Victim (1961)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Janet Green (by) and
John McCormick (by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 October 1961 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A Daring Picture About the World's Most Un-talked About Subject.

Plot:

A prominent lawyer goes after a blackmailer who threatens gay men with exposure (homosexual acts still being illegal). But he's gay himself...

Plot Keywords:

Blackmailer | Gay | Homosexual | Blackmail | Police

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Melville Farr
Sylvia Syms	...	Laura
Dennis Price	...	Calloway
Anthony Nicholls	...	Lord Fullbrook
Peter Copley	...	Paul Mandrake
Norman Bird	...	Harold Doe
Peter McEnery	...	Barrett
Donald Churchill	...	Eddy
Derren Nesbitt	...	Sandy Youth
John Barrie	...	Det.Inspector Harris
John Cairney	...	Bridie
Alan MacNaughton	...	Scott Hankin (as Alan MacNaughtan)
Nigel Stock	...	Phip
Frank Pettitt	...	Barman (as Frank Pettit)
Mavis Villiers	...	Madge
Charles Lloyd Pack	...	Henry
Hilton Edwards	...	P.H.
David Evans	...	Mickey
Noel Howlett	...	Patterson
Margaret Diamond	...	Miss Benham
Alan Howard	...	Frank
Dawn Beret	...	Sylvie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Bennett	...	Undercover Detective (uncredited)
John Boxer	...	Policeman in Cell (uncredited)
Frank Thornton	...	George - Henry's Assistant (uncredited)

Directed by
Basil Dearden

Writing credits
Janet Green		(by) and
John McCormick		(by)
Janet Green		(screenplay) and
John McCormick		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Relph	....	producer
Basil Dearden	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Philip Green

Cinematography by
Otto Heller		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John D. Guthridge

Art Direction by
Alex Vetchinsky

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist
Barbara Ritchie	....	hairdresser

Production Management
Denis Holt	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director

Art Department
Vernon Dixon	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
C.C. Stevens	....	sound recordist
Les Wiggins	....	sound editor (as Leslie Wiggins)

Camera and Electrical Department
H.A.R. Thomson	....	camera operator
George Courtney Ward	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Philip Green	....	conductor

Other crew
Joan Davis	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Allied Film Makers (AFM) (present)

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1961) (UK) (theatrical)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Pathé-America Distributing Company (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Park Circus (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Vision Cinema (USA) (VHS)
• Janus Films (196?) (worldwide) (all media)
• Nelson Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Parkway Films  artwork and design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min | 100 min (pre-censored version) | 96 min (video version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:18 (bw) | UK:X (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating) (1962) | Portugal:17 (1974)

Filming Locations:

Cambridge Circus, Covent Garden, London, England, UK

Company:

Allied Film Makers (AFM)

Trivia:

Although, by the time of this movie, the British police were tending towards leniency in their treatment of homosexual offenders, it would not be until the Sexual Offences Act 1967 (citation 1967 c.60) that homosexuality between consenting males over the age of 21 was decriminalized. Even then, this established an uneven age of consent (16 for heterosexual activity), applied only to England and Wales (Scotland followed in 1980 and Northern Ireland in 1982) and did not apply to the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 reduced the homosexual age of consent to 18 and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 further reduced it to 16, bringing parity with heterosexual activity.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the taxi leaves to take the blackmailer back to base to count the loot, the next shot shows the watching policemen about to give chase, with the same taxi parked on the street behind them.

Quotes:

Detective Inspector Harris:Someone once called this law against homosexuality the blackmailer's charter.
Melville Farr:Is that how you feel about it?
Detective Inspector Harris:I'm a policeman, sir. I don't have feelings.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Kind of Loving (1962)

Soundtrack:

Long Stringy Baby

Predator And Prey

From what I have read, this was the first British film ever to use the word "homosexual" in the dialogue. That may, or may not, be technically true. Regardless, in 1961, overt gay references were risky to filmmakers, at least in Britain and the United States. Thus, the most amazing thing about "Victim" is the simple fact that it was made.

The film's theme is anything but subtle. Viewers in 1961 learn that government laws punish gays and encourage blackmailers, who function as predators to extort money from those whose instincts are out of sync with societal "norms". The film thus portrays gay men as prey, and tending to be secretive, scared, nervous, and sad. Dirk Bogarde gives an excellent performance as a powerful married barrister, secretly gay, who thinks he himself is on the verge of being blackmailed.

But while the film thus has obvious educational benefits, it is also quite entertaining, thanks to the plot rationale, which revolves around trying to guess who the blackmailer is. It's a whodunit mystery. Well into the film, a rather strange looking young man appears on a motorcycle and proceeds to chastise a barber for trying to escape from impending blackmail payments. But is this young man the real blackmailer, or just an envoy?

Adding to the entertaining plot line is the wonderfully off-kilter, noirish lighting from DP Otto Heller. The B&W cinematography conveys an appropriately moody, sometimes sinister, tone, consistent with the film's theme.

Some films try to be educational but end up preachy. Other films succeed at being educational, but lack entertainment value. "Victim" succeeds both as education and as entertainment, owing to its daring and absorbing screen story, its excellent direction, its good performances, and its effective cinematography.