Victim (1961)

After a young homosexual (Peter McEnery) commits suicide because he's being blackmailed, a repressed homosexual (Dirk Bogarde) takes it upon himself to expose the blackmailing ring, even at the cost of his rising legal career. Directed by Basil Dearden (KHARTOUM), the film is notable for being the first English language film to explicitly deal with homosexuality openly and sympathetically although looking at it through contemporary eyes, it does seem somewhat condescending. Still, it's a landmark film on the subject matter and is credited with helping abolish British laws that criminalized homosexuality. I found Bogarde's performance problematic. He looks unhappy throughout the movie. Is it because he's repressing his true nature or is he unhappy being homosexual? As a movie, it's more successful as a social protest against an injustice as opposed to an artistic piece of cinema. With Sylvia Syms (excellent as Bogarde's wife), Dennis Price, Peter Copley, Anthony Nichols and Mavis Villiers.