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).

Elizabeth Montgomery (THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN) is Kate wainwright, who goes to her sister, Susan's (Jess Walton) house, looking for her. Kate grows increasingly anxious, as time passes with no sign or word from her sister. Of course, the viewer has already been shown the terrible truth early on, but Kate must find out for herself, while not knowing that whatever happened to Susan, could very well happen to her!

This is Ms. Montgomery's show, from start to finish, and she pulls it off mightily! Other characters pop up throughout, but she carries the whole movie. THE VICTIM is another made-for-TV movie that deserves re-discovery.

Co-stars Eileen Heckart as the crabby housekeeper, Mrs. Hawkes, and George Maharis as Susan's husband, Ben Chapel...

After learning that her sister Susan is contemplating divorce, Kate decides to travel to the distraught woman's remote country home and spend some time with her. When Kate arrives, however, Susan is nowhere in sight. That's because someone has murdered her and stuffed the body in a trunk in the basement. As a storm rages outside, Kate tries to figure out where her sister could have gone and places her own life in great danger...the killer is still on the premises! In her first post-BEWITCHED vehicle, Elizabeth Montgomery gives a solid dramatic performance. Merwin Gerard's teleplay is based on a short story by McKnight Malmar. Malmar's tale was first brought to television in 1962 as an episode of Boris Karloff's THRILLER anthology series. THRILLER stuck very closely to the story, which is kind of a pity, for it could have used a little punching up. Granted Malmar wrote a moderately creepy number, but Gerard (creator of the ONE STEP BEYOND show) adds several clever ingredients that heighten the tension and suspense.

I watched this for the first time since it was new yesterday, and, no matter how many times I replay that final scene, I can't make out Eileen Heckert's last line. She says, "Mr. Chapell, let her go," then something about calling the police. I can't help but think that line is critical in determining exactly which one killed her, or if they were in it together. Does anyone know exactly what she says? I remember when the networks all had the movie of the week. I sure wish they still did. I liked the comment about the eeriness without the graphic violence, and I agree that none of that is necessary. By the way, what are some other old favorites everyone has? Maybe I'll find one I don't remember seeing!

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.