The Seventh Victim (1943)

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Charles O'Neal (written by) and
DeWitt Bodeen (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

SLAVE to SATAN!

Plot:

A woman in search of her missing sister uncovers a Satanic cult in New York's Greenwich Village, and finds that they may have something to do with her sibling's random disappearance.

Plot Keywords:

Cult | New York City | Satanic Cult | Switchblade | Number 7 In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Conway	...	Doctor Louis Judd
Jean Brooks	...	Jacqueline Gibson
Isabel Jewell	...	Frances Fallon
Kim Hunter	...	Mary Gibson
Evelyn Brent	...	Natalie Cortez
Erford Gage	...	Jason Hoag, Poet
Ben Bard	...	Mr. Brun
Hugh Beaumont	...	Gregory Ward
Chef Milani	...	Mr. Jacob Romari
Marguerita Sylva	...	Mrs. Bella Romari
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joan Barclay	...	Gladys (uncredited)
Patti Brill	...	Bit (uncredited)
Wally Brown	...	Durk, 'Drunk' Cult Henchman (uncredited)
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Leo, 'Drunk' Cult Henchman (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers	...	Missing Girl's Father (uncredited)
Edith Conrad	...	Bit (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps	...	Police Officer Danny, Bureau Clerk (uncredited)
Richard Davies	...	Detective (uncredited)
Lorna Dunn	...	Mother (uncredited)
Edythe Elliott	...	Mrs. Swift (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Police Sergeant, Bureau Clerk (uncredited)
Barbara Hale	...	Subway Passenger (uncredited)
William Halligan	...	Paul Radeaux, Private Eye (uncredited)
Mary Halsey	...	Bit (uncredited)
Henry Hebert	...	Devil Worshipper (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	La Sagesse Watchman (uncredited)
Tiny Jones	...	News Vendor (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Joseph (uncredited)
Adia Kuznetzoff	...	Thespian (uncredited)
Lou Lubin	...	Irving August, Private Eye (uncredited)
Eve March	...	Mildred Gilchrist, Highcliff Teacher (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Cop (uncredited)
Marianne Mosner	...	Miss Rowan (uncredited)
Patsy Nash	...	Nancy (uncredited)
Ottola Nesmith	...	Mrs. Lowood, Highcliff Headmistress (uncredited)
Mary Newton	...	Esther Redi, Jacqueline's Partner (uncredited)
Norma Jean Nilsson	...	Bit (uncredited)
Eileen O'Malley	...	Mother (uncredited)
Charles Phillips	...	Cop (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Devil Worshipper (uncredited)
Betty Roadman	...	Mrs. Wheeler, Settlement House (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Subway Conductor (uncredited)
Elizabeth Russell	...	Mimi (uncredited)
Sarah Selby	...	Miss Gottschalk, Librarian (uncredited)
Jameson Shade	...	Swenson (uncredited)
Ann Summers	...	Miss Summers, Ward's Secretary (uncredited)
Edward Thomas	...	Bit (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Robson

Writing credits
Charles O'Neal		(written by) and
DeWitt Bodeen		(written by)

Produced by
Val Lewton	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Nicholas Musuraca

Film Editing by
John Lockert

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Walter E. Keller

Set Decoration by
Harley Miller
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Renié		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Dorfman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John C. Grubb	....	sound recordist
Terry Kellum	....	sound (uncredited)
James G. Stewart	....	sound (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RKO Home Video (video)

Also Known As:

The 7th Victim (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (1986) | USA:Approved (PCA #9370)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Erford Gage, who played the poet Jason Hoag, enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1943 (around the time this film was released) and was killed in action in the Phillipines in March 1945.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning of the movie we see a quote from John Donne. "I run from death, and death meets me as fast, And all my pleasures are like yesterday." The movie attributes the quote to John Donne's Holy Sonnet #7. But it is actually from Holy Sonnet #1.

Quotes:

Mrs. Bella Romari: Why can't everyone be happy like we are? Laugh and have a good time. That poor little one - so sad because she can't find her sister. And that man with her, he doesn't make her laugh - just sits and talk.
Jason Hoag, Poet: We are happy Mrs. Romari. You have everything, and I have nothing to lose.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007) (TV)

Unique

I ran this tape for a few seconds to see if it was in good condition, and I was so drawn in by the hypnotic atmosphere that I dropped all else and watched the whole movie. Such is its power, it won,t let you go. Every relationship in the movie felt real and credible, despite the extreme circumstances.

Lewton is a humanitarian, which is why his movies have so much more profundity than most film noir. You really feel that you care about his characters, even the sleazy satanists (similar to the way he had made Irena the cat-woman a kind and gentle person, where anyone else would have cast her as a tough cookie). All the characters in this movie are complex people of the sort he must have known in his New York days, and the poet manque is likely a self portrait. And who else would quote John Donne's poetry in a thriller.

It will take repeated viewings for me (and you) to understand The Seventh Victim, but the sombre mood will communicate itself immediately.

Be alert for little details throughout- especially at the end, which comes suddenly.