{"id":76238,"date":"2021-09-19T08:54:11","date_gmt":"2021-09-19T15:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76238"},"modified":"2021-09-19T09:02:30","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T16:02:30","slug":"victim-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76238","title":{"rendered":"Victim (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It used to be witches; at least they don&#8217;t burn you.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-209x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-76248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-209x300.png 209w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-712x1024.png 712w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-89x128.png 89w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-768x1104.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster-188x270.png 188w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Poster.png 781w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a successful London barrister (Dirk Bogarde) married to a beautiful and understanding wife (Sylvia Syms) receives a call from a young acquaintance (Peter McEnery), he soon becomes caught up in attempting to identify the blackmailers who are wreaking havoc in the underground gay community.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amateur Sleuths<\/li>\n<li>Blackmail<\/li>\n<li>Dirk Bogarde Films<\/li>\n<li>Homosexuality<\/li>\n<li>Morality Police<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;well-made drama&#8221; about a &#8220;distinguished, married English barrister with a homosexual past&#8221; was &#8220;the first film to be <em>about<\/em> homosexuality, and, fortunately, it&#8217;s strongly directed by Basil Dearden and maturely and sympathetically written by [married screenwriters] Janet Green and John McCormick.&#8221; He points out that a &#8220;key scene&#8221; in which &#8220;Bogarde and other middle-aged homosexuals talk about the antiquated laws dealing with homosexuality&#8221; is a &#8220;discussion that no other picture would be brave enough to include for many years to come.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-76250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion.png 1200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Discussion-450x270.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He spends much of the rest of his review citing a critic from <em>Films in Review<\/em> when the film was released, who complained that &#8220;the biological, social and psychological evils resulting from homosexuality are never mentioned&#8221; and &#8220;the false contention that homosexuality is congenital is stressed throughout&#8221; (!!); Peary notes that this &#8220;gives us some idea how far ahead of its time this picture was,&#8221; and tells about watching the cut version for years on TV, &#8220;in which, remarkably, homosexual references are excised&#8221; &#8212; meaning that &#8220;for years [he] had no idea what this picture was about.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Peary doesn&#8217;t specifically highlight Bogarde&#8217;s performance in his review, but he should; Bogarde (semi-closeted in real life) is note perfect in a role that he was apparently eager to play. What&#8217;s most refreshing about the storyline is that Bogarde&#8217;s character doesn&#8217;t shy away from facing the truth of his sexuality: we learn that he was upfront with his wife before they got married, and after he finds out about McEnery&#8217;s tragic end, he vows to investigate and seek justice, despite the risk this poses to both his career and his marriage. Knowing that homosexuality was illegal in Britain until 1967 under the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sexual_Offences_Act_1967\">Sexual Offenses Act<\/a>, one is grateful to this film for showing just a glimpse of what life was like for many during that time. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dirk Bogarde as Melville Farr<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Bogarde.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sylvia Syms as Laura Farr<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Syms2.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography3.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Cinematography5.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine use of location shooting<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Location-Shooting.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A powerful, no-holds-barred depiction of legalized homophobia<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-1024x614.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer-450x270.png 450w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Victim-Queer.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Bogarde&#8217;s performance and as an overall &#8220;good show&#8221; with historical importance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0055597\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1962\/02\/06\/archives\/screen-victim-arrivesdirk-bogarde-stars-in-drama-of-blackmail.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/e-g_npkJ400\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/current\/posts\/1727-eclipse-series-25-basil-dearden-s-london-underground\">Criterion Collection (scroll down to third review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/94775\/victim#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2021\/aug\/31\/victim-dirk-bogarde-gay-drama\">The Guardian Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It used to be witches; at least they don&#8217;t burn you.&#8221; Synopsis: When a successful London barrister (Dirk Bogarde) married to a beautiful and understanding wife (Sylvia Syms) receives a call from a young acquaintance (Peter McEnery), he soon becomes caught up in attempting to identify the blackmailers who are wreaking havoc in the underground gay community. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Amateur Sleuths Blackmail Dirk Bogarde Films Homosexuality Morality Police Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary writes that this &#8220;well-made&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76238\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76238"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76260,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76238\/revisions\/76260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}