The Seventh Victim is a unique movie experience– in many, many ways. Some may find it highly scary…others may find it more creepy than scary. Others…find it neither. Like many viewers, I was struck by its bleak outlook. A viewpoint that goes beyond sad… closer to despair. You will come across people trapped, for example:
–a woman doomed to remain at a boarding school she despises, a
tyrannical boss, no fulfillment in her life (the headmistress’
assistant)
–a kind-hearted poet unable to produce anything for 10 years
after writing a promising first book (Jason Hoag)
–a woman who joined a sect of Devil-worshippers because
nothing in her life brought her meaning, then quit the sect, still
not finding what she wanted (Jacqueline Gibson)
–a warm, caring attorney whose wife nevertheless abandoned
him, experiencing him as un-exciting, ultimately
boring (Gregory Ward)
–a suave, sardonic psychiatrist who talks a good game, but
ultimately unable to love anyone, even care about anyone
(Dr. Judd)
The Seventh Victim has a storyline that is way more complex than it appears. In addition, the movie was cut for length. Without the deleted scenes, many of the relationships don’t quite make as much sense as they could have.
You learn that Jacqueline Gibson has disappeared. She is beautiful, sophisticated, artistic, successful. Owner of a successful business. Desired by a number of men, (and by some women as well). Her sister Mary begins to search for her. Mary realizes quickly that she is a latecomer; eventually she meets at least six other people also searching for Jacqueline. Each one has an agenda of their own. Knowledge is power and you see several subtle power struggles going on.
Like Betsy, the heroine in I Walked with a Zombie, Mary has an unfailing good heart. But like Betsy, she is challenged again and again by despair, terror and cynicism. When she leaves boarding
school to search for her sister, the headmistress’ assistant warns
Mary never to come back. That if she returns, her heart and soul will be stifled by the school and its stern, unfeeling headmistress.
Mary–realizing she is in over her head but refusing to give
up searching
But as critics have pointed out, freedom in the outside world is not so different. Everywhere, people struggle against loneliness and lack of purpose. Lost souls.
Check out the scene where Mary visits the Missing Persons Bureau. The camera pans across three people at three separate windows to Mary’s right. All three seem filled with quiet desperation; not much hope they will ever see their loved ones again.
It’s likely that most of the world felt this despair then; Hitler’s Third Reich controlled most of Europe, with a big push coming by the Nazis into the Soviet Union. People watching this movie were worried about family members serving in the war, or mourning their deaths.
You can make the argument that when the movie finally shows the Palladists, the Devil-worshipping sect, themembers seem too dignified, too bland, appearing to lack any realvicious side. I think this is a fair point.
But perhaps from the movie’s point of view,
the Palladists are just another group of lost souls, searching for
meaning, trying desperately to convince themselves they have found something to believe in.
Except for Mary, few characters come out looking like heroes They may have kind hearts, but they cannot accomplish much.
Jason Hoag, the kind, romantic, philosophical poet, loses both the women he loved most in his life. Gregory Ward, the attorney, can do nothing to save Jacqueline, the woman he loved.
Mrs. Romari, an owner at the Dante Restaurant (even the name
of the restaurant suggests Hell) has a genuine sweetness to her,
but comes off totally naïve. She suggests for example that
Jason “cheer Mary up” (not exactly what Mary needs).
One scene that might have been chilling… or a major turning point; When Jason and the cynical Dr. Judd actually confront the Palladists and tell them they (Jason and Judd) have never forgotten the power of The Lord’s Prayer,
You are reassured…but not a lot. You don’t sit there thinking, “Well I guess they told them where to get off.”
In fact, you may well feel that the Palladists share the weaknesses of the “good” people. Their laws state that any member who abandons their sect must die, yet the Palladist laws prohibit their members from violence.
The Palladists gather in a room with Jacqueline and do their best to convince her to drink poison. But none of them is brimming over with charisma or great powers of persuasion. Jacqueline refuses.
“Condemned” to death by the Palladists
Many mysteries, never answered
Finally the Palladists agree to resolve their conflict by hiring a hit-man to kill Jacqueline. Jacqueline barely escapes the killer and his switchblade, but has no remedy for her despair. Neither God nor the Devil can provide her with answers.
This is the world as producer Val Lewton, his director and screenwriter see it. Presenting an outlook like this took considerable courage and artistic integrity, even during
this gloomy time. (It is likely that Lewton accepted low
budgets and shorter running time; in exchange for less
restrictions and less studio interference.)
Think about how many movies from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, even the 60’s you have seen where a character loses their way but is shown how to find faith again. Perhaps it’s a minister, a doctor, or another respected parental figure; they are able to point out the direction. The hero/heroine finds their way back, with light focused, shining in their eyes and the sounds of chiming bells on the soundtrack.
Remember the psychiatrist Robert Cummings in King’s Row, who has seen insanity, misguided violence and several other dirty, small-town secrets. The ugliness he has seen strengthens his will to cure the people he cares about.
The pain he has experienced (and he experiences plenty) actually gives his life a greater sense of purpose. The implication in The Seventh Victim is far different: neither religious faith, loving relationships, career success, artistic expression have any substance. You can attend the house of worship of your choice, as the old TV commercial goes, or even worship the Devil, but ultimately…life is barren.
I don’t want to overemphasize this argument; the movie’s outlook is not all barren.Mary is capable of seeing the good in people, especially in Gregory, and in Jason Hoag. And no one can miss the good in Mary.
Mary and Gregory stand a chance at long term happiness.
Jason has a gift at observing (for example, the way he talks
about looking out his picture window) allowing glimpses of life’s
joys to get through to him.
Then there is Jacqueline’s neighbor, knowing she is dying of tuberculosis; past any hope of a cure. (Only limited medicine for TB existed then.) After weeks, probably months, of shutting herself in a lonely room, she goes out…dressed in style, for a last night on the town. Determined to experience all she still can from life.
I also don’t want to leave the impression there are no scary moments in The Seventh Victim. So much is understated that when the hit-man’s knife opens, the noise makes you jump. After endless innuendoes, it is the sound of true violence; this guy is doing more than hinting.
Another scene you may describe as creepy… or out-and-out terrifying, takes place as Mary showers in her room alone. Mrs. Redi, Jacqueline’s business partner, comes in, warns Mary to call off her search–now.
Though I find Mrs. Redi a bit whiny, I can’t help being touched by Mary’s vulnerability at that moment, alone and naked, so defenseless. Through the translucent curtain, Mrs. Redi’s hat gives her the appearance of two horns—probably no accident. Again, this may have been one of Val Lewton’s trade-offs with the studio; flying under the radar, he had the freedom to include something as daring as this in the 1940’s.
Like the rest of Val Lewton’s productions, it’s not easy to catch everything on a single viewing. But seeing it again will be worth your time, and never mind the scenes that were edited out. Making this movie cheaply gave Lewton a lot of freedom; he seized his opportunity.
Jacqueline–out of hiding but impossible to keep safe