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

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:

Referenced in Two Masters' Eyes (2003) (V)

Moody, atmospheric and unsettling

No surprise that Val Lewton was involved with The Seventh Victim, his fingerprints can be seen on every frame. Like Cat People and I Walked With A Zombie, the atmosphere oozes from the screen, although Tournier was not involved here. Young Kim Hunter tries to find her sister, only to find she has fallen into the clutches of a group of Satanists. Oddly, the Satanists are presented as a gentile bunch, no raving lunatics here, they all seem disturbingly sane. There are some magnificent images here. Hunter breaking into her sisters room to find nothing but a chair and a noose, a creepy shower scene that pre-dates Psycho and the extraordinary downbeat ending. A grim little chiller that remains unsettlingly plausible throughout.