Victim Five

Victim Five
Victim Five
	US film poster
Directed by	Robert Lynn
Screenplay by	Peter Yeldham
Story by	Peter Welbeck
Produced by	Arthur "Skip" Steloff
Starring	Lex Barker; Ronald Fraser; Walter Rilla; Dietmar Schönherr; Ann Smyrner; Véronique Vendell;
Cinematography	Nicolas Roeg
Edited by	John Trumper
Music by	Johnny Douglas
Production; company	Towers of London Productions
Distributed by	British Lion Films
Release dates	10 July 1964 (West Germany); 19 May 1965 (United States);
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Victim Five (also known as Code 7, Victim 5! and Code Seven, Victim Five),^[1] is a 1964 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Lex Barker, Ronald Fraser, Ann Smyrner, and Walter Rilla.^[2]^[3] It was produced by Harry Alan Towers and US television producer Arthur "Skip" Steloff^[4] and was shot in Cape Town in Technicolor and Techniscope. The cinematographer was Nicolas Roeg.

Plot

New York City private detective Steve Martin is hired for protection by Wexler, a wealthy German living in Cape Town. After Wexler's butler is murdered and an assassination attempt is made on Martin and Wexler's secretary Helga, Martin discovers a photograph of four people, including Wexler and his butler, that indicates that all those in the picture are marked for death and there will be five victims.

Cast

Lex Barker as Steve Martin
Ronald Fraser as Inspector Dickie Lean
Ann Smyrner as Helga Swenson
Véronique Vendell as Gina
Walter Rilla as Wexler
Dietmar Schönherr as Dr. Paul Bryson
Percy Sieff as George Anderson
Gustel Gundelach as Hans Kramer
Gert Van den Bergh as Vanberger
Howard Davis as Rawlings
Sophia Kammara as Leila

Critical reception

The New York Times praised "fine views of Cape Town" but thought the film was not "necessary".^[5]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The basic narrative is one of the classic old-style murder thrillers of the kind perfected by Edgar Wallace and Philip Macdonald, and is efficiently worked out. Most of the acting is unremarkable, but what undoubtedly heightens the film's interest is the large variety of South African locations, often spectacular, and well integrated into the story."^[6]

References

^ p. 237 Armes, Roy Dictionary of African Filmmakers Indiana University Press (July 11, 2008)
^ "Victim Five". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
^ "Victim Five (1964)". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
^ p. 28 Kane, Arnold My Meteoric Rise To Obscurity We Publish Books (August 14, 2008)
^ Stars in British-Made 'Die! Die! My Darling!' By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 20 May 1965: 52.
^ "Victim Five". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 32 (372): 60. 1 January 1965 – via ProQuest.

External links

Victim Five at IMDb
Code 7 Victim 5 at Letterbox DVD

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[1] . 237 Armes, Roy Dictionary of African Filmmakers Indiana University Press (July 11, 2008)

[BFIsearch-2] "Victim Five". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

[3] "Victim Five (1964)". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.

[4] . 28 Kane, Arnold My Meteoric Rise To Obscurity We Publish Books (August 14, 2008)

[5] Stars in British-Made 'Die! Die! My Darling!' By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 20 May 1965: 52.

[6] "Victim Five". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 32 (372): 60. 1 January 1965 – via ProQuest.

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