Dance of the Seven Veils (film)

Dance of the Seven Veils is a 1970 British television film about German composer Richard Strauss. The film, which was directed by Ken Russell, was only screened once by the BBC. After it was condemned for its gratuitous sex scenes and the depiction of the composer as a Nazi sympathiser, the Estate of Richard Strauss took out a legal injunction banning the use of the composer's music on the film's soundtrack. In February 2020, with the expiration of the composer's copyright after more than 70 years since Strauss died, the film was shown at a special screening event in Cumbria, England hosted by Ken Russell's widow.

Dance of the Seven Veils
Directed byKen Russell
Screenplay byHenry Reed
Ken Russell
Produced byKen Russell
StarringChristopher Gable
Judith Paris
Kenneth Colley
CinematographyPeter Hall
Edited byDave King
Music byRichard Strauss
Production
company
BBC
Distributed byBBC
Release date
15 February 1970
Running time
59 minutes
CountryUK

Plot edit

Cast edit

  • Christopher Gable ... Richard Strauss
  • Judith Paris ... Pauline Strauss
  • Kenneth Colley ... Hitler
  • Vladek Sheybal ... Joseph Goebbels
  • James Mellor ... Goering
  • Sally Bryant ... 'Life'
  • Gala Mitchell ... Fallen Woman
  • Rita Webb ... Salome
  • Imogen Claire ... Salome (dancer)
  • Maggy Maxwell ... Potiphar's Wife
  • Otto Diamant ... Jewish Man

Production edit

The film was made on location near Russell's home at Skiddaw in the Lake District.[1] "One of the purposes of making the film was to shock complacent critics and viewers who sit in front of their sets for hours on end watching cocoa advertisements. I was simply setting out to make a film about Richard Strauss, and I felt that everything I showed was necessary for presenting my idea of this man," Russell told Peter Waymark of The Times in February 1970. "I wanted strong, hard outlines to bring out aspects of this man and his work that to my mind have been overlooked." The composer "was a self advertising, vulgar, commercial man."[2]

Screening and reception edit

The film was shown on BBC1 on 15 February 1970. It created a sufficient outcry for 20 Conservative backbenchers to table a motion objecting to it after the television screening. It was shown at the House of Commons the following month. Huw Wheldon, then managing director of BBC Television who was present at the screening, defended the film.[3] It was only shown once by the BBC.[1] The Strauss estate was so outraged by the film that an injunction was taken out, banning the use of Strauss's music on the soundtrack, effectively preventing any further broadcasts because the film can be seen but it cannot be heard.[1]

"I hated it so much" said The Observer.[4] "I don't deny its power," wrote Nancy Banks-Smith in The Guardian.[5] The campaigner Mary Whitehouse commented: "There was gratuitous sex and violence of the most outlandish kind".[2]

When the copyright of Strauss' music expired, the film was reshown at Keswick Film Festival in Cumbria's Theatre by the Lake. The evening was hosted by Russell's widow, Lisi.[1][6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Banned Dance of the Seven Veils gets second airing". BBC News. 29 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b Waymark, Peter (17 February 1970). "Russell's Seven Veils shocks critics". The Times. p. 8.
  3. ^ Clark, George (5 March 1970). "Russell Film Defended by BBC Chief". The Times. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ Heyworth, Peter (22 February 1970). "War between Russell and Strauss: Two views of Ken Russell's controversial television film". The Observer. p. 31.
  5. ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (16 February 1970). "Review: Dance of the Seven Veils on BBC-1". The Guardian. p. 8.
  6. ^ Blakely, Rhys (1 March 2020). "Banned Ken Russell film Dance of the Seven Veils screened after 50 years". Retrieved 1 March 2020.

External links edit