The name is absent

Appendix 3.2: Sample films - synopses and character lists

THE SEVENTH VEIL UK 45

THE WICKED LADY dir Leslie Arliss UK 1945

The film is set in seventeenth century England amongst the
seventeenth century equivalent of the middle class. The
narrative chronicles the misdeeds and eventual downfall of
Barbara (Margaret Lockwood), the wicked lady of the title,
whose wickedness is opposed to the goodness of her cousin and
childhood friend Caroline (Patricia Roc). The opposition
between the two women is constructed apropos their differing
attitudes to marriage, men and the moral code in general.
There is much discussion and exploration of the nature of love
and its presence, or absence, in marriage. Barbara’s self
seeking opportunism is contrasted with Caroline’s self denying
fidelity: in a sense the pair can be understood as a
representation of two faces of the same coin, Woman. Barbara
steals Caroline's fiance, Ralph, and marries him; Caroline
continues to run their household. Out of boredom Barbara
embarks on a secret double life as a ’Highwayman' in
partnership with the notorious Jerry Jackson (James Mason) who

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