The Victim

This relatively obscure "ABC movie of the Week" perhaps doesn't have the most groundbreaking or innovative plot ever penned down, and neither does it feature the most technologically advanced special effects, but Herschel Daugherty's "The Victim" does guarantee one majorly important thing, and that is good old-fashioned nail-biting suspense pretty much from the beginning until the very end! If I browse around and read the other user comments for this little gem, it seems as if many people originally saw the film on television when they were young, during its premiere in 1972 and still vividly remember how they were petrified. I can definitely relate to that, as "The Victim" features all the right ingredients to induce fear and disturbance: raging thunderstorms, power failures, cut off phone lines, unidentified footsteps upstairs, distressed damsels in remote countryside mansions, creepy old housekeepers and brief glimpses of dead bodies hidden in the basement! At home, in her luxurious apartment in San Francisco, Kate is terribly worried about her sister Susan. She lives far off in the country and announced that she was going to divorce her husband Ben. When she can't reach Susan on the phone, Kate decides to drive to her house even though there's a storm raging through the area. When she arrives at the house, Susan is missing and not even the nosy neighbor/housekeeper Mrs. Hawkes knows where she is. Now, the viewer already knows that Susan lies dead in the basement and that Kate is in great danger because her killer is still in the house. The storyline is thin and the climax is predictable, but that doesn't matter all that much because the atmosphere is non-stop unsettling and the acting performances are great. "The Victim" is basically a one-woman-show, with a stellar role for Elizabeth Montgomery in the lead. She's simultaneously strong and vulnerable, and her performance here is definitely on par with the terrific "The Legend of Lizzie Borden". There are also interesting supportive roles for the naturally creepy Eileen Heckart and Sue Ann Langdon (even though the latter only has two sequences and only has to talk into a phone).

I first saw The Victim (aka Out Of Contention) well over 25 years ago when I was very young. Being a passionate fan of Bewitched since I was a child, I loved to watch anything that starred Elizabeth Montgomery. This movie was (and still is) a real treat - whether you are a fan of Miss Montgomery's work or not. Elizabeth always shines in her roles, such as her portrayal as the rape victim in A Case Of Rape and as the suspected murderess in The Legend Of Lizzie Borden. Her performance in The Victim as Kate, a terrified woman trapped in an isolated house during a storm, with a killer after her is brilliant. If you like exciting suspenseful thrillers than this is one movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the end. Another great performance well worth mentioning is that of Eileen Heckhart who plays the eerie and suspicious housekeeper. Unfortunately like most of Miss Montgomery's movies, The Victim is not available on DVD and I believe that although it was released on VHS some years ago, it is a rarity these days. I was lucky to have taped it when it was aired on television some ten years ago and so have a nice copy of this very good movie. A must see!

I think Liz was a little tired of comedy and chose the first script she was presented. I am a huge fan of hers, but this movie lacks in the plot department. First mistake is showing the dead body of her sister right off the bat. We know she's dead and have a pretty good idea who killed her. The only suspense is seeing the talented Liz Montgomery roam around in various stages of darkness trying to find her sister. Furthermore, she has to deal with Eileen Heckhart as a housekeeper who obviously was a "Charm School Dropout". She gives new meaning to the word "Old Bat". Sue Anne Langdon basically has a cameo role as a friend of Liz's sister who is only seen on the telephone talking to Liz. One of those movies that scared you as a kid but as an adult you see all the plot holes. Still, kinda fun to see Liz terrified.

I saw The Victim starting Elizabeth Montgomery when I was 12 years old. I just watched it again on You Tube and really enjoyed it, 44 years later.

It's an old-fashioned woman in jeopardy suspense thriller and I wish there were more movies like this today.

Elizabeth Montgomery plays Kate, a well to do woman who is concerned about her sister Susan. Susan lives in an isolated house, sounds troubled when she talks to her sister on the phone and a terrible storm is coming. Kate calls her sister back, but the line is dead, which worries Kate. Kate decides to drive to her sister's home in the storm and arrives to find her missing. The storm is in full force, the phone's not working, the power goes out....as a 12 year old, this scared me to death. As a 56 year old, I still enjoyed it. Eileen Heckhart gives a terrific performance as the sister's creepy housekeeper and George Maharis is excellent as the missing sister's husband.

For baby boomers like myself who loved Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched and who adored watching The Movie of the Week (a precursor to Lifetime Movies), this one's for you. I truly wish all the old Movies of the Week would be released on DVD or at least as Amazon Prime videos. There's a real market out there among the baby boomers and most of the movies, like The Victim, are really good.

While the setup is good, The Victim does suffer from a predictable conclusion. Once you look at the opening credits and see a star's name, but said star doesn't show up until the last 10 minutes of the movie, you have a good feeling they might be the one causing all the mayhem. It's still got a nice, creepy rain-soaked atmosphere and anything with Eileen Heckhart and Elizabeth Montgomery sharing the screen together can't be all bad.