ATLRetro

by Anthony Taylor
Contributing Writer

Welcome to Apes on Film! This column exists to scratch your retro-film-in-high-definition itch. We’ll be reviewing new releases of vintage cinema and television on disc of all genres, finding gems and letting you know the skinny on what to avoid. Here at Apes on Film, our aim is to uncover the best in retro film. As we dig for artifacts, we’ll do our best not to bury our reputation. What will we find out here? Our destiny.

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THE VICTIM – 1972 (TV MOVIE)
2 out of 5 Bananas
Starring: Elizabeth Montgomery, Eileen Heckart, Sue Ane Langdon , George Maharis
Director: Herschel Daugherty
Rated: NR
Studio: Kino Lorber
Region: A (Locked)
BRD Release Date: October 5, 2021
Audio Formats: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p HD
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Run Time: 73 minutes
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THE VICTIM opens with Kate (perennial television favorite Elizabeth Montgomery) deciding to check in on her sister Susan (Jess Walton), who has told her she’s about to divorce her husband Ben (Maharis). Unable to reach her by phone, Kate decides to brave an oncoming storm and drive the hour or two to Susan’s house, finding it empty and her sister missing. As we the viewers have seen, Susan was confronted by an “unknown” visitor, and it didn’t seem to end well for her. The problem with this movie is that we all know who the visitor is, what’s happened to Susan, and what will happen when Kate arrives.

The movie is clearly shot on a minimal budget which is apparent early on. For example, pulling into a filling station for gas, Kate’s Rolls Royce is caught in a downpour that only extends about twenty feet into the shot. In the background, the road is dry, and no rain is visible. Also distracting are many shots that barely qualify as “in focus” – apparently the standards for NTSC resolution shooting were pretty slack in the early 70s, as I’ve noticed this in quite a few period TV movies when presented in high definition.

This story could have at least been a taut, but unremarkable, episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents at a half-hour running time. Montgomery is always watchable, and soldiers on as best she can through the additional forty-three redundant minutes of the movie. It’s based on a short story by McNight Malmar, and it must have been a very short story as director Daugherty returns over and over to the same stale, red herring plot points and distractions in order to fill out the running time of THE VICTIM. Even worse, he never actually resolves the story at the climax, figuring that a few obvious clues should do that job – but he also put the clues there to try and lure viewers away from the thin plot and create false suspense. Very frustrating.

Kino Lorber’s presentation on Blu-ray is sourced from a new 2K restoration of the original picture elements and is very watchable, though not as clean as some of their other recent releases of similar material. Grain is visible throughout, and black density varies from shot to shot occasionally. Still quite an improvement from the only available versions until now. Audio is about what I expected for a TV movie from 1972, and Gil Mellé ’s score is good, though not as memorable as say, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER or FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY.

So, who is the real victim here? This film reminds me of the children’s book, The Monster At The End of This Book. Throughout, narrator Grover from Sesame Street begs kids not to turn the pages to find out who the monster is, and on the last page there’s a mirror and young readers find out that THEY are the monster! I fear that in relation to this film—we the viewers are the victim at the end of the movie. Watch at your own peril.

Anthony Taylor is not only the Minister of Science, but also Defender of the Faith. His reviews and articles have appeared in magazines such as Screem, Fangoria, Famous Monsters of Filmland, SFX, Video*WatcHDog, and more.

*Art Credit: Anthony Taylor as Dr. Zaius caricature by Richard Smith