Thursday, March 8, 2012

Victim: John Coldstream's New Book about the Landmark 1961 Film

The latest book in the British Film Institute's BFI Film and TV Classics series is Victim, a 115-page paperback reference volume devoted to the controversial 1961 film starring Dirk Bogarde. Author John Coldstream discusses the film's production history, describes the film in depth, and addresses critical reaction when it was first released. Coldstream concludes with a short essay about Victim's significance in cinema history.

For those unfamiliar with Victim (plot spoilers ahead), it tells the story of Melville Farr (Bogarde), a successful, married London barrister who was "seeing" Jack Barrett, a young homosexual man. In the film's most potent scene, Farr tells his wife that he never engaged in a physical relationship with Barrett, but he eventually admits: "I stopped seeing him because I wanted him. Do you understand?" A photograph of Farr consoling a crying Barrett falls into the hands of blackmailers, who threaten to ruin Farr's life (a homosexual relationship between two men was still a criminal act in England in 1961). When Barrett commits suicide to protect Farr, the barrister sets out to expose the blackmail ring.

In his book, Coldstream provides a compelling history of the many obstacles that had to be overcome to bring Boy Barrett, as Victim was known in pre-production, to the screen. Coldstream notes that the financial and critical success of Sapphire (1959), a mystery with strong racial themes, paved the way for Victim. In fact, Victim reunited the writer (Janet Green), director (Basil Dearden), and producer (Michael Relph) from Sapphire. Yet, despite their pedigree, they faced an uphill battle in getting Victim through the censors. Coldstream writes that John Trevelyan, head of the British Board of Censors and considered a moderate, "warned Relph to be aware of present-day public opinion in balancing attitudes toward homosexuality and not to give ideas to potential blackmailers by having the detective say it 'offered unrivaled opportunities to any extortionist.'"

Alas, Coldstream's lengthy description of the film is not as interesting for anyone who has seen it. He includes key lines of dialogue, a plethora of outstanding stills, and portions of the annotated script.

The author's discussion of Victim's critical reception and historical significance is much more engrossing. Coldstream plays fair by presenting a diverse number of critical opinions about Victim. One of the more interesting ones came from James Breen of The Observer: "With a few plot changes (none of them vital), the film could have been made at any time during the last fifteen years --for it is not primarily about homosexuality at all, but about blackmail, and it is shaped not as a social study, either compassionate or critical, but as a mild thriller." For this film buff, I would certainly never label Victim a "mild thriller", but Breen may have have a point in regard to the importance of the blackmail angle.

As with any reference book dedicated to a single movie, Victim has limited appeal. Still, John Coldstream has written a well-researched history of the film, especially in regard to censorship in Britain in the early 1960s. Victim is recommended for the film's admirers and for libraries with large film reference collections.


Palgrave Macmillan provided a review copy of this book.

6 comments:

  1. Rick, a most interesting review. I saw "Victim" about a year ago and though I didn't think it was a great film, I found it a good one. I think in the quotation from James Breen you use, Breen underestimates the significance of homosexuality (which, as you write, was still illegal in Britain at the time) to the film. I found the most compelling thing in the film Dirk Bogarde's conflict about whether to give in to the blackmail attempt or not. Bogarde gives one of his finest, subtlest, and most heartfelt performances. (Bogarde was coy about his sexual orientation but is generally considered to have been gay.) For Farr the issue becomes more than just protecting his career and personal reputation. It becomes a matter of exposing the social and personal cost of making it illegal to be gay. His decision to defy the blackmailers despite the personal cost to him is one not easily reached.

    When I was researching a post on Tom Courtenay awhile back, he wrote about being interviewed by Dearden and Relph in 1960 for a film they were casting. He decided to go to the interview in character, dressed in working class student clothes. They were offended by what they saw as his casual attitude to the opportunity they were presenting (he was still in drama school at the time). He didn't name the part or the film, but I inferred that it must have been Barrett in "Victim."

    For anyone interested in seeing "Victim," it as well as "Sapphire" and two other Dearden-directed films (including the delightful heist film "The League of Gentlemen") is included in the Criterion Eclipse set "Basil Dearden's London Underground" released about a year ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R.D., you certainly make a valid point about Farr's motivation being about more than just self-preservation. I think Bogarde is fabulous in my favorite of his films. I can easily envision Courtenay as Barrett; it definitely sounds like he was auditioning for that role given the filmmakers and the time period. As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, VICTIM grabbed me with its opening scenes--I had no idea where it was going (and I always find that intriguing in a film). I've only seen SAPPHIRE once and that was several years ago, so thanks for mentioning the Basil Dearden boxed set.

      Delete
  2. Rick, this was a very interesting post. Like you, I prefer film references to focus less on summary and more on analysis and interesting things about the making of the film, the story behind the story, etc. I saw "Victim" in the '90s and found it compelling. Dirk Bogarde was remarkable. I checked out some of the other titles available from this BFI series and it includes titles like "Gun Crazy," "I Know Where I'm Going!," and "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Toto, the BFI series reminds me of the "Filmguide" series of books published by Indiana University in the 1970s. Those books also focused on a single film (with much analysis) and THE subjects included 2001, PSYCHO, and THE RULES OF THE GAME.

      Delete
  3. I saw the film not too long ago and was struck by how daring it was for its time. The book sounds like a good read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Victim is a favorite of mine, although it's hard to imagine a whole book about it. Dirk Bogarde was indeed wonderful in the part, and like you, Rick, I love films that catch you in the beginning because you don't know exactly where it's going. The story is such a sad statement about people being treated so badly and having to live in fear. I think it is excellent.

    ReplyDelete