The Seventh Victim

The Seventh Victim (1943)

Runtime: 71 minutes

Directed by: Mark Robson

Starring: Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Evelyn Brent

From: RKO

A last-minute request. Regrettably, another request made for Spooky Season this year (about two months ago) won’t be fulfilled. Then again, it’s never happened where I view everything I had in mind for this time of year. Specifically, a Letterboxd mutual-I never know if they want their name mentioned-left a comment under my review for Isle of the Dead that they expressed surprise I had never discussed this movie.

This is despite having viewed some of Val Lewton’s famous genre efforts and like this, that was directed by Mark Robson. Turns out, not only did this play on TCM about 3 hours after I read that comment, The Seventh Victim was a prequel to Cat People as both feature Tom Conway as Dr. Judd.

This chiller was as enjoyable as the other Lewton I’ve witnessed. Kim Hunter-long before she became an Ape-made her debut here as Mary; she’s a young adult at a boarding school & discovered that her sister Jacqueline has been missing for months. As both their parents are deceased, the resolve for her to discover where in NYC her sister went is as strong as steel. Turns out, there’s a Satanic cult involved! Unlike the days of the Satanic Panic a few decades ago, there actually is a cult; hilariously, it’s in Greenwich Village, always a counterculture haven.

That said, perhaps I shouldn’t snicker at its location. It is a bleak, downbeat film where homoeroticism is bubbling below the surface, for reasons that won’t be spoiled; this might explain the location. While it is not my favorite Lewton production, the film is still pretty good in its chilling, eerie tale which does not have much in the way of occult elements yet earns its scares via different flavors. If anyone reading this is easily bothered by suicide as a plot point… steer clear of the movie.

For reasons unknown, a few scenes were excised by the director and editor; the story did seem choppy at times but it’s especially clear with an ending I’ve seen many call “anticlimactic”; for certain, “abrupt” is a term to use—this doesn’t mean that a character’s decision lost any of its power & potency to affect me and others. As it featured the expected Lewton mastery of light & shadow, The Seventh Victim (the movie offers a haunting explanation of its title in the final act) is well worthy of being tackled if you’re familiar w/ the producer. In other words, it was a nice recommendation even if the person didn’t specifically ask me to watch the movie this year.

The last picture of Spooky Season-that review will come next evening-will be another black and white effort, but this time from the 1950’s.