Victim - QUEERGURU

This was the first serious approach to homosexuality the cinema had ever made. Made in Britain in 1961 where, as in the US, being gay was still a crime, the movie was actually banned from American theaters simply because it used the word ‘homosexual’.

The story is of a handsome young man called ‘Boy’ Barrett who is being blackmailed for being gay, but the money he is caught embezzling from his employers on a construction site, is actually to pay them to protect wealthy married Barrister Melville Farr whom he is in love with. The frantic phone calls Barrett makes to Farr after his arrest are mistaken as blackmail attempts themselves, and Farr’s reaction results in a very sad end for Barrett.

This stunning movie was a groundbreaking departure for Dirk Borgarde the star who until then had been the country’s most successful matinee idol. His brave and daring decision to play Farr against everyone’s advice was all the more significant for the fact he was never openly gay in his lifetime despite having a male partner for some 50 years. After this role he went on to give more superb performances in movies such as ‘Death In Venice’ ‘Accident’ ‘ The Night Porter’ etc that have since become essential classics for gay audiences everywhere.

Victim is essentially a film of courage. It also paved the way for legislation top de-criminalise homosexuality in the UK. And even though we have gained such freedom since then this entertaining and compelling highly dramatized thriller still deserves our attention.

Available at Amazon