Dirk bogarde plays a lawyer who agrees to defend a. Originally released in 1961, six years before homosexuality was decriminalised in the united kingdom, the film was highly controversial, earned an x rating from the british censors modern releases have been labelled pg and was for a time banned in the united states. It looks like it confused with the find the bad guy plot and the exploration of the subject. Released in 1961, when convicted homosexual could still accurately describe a persons legal status, victim was justifiably seen as a daring step for both i. Bogarde plays melville farr, a married barrister who is one of a large group of closeted london men who. Victim 1961 movie clip between you and the blackie. Dirk bogarde, sylvia syms, peter mcenery, dennis price, nigel. In its time, this movie was considered as daring a film as had ever been made in england. However, when blackmailers link farr to a young gay man, everything farr has worked for is threatened.
How much courage can be gauged by the fact that it was originally banned from american screens simply because it used the word homosexual. Victim 1961 a closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice. With his practice winning cases and a loving marriage to his wife sylvia sims, farrs. Dirk bogarde as melville farr in the film victim 1961 directed by.
Jack barrett peter mcenery, a blackmail victim who has stolen a large sum of money from his employer, desperately tries to contact married barrister melville farr bogarde but is arrested before he can reach him and commits suicide in his cell. The secret partner is a 1961 british thriller film directed by basil dearden and starring stewart granger, haya harareet and bernard lee. Y ou want to be able to watch a movie like 1961s victim and breathe a sigh of relief that the world and social attitudes have moved on. Its a shame because it has some excellent performances in it. Victim 1961 dirk bogardes trailblazing performance is at the centre of this landmark gay classic. The death of a young man leads to the discovery of a blackmail plot against a number of gay men in 1960s london. Victim 1961 movie clip a law which sends homosexuals to prison. Victim, released in 1962, helped to push out the boundaries with regard to cinematic acknowledgement of homosexuality and is for that reason, something of a landmark in film history. Victim was one of the series of postwar social problem films credited to the directorproducer partnership of dearden and relph, tackling such subjects as delinquency the violent playground, 1958, racism sapphire, 1959 and east end slums a place to go, 1963. Victim 1961 basil dearden synopsis, characteristics.
Dirk bogarde in victim 1961 donald churchill and peter mcenery in victim. Several years before the sexual offences act decriminalised homosexuality in the uk, british director basil dearden presented audiences with a gripping crime drama about the closeted gay community in victim 1961. Rising barrister farr dirk bogarde is summoned before the very crafty inspector harris john barrie, making delicate inquiries about possible blackmail, in director basil deardens victim. Dirk bogardes victim shines a light on londons shadowy. This thoughtprovoking 1961 classic stars dirk bogarde as a prominent lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer. The movie, far ahead of its time, ends with farr and his loving wife coming to. B asil deardens icily brilliant mystery thriller victim from 1961 is now rereleased in cinemas, linked to the gross indecency season at bfi southbank, london. A successful barrister, melville farr has a thriving london practice. Dirk bogarde stars in this 1961 groundbreaking film that deals with the. Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way. This section needs additional citations for verification.
We will be showing victim 1961, basil dearden, 96 mins on wednesday the 6th of march, 57pm, jarman 6 victim stars dirk bogarde as barrister melville farr, a man whose apparently happy marriage to laura sylvia syms and professional reputation are jeopardised when a compromising photograph. Victim evokes the bad old days of sodomy laws and blackmail dirk bogarde stars in this 1961 british drama, a brave but compromised stab at a forbidden subject by j. An extraordinary performance by dirk bogarde grounds this intense, sobering indictment of earlysixties social intolerance and sexual puritanism. The murder of a young woman in london exposes deep racial tensions and prejudices inherent in the area. Bogarde plays melville farr, a married barrister who is one of a large group of closeted london men who become targets of a blackmailer. Victim 1961 drama movie story in early 1960s london, barrister melville farr is on the path to success. Victim 1961 by roger ebert may 23, 2004 recent critics find victim timid in its treatment of homosexuality, but viewed in the context of great britain in 1961, its a film of courage. Though a tad dated and tame by todays standards, this 1961 drama was not only groundbreaking in its depiction of homosexuality, but it also marked the occasion when dirk bogarde broke free from. Victim 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. With his practice winning cases and a loving marriage to his wife, farrs career and personal life are nearly idyllic. The problem here is not homosexuality as such, but the blackmailers charter presented by the law as it then stood. The death of a young man leads to the discovery of a blackmail plot against several gay men in. Basil deardens icily brilliant mystery thriller victim from 1961 is now rereleased in cinemas, linked to the gross indecency season at bfi southbank, london. Victim is an anxietyridden early 60s film that tackles the uks antihomosexual law and the persistent blackmail connected with it, but its sympathetic portrayal of its gay subjects is so extremely notable.
