Having an iconic role in a beloved television series can be the kiss of death when it comes to having a career filled with variety and new challenges. When Elizabeth Montgomery concluded her role as Samantha on Bewitched after eight seasons, she was looking for something with a bit more of an edge. Rather than take on any of the feature film roles she was offered, she decided to stick with television – only this time as a part of ABC’s Movie Of The Week. Her first role after giving up her magical nose-twitching was the decidedly less fantastical Kate Wainwright in 1972’s The Victim from veteran television director Herschel Daugherty. This tense little tale would allow Montgomery to establish herself as a formidable force in the Television Film world that would lead to Emmy-nominated turns in A Case Of Rape and The Legend Of Lizzie Borden. The film has mostly been relegated to a curiosity due to its lack of availability, but audiences will now have a chance to get a taste of what audiences were treated to all those decades ago.
Kate is worried about her sister Susan (Jess Walton, The Young and The Restless) after she receives a call from her wealthy sibling informing her that she is planning on divorcing her husband, Ben (George Maharis, Route 66). Both of their husbands are away on business, so Kate offers to abscond from San Francisco for the weekend to join Susan at her massive country cabin, but her younger sister declines citing an approaching storm. As Susan gets off the phone, she is attacked by an unknown assailant. When Kate attempts to call back and the phone is off the hook, the concerned sister heads out to see her sister even as the local authorities likewise mention the nasty storm that is forthcoming. When Kate arrives, Susan is nowhere to be found despite her thorough examination of the house – if you took a drink every time you heard the name Susan in this film you BAC would set new records. What we see that Kate does not is her sister’s wide-eyed dead body in the basement, and we are left to wonder if Kate will meet the same fate.
If we are being honest, there is absolutely nothing original in The Victim that you have not seen done better elsewhere. Nevertheless, for the most part it does not fumble any of these familiar elements either. In the way that audiences are comforted by the predictability of a crime procedural, there is something enjoyable about the steadily unfolding rhythms of this narrative. Besides Kate, one of the only notable characters you have is Mrs. Hawkes (Eileen Heckart, The Bad Seed), the miserable housekeeper who claims to have not noticed the absence of her employer. The way in which she spars with Kate provides some of the best moments of the film, and once you learn that her employment was terminated the night prior things become even more tense. There is also Ben, who conveniently ends up not going out of town and may be stretching the truth about his current employment. The lack of other notable suspects is a bit of a hindrance, but surprisingly the script keeps you guessing as to which is to be blamed for longer than you might think.
It is Montgomery who allows this project to work as well as it does, though. She is a captivating presence on screen which allows even the most rote moments to be a little bit more engrossing. While forgetting a character like Samantha is difficult, she changes gears enough as Kate to make the character believable. Even when factoring in the good performances and charming predictability, The Victim is not quite a classic in the TV movie arena. The merciful 73 minute runtime still feels a bit too long for the amount of plot there is to cover – you can only watch our protagonist walk around the house shouting for her sister for so long before it becomes laughable. There is tension from knowing there is a killer in her midst, along with the added isolation of the much-buzzed-about storm, but modern audiences may find the lack of mounting dramatic developments a bit dull. The conclusion makes up for this in some respects, but the whole project could have been tightened up to a breezy hour and been all the better for it. Flaws and all, this one is still worth a watch if you are a Montgomery fan or want to experience a throwback to TV movies of yore.
Video Quality
The Victim comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer derived from a new 2K master that is quite stunning. The fact that Kino Classics has not only rescued this obscure television film from the deep recesses of the past but has also given it a beautiful presentation is very impressive. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the source without any hints of digital tinkering. The grain presents as organic rather than overwhelmingly noisy, which allows for greater depth to the image. Overall clarity and detail is incredible, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Colors are well saturated with vivid hues popping off the screen, especially in some bold colors within the costumes. Black levels are very deep and hold up well with crush not serving as a noticeable issue. Instances of print damage have been cleaned up immensely, with nary a blemish that stands out. This print is way more lovely than one could ever dream up. Kino Classics should be given major kudos for their work here.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that accurately captures the intended sound of the film. The stormy environmental sounds are rendered well alongside everything else. The music is used well to establish the mood of the story, and this track handles it elegantly throughout the duration of the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Kino Classics has given this film a perfectly preserved audio presentation that brings the story to life in a most pleasing manner.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian/Author Amanda Reyes provides a fun and informative commentary track in which she discusses the place of this picture amongst other TV movies, the source material and various adaptations, the careers of the talents involved, the nuances of Elizabeth Montgomery, details about the house and more. This is such a dense track that there is no moment wasted.
- TV Spots: There are TV Spots provided for Scream Pretty Peggy, Fear No Evil, Ritual of Evil and Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Demon In Lace).
Final Thoughts
The Victim is a decent spine-tingler that is elevated significantly by a strong central performance from Elizabeth Montgomery. The runtime feels a bit padded compared to the amount of actual drama it has to provide, but it makes up for this somewhat by a satisfying conclusion. Kino Classics has released this one on Blu-Ray featuring a truly excellent A/V presentation and a great commentary track. This one has been MIA from mass consumption for far too long, so those with a soft spot for throwback TV movies should be delighted by this new release.
The Victim will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 5, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
