Victim (film)
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| Victim | |
|---|---|
 Victim DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Basil Dearden |
| Produced by | Michael Relph |
| Written by | Janet Green, John McCormick |
| Starring | Dirk Bogarde, Dennis Price, Sylvia Syms |
| Distributed by | Rank |
| Release date(s) | August 1961 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Victim is a 1961 British film directed by Basil Dearden, starring Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Syms.
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[edit] Synopsis
The bleak story of Victim concerns a successful barrister, Melvin Farr (Bogarde), who has a thriving London practice. He is likely to take silks; and people are already talking of a judgeship. He is apparently happily married to a wife played by Sylvia Syms.
But Farr is approached, in desperation, by "Boy" Barrett (Peter McEnery), a younger man with whom Farr shared an emotional but not sexual relationship. Farr rebuffs the approach and not long afterwards Barrett hangs himself in a police cell.
The vicious blackmailing ring closes in, and Farr becomes their most notable victim. His marriage is nearly destroyed. But Farr agrees to help the police, to give evidence in court, no matter that the worst Sunday papers will destroy his career.
[edit] Background and production
Until 1966 and the Wolfenden Report, homosexual acts between consenting adults were illegal in Britain. There were prosecutions and Sunday newspapers that gave space to the court reports. Yet, by 1960, the police were as relaxed as possible over the old laws. There was a feeling that the code violated decent liberty. But police restraint did not deter the menace of blackmail.
When the team of producer Michael Relph and director Basil Dearden first approached Bogarde, they warned him that a lot of people had already turned down the script because the material might be dangerous or unwholesome. Bogarde in 1960 was 39, and just about the most popular star in British films. He had proven himself playing war heroes (The Sea Shall Not Have Them; Ill Met by Moonlight); he was the centrepiece in the hugely successful Doctor in the House series; and he was a reliable romantic lead in movies like A Tale of Two Cities. He was flirting with a larger, Hollywood career - playing Liszt in Song Without End. Bogarde was also a confirmed homosexual, happily "married" to his business manager, Tony Forwood, though compelled every now and then to be seen in public with attractive young women to divert suspicion.
Bogarde seems not to have hesitated over the role of Farr. Similarly, Sylvia Syms never flinched from the part of his wife, though apparently several actresses had turned it down. Not that Victim is a complete picture. There is a central compromise in that Farr seems to have outlived his homosexual past and to be genuinely in love with his wife. Their marriage survives, even if Farr's career is shot. Bogarde gives a very moving performance, but he never took the opportunity to admit, or even to hint, that he and Farr had things in common. On the other hand, Victim served to separate the star from his fond, young following and to pave the way for The Servant, Darling, Modesty Blaise, Accident, Justine, The Damned, Death in Venice and The Night Porter.
[edit] Reaction
Victim became a highly sociologically significant film; many believe it played an influential role in liberalizing attitudes (as well as British law) regarding homosexuality. It was the first film in which the word "homosexual" appeared[citation needed].
[edit] Cast
- Dirk Bogarde as Melville Farr
- Sylvia Syms as Laura
- Dennis Price as Calloway
- Nigel Stock as Phip
- Peter McEnery as Barrett
- Donald Churchill as Eddy
- Anthony Nicholls as Lord Fullbrook
- Hilton Edwards as P.H.
- Norman Bird as Harold Doe
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Victim at the Internet Movie Database
