A newly qualified surgeon takes the blame for his drug addict colleague after the death of a patient. Michael Redgrave, Tony Britton, Carl Mohner and Vanessa Redgrave star.

The mask referred to in the title is a surgeon’s mask, this 1958 film being a hospital-set drama in which a newly qualified surgeon (Tony Britton) takes the blame for his drug addicted colleague when their patient dies through the latter’s neglect.

Starring Vanessa Redgrave in her feature film debut alongside her father Michael Redgrave, Behind the Mask is notable for featuring one of the first ever scenes of actual open-heart surgery via a closed circuit TV screen.