did the wonderful work on the restoration of the film and sound should get paid for their work. I am glad that unknown classics like this have found their way to high quality DVD releases that have helped to preserve them and restore them so that they can be enjoyed by future generations.
Episode List: (for the 10 episode DVD collection)
1. Vision of a Crime (featuring Patrick Macnee, and Robert Hardy)
A young man has a vision where he sees his brother's murder
2. Girl on the Road (featuring Tod Andrews, and Eve Brent)
A man helps a young woman who is out of gas on the side of the road, but there is something strange about the young woman, as the town seems to deny her existence.
3. Food on the Table (featuring Tudor Owen and Kay Stewart)
A sea captain returns from sea, and treats his wife unkindly, causing her to lose her temper with him. When he finds out that a wealthy woman is now widowed, he tells his wife he will take her on his next voyage, where he poisons her. When he returns home strange things happen...
4. The Doctor (featuring Tony Travis and Argentina Brunetti)
A young doctor comes home to visit his aging father who is the local small town doctor. When his dad is summoned to help a local family, he is out and his son goes in his stead, but something strange happens while he is there which cannot be explained.
5. The Crystal Ball (featuring Booth Coolman and Roxanne Berard
A man is broken up by a beautiful girl which happens to be his friends wife, and she gives him a beautiful crystal ball. But in this ball he sees her cheating on her husband with an artist.
6. A Chapter Of Genesis (featuring Katherine Squire and Peter Miller)
After their father dies, two brothers fight over his will, one is greedy and wants to sell the farm and put their mother in an "old folks home", the other wants to keep the farm and take care of their mother at home. But the newest copy of the will lists the greedy brother as the inheritor of the estate, however the other brother has not given up hope, and is mysteriously made aware that a newer copy of the will exists.
7. Summer Heat (featuring Harry Bartell and Paul Bryar)
A man witnesses a murder from his window, BEFORE it happens.
8. The Return of Madam Vernoy (featuring George Hamilton, Jean del Val, and Lee Torrance)
A young woman says that she is the reincarnation of a woman that died the year before she was born, and seeks out her husband and son from her past life.
9. Destination Nightmare (featuring Ron Hagerthy and Myron Healey)
A young pilot keeps seeing a vision when he is flying over a certain area, which leads him to discover a truth about his father.
10. Jack The Ripper (featuring Niall MacGinnis and Dorothy Alison) This is the only episode not to star Boris Karloff and was produced by a different studio, though Karloff does still do the intro for the episode, unlike the others however he doesn't play a role in the story.
A clairvoyant witnesses the Jack The Ripper murders.
1. Vision of a Crime (featuring Patrick Macnee, and Robert Hardy)
A young man has a vision where he sees his brother's murder
2. Girl on the Road (featuring Tod Andrews, and Eve Brent)
A man helps a young woman who is out of gas on the side of the road, but there is something strange about the young woman, as the town seems to deny her existence.
3. Food on the Table (featuring Tudor Owen and Kay Stewart)
A sea captain returns from sea, and treats his wife unkindly, causing her to lose her temper with him. When he finds out that a wealthy woman is now widowed, he tells his wife he will take her on his next voyage, where he poisons her. When he returns home strange things happen...
4. The Doctor (featuring Tony Travis and Argentina Brunetti)
A young doctor comes home to visit his aging father who is the local small town doctor. When his dad is summoned to help a local family, he is out and his son goes in his stead, but something strange happens while he is there which cannot be explained.
5. The Crystal Ball (featuring Booth Coolman and Roxanne Berard
A man is broken up by a beautiful girl which happens to be his friends wife, and she gives him a beautiful crystal ball. But in this ball he sees her cheating on her husband with an artist.
6. A Chapter Of Genesis (featuring Katherine Squire and Peter Miller)
After their father dies, two brothers fight over his will, one is greedy and wants to sell the farm and put their mother in an "old folks home", the other wants to keep the farm and take care of their mother at home. But the newest copy of the will lists the greedy brother as the inheritor of the estate, however the other brother has not given up hope, and is mysteriously made aware that a newer copy of the will exists.
7. Summer Heat (featuring Harry Bartell and Paul Bryar)
A man witnesses a murder from his window, BEFORE it happens.
8. The Return of Madam Vernoy (featuring George Hamilton, Jean del Val, and Lee Torrance)
A young woman says that she is the reincarnation of a woman that died the year before she was born, and seeks out her husband and son from her past life.
9. Destination Nightmare (featuring Ron Hagerthy and Myron Healey)
A young pilot keeps seeing a vision when he is flying over a certain area, which leads him to discover a truth about his father.
10. Jack The Ripper (featuring Niall MacGinnis and Dorothy Alison) This is the only episode not to star Boris Karloff and was produced by a different studio, though Karloff does still do the intro for the episode, unlike the others however he doesn't play a role in the story.
A clairvoyant witnesses the Jack The Ripper murders.
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