I was surprised to find a film that had a more nucensed story on the topic of sexuality, given when it was filmed.

Great landmark film.

In 1961, homosexuality was still illegal in Britain, and would remain so for another six years. It was a crime in the same way that robbery and violence were crimes. Performing homosexual acts was a prisonable office, though by this stage the police had little enthusiasm for prosecuting gays. Nonetheless exposure of one's sexual orientation could lead to ostracism, loss of reputation and loss of employment. Scriptwriter Janet Green firmly supported reform of the laws on homosexuality. She recognised that they constituted a "blackmailer's charter". According to one of the characters in the film, 90% of blackmail cases in Britain at that time were related to homosexuality. As Victim makes clear, the law made gay men the victims of "every cheap thug". Victim is the story of a crime investigation, and there is a whodunit element too. Green's script leads the viewer down a few wrong alleys. Who are the two men that spend their time observing everyone in the local pub, making catty remarks, and posting letters? Are they the blackmailers? What about the rat-faced man who appears in several scenes. There is also a Judas figure. The man working to expose the blackmail racket is a barrister, Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde). What is his interest in the case? Well, while Superintendent Hazard and Inspector Learoyd) in Sapphire were outsiders looking in on the case, Farr himself has homosexual leanings, and is right in the middle of the affair. This does not seem obvious at the start of the film. Farr is seemingly happily married. The only kissing that we see in the film is when Farr kisses his wife, Laura (Sylvia Syms). Farr has her photo on his desk at work. He seems like a normal respectable man who has the chance to become a QC if no skeletons emerge from his cupboard. Those skeletons do exist though. A young builder called Jack ‘Boy' Barrett (Peter McEnery) seems eager to get in touch with Farr, and Farr seems equally unenthusiastic to see Barrett. Barrett gets into trouble with the police. He has been stealing from his workplace. Inspector Harris suspects that Barrett is more victim than culprit, and that he is being blackmailed. By the time Farr becomes involved, Barrett has hanged himself. It soon emerges that the two men regularly met, though their sexual interest in one another went unconsummated. However Farr feels guilty that he refused to speak to Barrett. He had not realised Barrett was being blackmailed; he thought Barrett was trying to blackmail him. Instead Barrett killed himself so as not to incriminate Farr. This causes Farr to decide to expiate his guilt by investigating the blackmailing. This is a dangerous business for Farr because it will mean exposure of his own homosexuality, and this will put his career and marriage in jeopardy. The courage shown by Farr on-screen was mirrored in the courage that Dirk Bogarde showed in agreeing to play the role. Bogarde was himself a closet homosexual, and remained so until his death. Like Farr, he had the opportunity for a more successful career, and threw it away by appearing in Victim. Bogarde was then the most popular actor in British cinema, and had the chance to break through into the American market. This film brought his popularity to an end, though it did open the way for Bogarde to appear in far more interesting roles in arthouse movies. Janet Green's script balances the issues of a marriage in which a man has an interest in his own sex. Farr is the film's hero, but Laura's suffering as a betrayed wife is sensitively portrayed. In a homophobic society, is it fair on a woman to find she has married a man who is concealing longings that she cannot fulfil? There is no happy ending here. A ring of blackmailers have been caught, but Farr's only reward is a shattered marriage, a damaged career, and public disgrace. The root causes of the problem have not been addressed. However the making of films such as Victim did open the way for society to change in a way that would end these abuses forever. I wrote a longer appreciation of Victim, the second part of a two-part review which also looks at another Basil Dearden work, Sapphire. If you would like to read more, you can check out my blog: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/victim-1961/

A fantastic, ground-breaking piece. The BBFC gave Victim- the first known English language film to use the word ‘homosexual’- an ‘X’ rating. It has since been reclassified as PG.

Enjoyed seeing Bogarde navigate a precarious situation. A statement for justice — something Iran & Russia need to learn.

A brilliant movie in every way

Excellent movie from start to finish

A film far ahead of it's time with a marvelous (and brave) performance by Dirk Bogarde, who was himself gay, but could not come out, because it was still illegal. This film just amazes me with its power and modern viewpoint.

An important film that anyone with a social conscious should make required viewing.

Groundbreaking and suspenseful.

A great film which subject matter , was ahead of it's time.

Can be admired for its boldness and retracted for its naivety, but works because of Basil Dearden's confident direction and Dirk Bogarde's good performance.

Homosexuality was illegal in the UK until 1967. So, Basil Dearden's sympathetic thriller about the problem of blackmail was clearly designed to promote social change. Dirk Bogarde, until then a romantic leading man, took a big risk in tackling the complex role of a barrister who decides to fight the blackmailers (because he too is gay although possibly not acting on his desires). The fact that the Bogarde character frankly expresses his desires and that the filmmakers do not shame him, nor any of the other gay characters, made the film controversial --for this was too shocking for many at the time. And although the film soft-pedals the type of stigma that gay men still experience (no physical violence here, apart from a shop being smashed up), the impacts of the stigma on the men affected is painfully clear. Dearden wisely utilises the structure of the thriller (rather than the social problem film) to engage viewers that might otherwise turn away from more didactic fare - and the film is engaging, building suspense from the very start when we meet a character on the run for some unknown reason. Both the police and Bogarde realize that blackmail is underfoot but it takes some time to identify and capture the perpetrators. In the end, Bogarde must decide whether to risk his marriage, his successful career, and his very well-being in order to expose the blackmailers and the law as morally bankrupt. A brave and important film.

A powerful film about the incrimination of homosexuality in Britain, Bogarde plays a closeted attorney who tries to find out who is blackmailing the gay men in London. The acting and writing were both brilliant, except it was rather slow, could have been 20 minutes shorter.

Blackmail and its repercussions in Britain, not a bad film all around.

one of the first UK movies 2 deal with what was them illegal subject homosexuality when it was still illegal

The very fact that homosexuality as a condition is presented honestly and unsensationally, with due regard for the dilemma and the pathos, makes this an extraordinary film.

A fascinating film more than a fully entertaining one. What is groundbreaking is that gays are shown from all walks of life, from barrister to bookshop owner to ticket-seller at the cinema. A real cross-section of society, though the barrister is never actually shown in court, only in his chambers. SPOILER ALERT. And not all are shown sympathetically, for the bar couple (one of whom is blind) are also extortionists. (Is one of the blackmailers - even both - gay, with the framed print of "David" on his living room wall?) What struck me was the lack of real affection shown by anyone - emotions are repressed between the husband and wife and the gay men also. Of course this real lack of expressing any sort of intimate feeling was a result of the fear of being blackmailed and going to gaol. And I assume also the filmmakers' desire to censor any outward display of affection between the gay characters anyhow. The scenes in the pub relieved this atmosphere at times (but even here the landlord admits he just tolerates the gay drinkers for their business). Sad times that thankfully were not far off beginning to change. The streets of London in 1961 are gloriously photographed in b & w.

Great film, best line "i'm a policeman, i have no feeling"

Correcta producciòn brtà nica que aborda el tema del homosexualismo, en una època donde era censurado.