The Seventh Victim is directed by Mark Robson and written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal. It stars Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell and Kim Hunter. Music is scored by Roy Webb and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.
When she is told her older sister Jacqueline has vanished, Mary Gibson is forced to leave her private school and travel to New York City to hopefully find her. Obtaining help from her sister's husband, Gregory, and the suspicious help of psychiatrist, Dr. Louis Judd, Mary finds that the deeper she goes the more dangerous the situation becomes, it appears that Jacqueline has got herself involved with something very sinister indeed.
He calleth all his children by their name.
Coming as it does from producer Val Lewton, one shouldn't be surprised that The Seventh Victim is a hauntingly poetic creeper of a movie, no shocks or out and out horror here, just a genuine sense of dread and a pervading sense of doom. When delving a bit further into the making of the picture it becomes apparent that an original cut of the piece was considerably longer, this explains a lot to me as the film, as good as it is in its 71 minute form, is not fully formed and at times not the easiest to fully understand. It would seem that although originally intended as a longer mainstream picture, a difference of opinion between Lewton and the studio (thought to be about the hiring of first time director Mark Robson) meant it was cut to a B movie standard.
The Palladists.
What remains, though, isn't at all bad, in fact it's unique. Robson's direction (obviously guided by Lewton) is perfectly sedate and in keeping with the mood of the piece, and between them they have conjured up some most unforgettable scenes and imagery. One particular shower scene lingers long after the credits roll, the perfect use of a silhouette probably had a certain Alfred Hitchcock taking notes, whilst the ending is quite simply a piece of bleak and unforgettable cinema. Musuraca is the key ingredient, though, the ace cinematographer is all about the shadows, blending noir with Gothic to create atmospheric paranoia. Satanism in Greenwich Village, suicide, psychological discord and urban dread, all potent little threads dangled into the slow burn pot. But ultimately it's the mood of the picture that gets you, unease and the murky mystery ensuring you are hooked throughout. 7.5/10
