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THE VEIL

Created by Frank P. Bibas, known primarily for commercial work and the Academy Award winning documentary PROJECT HOPE, and produced by the Hal Roach Studios, the show's conceit was that all of it's tales were based on fact. Narrated by and frequently featuring Mr. Karloff (he plays a role in all but one segment - JACK THE RIPPER) the show seems, to contemporary eyes, like a sure fire mild hit. Alas, that was not to be and it was canceled, never to be aired (how it could be "canceled" without ever getting an airing is something I can't figure out, but the liner notes stress this point). Later the episodes were joined together to form three four-episode movies; the aforementioned JACK THE RIPPER, THE VEIL and DESTINATION NIGHTMARE. (These versions are available on DVD from Rhino Home Video.) Yet they had never been seen in their original form until Vraney released them on Something Weird Video in 1998, and a collective applause should go out to him for this.

While certainly not up to the standards of Rod Serling's THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and quite questionable in its declaration that it's telling "true" tales of the bizarre (really popular urban myths is more like it), there are still some things to admire. First off there's the thoroughly enjoyable presence of Mr. Karloff, in full dignity mode (at least in the intros), rambling about some "documented" case that he's about to tell us. Later, nine times out of ten that is, he shows up in the teleplay itself, with one performance standing out from the next via a different wig or fake beard. Like Vincent Price, Karloff is a joy to watch no matter how hammy or out of place he may seem and this show, at times, is the litmus test of that fact. The shows are well produced, though it's obvious that there were some budgets considerations most of the action takes place on between two to three sets.

The main problem with the show, though, is the writing. Perhaps the old saying "truth is stranger than fiction" is a load of bull plop, perhaps not, but the scripts for this are rather dull with the supernatural or fantastic events taking only a few moments of screen time and then with under-whelming effect.

Things are helped out by atmosphere, or more accurately, suggested atmosphere. With horror king Karloff's presence producing a Pavlov's Dog type response of apprehension in the viewer, the fear of something spooky happening far outweighs the often lack of anything spooky happening. The same goes for the black and white presentation: though the power of the lack of color may be lost on more contemporary viewers, for more seasoned and/or older horror aficionados the lack of pigmentation conjures up images of cerebral scares. And let's not forget the power of corny - there's a lot of fun to be had when corniness is at hand.

The complete run of episodes are collected on a two-disc set and are as follows: "Visions of Crime," where a man sees a murder occur in a bowl of water far from the scene; "Girl on the Road," a ghost hitchhiker tale; "Food on the Table," ghost haunts the guilty; "The Doctors," man needs his dad's help to do a job; "Crystal Ball," guy spies on lover through a crystal ball; "Genesis," a tale of two feuding brothers and a ghost dad; "Destination Nightmare," ghost haunts reluctant pilot; "Summer Heat," guy sees murder before it happens; "The Return of Madam Vernoy," story of reincarnation; and "Jack the Ripper," a man sees crimes before they happen (shades of FROM HELL).

The quality of the episodes is excellent; Mr. Vraney has used mint prints.

As an added bonus, two episodes from the Curt Siodmak-created Swedish TV show 13 DEMON STREET are also on the disc. The show is hosted by a seemingly drunk and malevolent Lon Chaney Jr., under the idea that he is doomed to linger at 13 DEMON STREET, as punishment for an unnamed but apparently heinous crime, until he finds someone who's done something worse. Though Lon Chaney Jr. isn't the best actor, the idea that he's capable of a truly gruesome act requires no stretch of the imagination and his appearance as host is far more unnerving than that of Karloff's in THE VEIL. Backed by the skills of horror legend Curt Siodmak (writer of THE WOLF MAN, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN and the novel DONOVAN'S BRAIN), the episodes are far more effective and stylish than THE VEIL and one hopes Something Weird will release the entire series on DVD in the future.

The episodes featured are "The Vine of Death," about a murdered spouse and killer plants, and "The Black Hand," a MAD LOVE retread with a surgeon replacing his damaged hand with that of a killer's with expected results.

Both episodes have non-removable Swedish subtitles (the show was never broadcast in the U.S.) and feature the oddly alluring Pat Clavin. The print quality is not the best, for the episodes are a tad hazy.

The disc features liner notes by Tom Weaver and are excellent as usual (though I felt he was being a bit hard of Karloff in some cases). Since they reveal a lot about the episodes, it is best to read them after viewing rather than before to get the maximum punch of each tale (which is often a light tap).

Two interesting tidbits: The compilation film DESTINATION NIGHTMARE featured a tale, "What Happened to Peggy," that was not part of THE VEIL series. And Mr. Karloff, for all his hard work and dedication to the show, was never paid, or so he claimed.