Victim 1961 in early 1960s london, barrister melville farr dirk bogarde is on the path to success. Dirk bogarde plays a lawyer who agrees to defend a friend on a theft charge. A plea for reform of englands antisodomy statutes, melville farr sir dirk bogarde, a married lawyer. Victim is a 1961 british neo noir suspense film directed by basil dearden and starring dirk. Released 1961, victim stars dirk bogarde, sylvia sims, dennis price, nigel stock the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 40 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which assembled. We all remember that midnight cowboy was the first xrated movie to win best picture, but who remembers what movie first used the term homosexual. All are very welcome to join us for our next melodrama screening and discussion session. Cast dirk bogarde, sylvia syms, dennis price, nigel stock, peter mcenery, anthony nicholls. When eddy donald churchill arrives with an incriminating photo, barrister farr dirk bogarde realizes his culpability in the suicide of their mutual friend, in director basil deardens victim, 1961. Victim has been widely credited with impacting british support of gay. As part of a retrospective season dedicated to that utterly unique english actor dirk bogarde, bfi southbank is this week screening his 1961 film. The screenplay concerns a shipping executive officer who is blackmailed by an evil dentist. Known as the first english language film to use the term homosexual, victim is a seminal film in gay cinema. Sex victim 12 zoe tamerlis is dragged in a backyard and held at gunpoint by a masked sex fiend, who invades her virgin pussy by force.
Dirk bogarde is the barrister melville farr, haunted by his unconsummated gay desires this in an era when gay sex was illegal and threatened by a sinister blackmail ring. Denied the mpaa seal when it was released to the united states, victim surprisingly ran into very little interference when it was released to television in the mid1960s. While it tackled a taboo subject at that time, this movie presented it like it was made for tv flick. The original trailer in high definition of victim directed by basil dearden and. Basil deardens unmistakably political taboo buster was one of the first films to address homophobia headon, a cry of protest against british laws forbidding. To be gay was a crime in the united states and the u. A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice. He had spent fourteen years being cast as a matinee idol by the rank. A welcome rerelease of basil deardens chilling survey of life as a gay man in london of the early 60s. It would be hard to tell the story of victim without it. At the same time, because many of the societal advances the film endorses have been. In the 1961 film victim, directed by basil dearden, the other man is melville farr, a married london barrister played by a 39yearold dirk bogarde, then at the peak of his fame as a matinee idol.
In search of the locations for the dirk bogarde thriller. Despite being quite conservative about what is shown, the mere acknowledgment of. The film portrays a group of gay men notably successful barrister melville far dirk bogarde who are being blackmailed by someone willing to expose their secret. Rent victim 1961 starring dirk bogarde and sylvia syms on dvd and bluray. In 1960, bogarde was 39 and just about the most popular actor in british films.
With dirk bogarde, sylvia syms, dennis price, anthony nicholls. Recent critics find victim timid in its treatment of homosexuality, but viewed in the context of great britain in 1961, its a film of courage. Victim an extraordinary performance by dirk bogarde grounds this intense, sobering indictment of earlysixties social intolerance and sexual puritanism. The movie proceeds on two levels, as a crime thriller and as a character study, and its this dual nature that makes it an entertainment at the same time it works as a message picture. Storyline in early 1960s london, barrister melville farr is on the path to success. This film broke serious ground in 1961 by addressing homosexuality in britain fullon. You want to believe that such absurd and illogical levels of persecution would be a thing of the past, that people would embrace enlightenment and.
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