It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I though it was important to remind myself that Victim was made in 1961, when homosexuality was still a crime in many civilized countries. That's partly why I think Victim belongs in a class of its own. Basil Dearden, the director of The Blue Lamp is a personal favorite of mine and Dirk Bogarde, well Dirk Bogarde is an actor who also belongs in a class of his own. Courageous is the first word who comes to mind. He was a hugely popular actor in 1959's England. Beautiful to look at on top of that. A matinée idol who was also gay in real life. Imagine the courage it took to play a secret gay in this movie and he doesn't shy away from giving a face, his face to the truth of his tortured character. - Kudos also to Sylvia Syms who plays his wife. Sylvia Syms who also played the Queen Mother to Helen Mirren's The Queen in 2006 is a real standout and her reaction to her husband's revelation is worthy of study. Superb. Dirk Bogarde with a successful career behind him, started, with this film a new and spectacular career, starring in films directed by Luchino Visconti, Joseph Losey, Reiner Werner Fassbinder, Alain Resnais and others.

Looking at this film from today's perspective it looks very tame, the story is a group of gay men from different social economic groups being blackmailed, but this film was made in 1961 6 years before the 1967 Sexual Offences Act which decriminalised sex acts between men over the age of 21 in private, the film was made during the period which became known as the British new wave when British films wanted to become more realistic and challenge the accepted view of society and the establishment but this was still a brave move at the time, the film treats the men sympathetically (who at the time would've been regarded as perverts and criminals) and argues (as much as it dares) for the law to be changed, Dirk Bogarde plays a successful barrister who decides to take on the blackmailers and let the chips fall where they may, knowing that that decision will destroy pretty much every aspect of his life, the film is well acted and very well made, i think because of its time and subject matter the film will always be very interesting as a period piece more so as time goes by, to think that less than 50 years ago there were laws like this and people were persecuted and prosecuted for their preferences is a disgrace and i think that's what most of todays audiences will think.

Dirk Bogarde must be given a lot of credit for starring in a movie deemed quite controversial for its times.He plays a successful man about to become a judge and yet he is hiding a terrible secret. That is, he was friends with a young man being blackmailed who ultimately killed himself in jail. Seems that the young man was forced to steal money as the blackmailers knew of his homosexual relationship. It doesn't take long to guess that Bogarde was part of this relationship.Trouble with this film is that the 1:43 minutes that it takes to tell the story could have been done in 20 minutes.The big surprise here is the discovery who was part of the blackmailing conspiracy. When it comes out, our maiden reveals the nature of anti-homosexual hatred in society. Of course, the financial benefits for her were secondary. Right?The story could have been stretched to further detail the relationship's effect on his marriage. His wife seems willing to continue, but that was probably a story in itself.When you think of this situation, it's a very sad commentary on the bigoted view of society on this topic. It shows how such a relationship could destroy a career.

It is 1961 but the so - called "Swinging Sixties" are still in the unimaginable future.Homosexual acts between males are against the law.A married barrister is so deep in the closet he's in Narnia.A young male friend "Boy" Barrett is desperate for help as he is on the run after embezzling money to pay off a blackmailer.His calls to the barrister go unanswered and he hangs himself in a police cell,in his possession a scrapbook with press cuttings referring to the barrister's career. Melville Farr (Mr Dirk Bogarde) is about to take silk,the first step to a possible judgeship down the line,but his guilt over his feelings towards Barrett and his deception of his wife finally leads him to try and track down the blackmailer whatever the cost to himself. "Victim" cleverly weaves a straightforward detective story with a plea for tolerance towards homosexuals in an age when it was in rather short supply. Mr Bogarde gives a very moving performance as Melville Farr,a man who has for many years subjugated his natural instincts to conform with the perceived "normality" of his class and profession.After a disastrous gay affair he married the very young and naive daughter of a judge and clearly loves her but is still tortured by his feelings towards his own sex. The wife is played by the very beautiful Miss Sylvia Sims,hot on the heels of playing Mr Laurence Harvey's showgirl lover in "Expresso Bongo". This stunning,versatile actress is as sensitive and vulnerable as Bogarde's wife as she was brash and hard - boiled as Harvey's girlfriend. Mr Derren Nesbett is brilliantly slimy as the repressed gay blackmailer's bagman.Looking for all the world like a malevolent Zoot Sims,he plays his part with lip - smacking relish. But much of the joy in "Victim" is in the careful casting of the smaller roles,none of whom falls into the easy trap of stereotyping gay men. Having been brought up in gay - friendly Brighton I was familiar with the demi- monde homosexuals felt they were forced to inhabit and it is well - realised in this picture.I am a little surprised that the pub featured in "Victim" wasn't one of the several London venues which gays had made their own,even in the 1950s.Still,perhaps the producers were using the "pub as a microcosm of society" argument. Despite perhaps a slight over - egging of the "gays are just folks" pudding,this is a fine picture,one which signalled a change of direction for Mr Bogarde's career,gave notice to the public that there were severe inequities in the way the law regarded sexuality,and demonstrated that British Cinema was still a force to be reckoned with. If you wish to learn for yourself the injustices visited on homosexual men prior to the Wolfenden report,read "Against The Law",a 1954 memoir by Peter Wildeblood who - along with Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt - Rivers - was imprisoned for having sexual relations with servicemen. his account of hypocrisy in high places details the price paid by gay men 50 years ago that helped achieve the freedom they enjoy now.