Victim

Some people today apparently find the treatment of homosexuality in this film rather timid, and Dirk Bogarde’s lifelong refusal to “come out” a betrayal. They should remember that, until 1967, it was illegal in England, as it was in most US states and Canada. This was not an unenforced law. Men regularly went to prison for it. Thus, 90% of blackmail cases in the UK were related to gay sex. This film was incredibly bold for its time, exposing the pathetic situation of gays as it tracks down a ring of lowlifes who take compromising pictures and then make the men pay over and over and over. The barrister played by Bogarde is a repressed homosexual, married, prominent, about to have a large career advancement. But when a young man comes to him for help, he turns the guy down. Later the kid hangs himself in his cell. The lawyer decides to do something about it, knowing that it will wreck his career by association, and possibly his marriage, too. Life imitates art: Bogarde’s career was a leading man was so over, after this. People wouldn’t return his phone calls. Not because they necessarily perceived him as gay, but because he had made a film that showed gays in a sympathetic light. That’s how virulent this shit was. But I’m happy to say he got the last laugh. From that point he took on far meatier roles than he had before, in much more serious films, and ended up a highly respected actor instead of what he might have been: The Rock Hudson of the UK. Right on, Dirk!