The first post-'Bewitched' project for the lovely Elizabeth Montgomery showcases her well, as the wealthy Kate Wainwright. Concerned for her younger sister Susan (Jess Walton, 'The Young and the Restless'), who's planning on divorcing her husband, she makes the long drive out to Susans' opulent but isolated rural house. During one long rainy night of terror, she discovers that Susan is missing, and gets frightened out of her mind.
Scripted by Merwin Gerard, based on a story by McNight Malmar, 'The Victim' benefits from director Herschel Daughertys' capable handling of genre tropes, such as the "dark and stormy night" and "the old dark house". It also has an engaging leading lady worthy of some sympathy. The production does rest fairly well on Montgomerys' capable shoulders, but in general, the tale lets her down. It's simply too obvious right from the get-go, with two characters that act blatantly suspicious at every turn.
Montgomery does receive fine support from Eileen Heckart ("The Bad Seed") as the cranky, middle-aged housekeeper, George Maharis ('Route 66') as Susans' husband Ben, and the appealing Sue Ane Langdon ("Frankie and Johnny") as the helpful Edith, who's only seen twice, and only in phone conversations with Kate.
Technically, this TV movie is competently handled, but in the end, it's not worth all the set-up with the stressed-out Kate to get to a rather underwhelming ending.
Five out of 10.
Scripted by Merwin Gerard, based on a story by McNight Malmar, 'The Victim' benefits from director Herschel Daughertys' capable handling of genre tropes, such as the "dark and stormy night" and "the old dark house". It also has an engaging leading lady worthy of some sympathy. The production does rest fairly well on Montgomerys' capable shoulders, but in general, the tale lets her down. It's simply too obvious right from the get-go, with two characters that act blatantly suspicious at every turn.
Montgomery does receive fine support from Eileen Heckart ("The Bad Seed") as the cranky, middle-aged housekeeper, George Maharis ('Route 66') as Susans' husband Ben, and the appealing Sue Ane Langdon ("Frankie and Johnny") as the helpful Edith, who's only seen twice, and only in phone conversations with Kate.
Technically, this TV movie is competently handled, but in the end, it's not worth all the set-up with the stressed-out Kate to get to a rather underwhelming ending.
Five out of 10.