Vinegar Syndrome will release on Blu-ray the TV series The Veil (1958). The release will be available for purchase on January 27.
Description: In 1958, commercial producer Frank P. Bibas began production on a television anthology series for the legendary Hal Roach Studios centered around classic horror titan Boris Karloff. Predating One Step Beyond, The Twilight Zone, and Thriller, THE VEIL crafted each episode around mysterious and unexplainable phenomena, including time travel, ESP, reincarnation, astral projection, and the supernatural. Despite it being an era ripe with science fiction and horror, the dozen episodes of THE VEIL, all of which featured a top-tier cast and crew, never saw broadcast and then vanished completely for decades.
Featuring Boris Karloff as host (in all but the original version of the pilot) and cast in lead or supporting roles in each episode but one, THE VEIL harnessed in its short time a noteworthy array of talent from both behind and in front of the camera. Writers on the series included Jack Laird (Night Gallery) and Lásló Vadnay (Flesh and Fantasy), and among the directors were Arthur Hiller (The Hospital, Silver Streak), George Waggner (The Wolf Man, TV's Batman), and Herbert L. Strock (How to Make a Monster, TV's Science Fiction Theatre). The rotating casts of on-screen talent in THE VEIL included Patrick Macnee (The Howling), Katharine Squire (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), Torin Thatcher (The Snows of Kilimanjaro), Niall MacGinnis (Island of Terror), Denise Alexander (TV's Days of our Lives), Whit Bissell (Soylent Green), and the first on-screen appearance of George Hamilton (Love at First Bite). Iconoscope is honored to present the first official Blu-ray release of the complete series, newly scanned in 4k from rare archival film elements and featuring an array of new and archival extras, including some recently rediscovered bonuses.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
THREE-DISC SET
The complete series of The Veil, newly scanned and restored in 4K from 16mm and 35mm original archival elements
Four episode commentaries with author and film historian Tom Weaver
"Carrying on the Legacy" - an interview with Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff
"The 11th Episode" - an interview with Barbara Bibas Montero, daughter of The Veil creator Frank P. Bibas
Two versions of the 'backdoor pilot' episode "The Vestris": the original 'Telephone Time' version & the previously lost 'The Veil' version, hosted by Boris Karloff
"House of Death" - a horror-tinged episode of Schlitz Playhouse long believed to be lost, starring Boris Karloff and directed by William Asher (Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker), with audio commentary by author and telefilm historian Amanda Reyes