Victim (1961 Film) - Reaction

Reaction

Victim became a highly sociologically significant film; many believe it played an influential role in liberalising attitudes (as well as the laws in Britain) regarding homosexuality. It was not a major hit but by 1971 had earned an estimated profit of £51,762.

The British Board of Film Censors originally gave the film an X rating. In a letter to the filmmakers, the BBFC secretary raised four objections to the film. First, a male character says of another man, "I wanted him". Second, references to "self-control" in the revised script were left out of a filmed discussion of homosexuality, leaving the discussion "without sufficient counterbalance". Third, the film implies that homosexuality is a choice, which "is a dangerous idea to put into the minds of adolescents who see the film". Finally, when the blackmailer Brenda unleashes a tirade against homosexuality, her popular view will be discredited since she is such an unsympathetic character.

Its most recent UK cinema re-release in 2005 received a PG rating. The use of the term "homosexual" kept the film from being released at first in the U.S. The film code changed within a year, and the film made its first official appearance in America.

The term "queer" is used in the film, with anticipation of complete understanding on the part of the (British) audience in two completely different ways. As reported, "FARR IS QUEER" is painted on Farr's garage door (i.e. Farr is homosexual), and the expression "Queer Street" (meaning in desperate poverty) is used in a letter to some red herring blackmailers.