The Strangler

The real-life Boston Strangler killings were still unsolved and fresh on peoples' minds when this well done thriller hit theatres. The screenwriter (Bill S. Ballinger) and filmmakers obviously took their pains to make this as authentic as they could, given what they'd learned about the psychology of serial killers and the methods employed by the law to identify and apprehend them. The legendary Victor Buono (of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and 'Batman' fame) stars as Leo Kroll, a lab technician with a doll * who's dominated by his shrewish mother (Ellen Corby, eventually to become known as Grandma Walton). He symbolically strikes back at her by murdering various unfortunate young women. The cops on the case include Lt. Frank Benson (David McLean), Sgt. Mack Clyde (Baynes Barron), and Detective Mel Posner (Michael Ryan), who get something of a break when he begins to deviate from his routine. Crisp black & white photography (by Jacques R. Marquette), effective music (by Marlin Skiles), and capable direction by Burt Topper ("The Devil's 8", "The Hard Ride") result in a pretty good movie that generates a respectable amount of suspense. Given that our villain is a strangler instead of, say, a slasher, the level of violence won't be too much to take for some viewers. Various attractive female cast members are sometimes shown in states of undress. One key to this movies' effectiveness is Buonos' masterful performance. It takes a special kind of talent to bring ANY level of sympathy to a madman who often comes across as pompous and contemptuous of others. Ms. Corby is memorable as a Norma Bates type matriarch. Diane Sayer and Davey Davison are appealing, and the solid supporting cast also consists of performers like Russ Bender, Jeanne Bates, Wally Campo, and Byron Morrow. Look for a young James Sikking ('Hill Street Blues', 'Doogie Howser M.D.') as a police sketch artist. Worth a look for those film fans fascinated by serial killers, whether factual or fictional. Eight out of 10.

While "The Strangler" may have been very hard-hitting when it first came out, especially with The Boston Strangler case still fresh in moviegoers' minds, it has lost some of its power over the years. The unfolding of the story and many story elements will seem very familiar to viewers nowadays, who have seen the same basic story many times on television shows. Also, the tone and pace of the movie will seem a little dry and slow to many modern day viewers. Though personally I did find the low key feeling somewhat refreshing after seeing many times before watching this film this basic story extremely hyped up. Another aspect of the movie I liked, one that makes the movie worth a look, is Victor Buono's performance. He makes for an interesting villain, coming across as believably creepy, though at other times almost sympathetic. If you are prepared for watching a very familiar story, the movie does end up being a fairly compelling example of the serial killer genre.

When Laird Cregaresque actor Victor Buono more than held his own as the opportunistic pianist in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane", the die was cast and no matter how much he explored characterization, he was doomed to a series of oddball roles. But how fantastic he was in "The Strangler" - he dug deep to give Leo Kroll sympathy and understanding. "The Boston Strangler" killed his last victim in January, 1964 and this movie was the first depiction of the crimes, most of the victims were nurses, the killer always uses a victim's stocking and in a brief scene where he and his work colleague are chatting (well, she is chatting, Les couldn't be less interested if he tried) she details a lot of the fear that people around the area were feeling, including putting bottles and glasses outside so the strangler will be heard!! The film opens imaginatively with a victim seen through the strangler's fixated pupil, he is already hiding in the flat so the victim doesn't stand a chance. She is Helen Lawson who once worked at the centre where the lonely, over weight Leo Kroll works as a laboratory technician, so along with everyone else he is hauled in for questioning. He has a very unconcerned demeanour and is dismissed as unimportant but in reality he has a lot of problems. He is under the thumb of his over bearing mother who even though at a nursing home still manages to make Leo's life a misery. (Ellen Corby is good but it's Buono's movie all the way). Many of the victims have at one stage nursed his mother who in her smothering desperation has confided to Leo that the latest nurse was responsible for saving her life. The scenes between Leo and his mother are gripping - she belittles him about his weight, his poverty (he couldn't afford to finish medical school and lives a poverty stricken existence, all because he is paying his mother's nursing home fees). He is a broken man but Leo cannot relate in a normal way. He is attracted to a nice girl who runs a pitch and toss booth. She is nice to him because he is a customer but he at once reads too much into it and at the end bombards her with marriage proposals and his mother's engagement ring. The last victim is killed in a fit of passion, different from the others and all loose ends seem to be leading to Leo. The police doctor who is a renowned psychologist feels the killer is a psychopath who can dissociate themselves from the crimes and Leo lets his blasé guard down when he expresses admiration for the doctor's book detailing abnormal killers. Despite his nuanced playing in this and "Baby Jane", Buono, even though praised, intelligent films were sparse and he turned more and more to the stage before his death at the age of 43. Highly Recommended!!

Sorry, I always confound this movie with John Brahm's THE LODGER, telling the story of Jack the Ripper and starring Laird Cregar. So, here you have another fat man killing women, a fat serial killer on rampage. I like both films of course. I have nothing special to add to the other excellent comments, except that those two awesome actors died too early, because of their overweight, and the corollary problems, such as heart ones. This Burt Topper's feature is of course less known than the Brahm's one, such a shame. I hope this wil lbe fixed in the future. Buono was more known in the TV industry. The Dick Fleisher's film is of course far better than this one, but with also a bigger budget. This explains that, and Tony Curtis was also so different if you compare him to Buono. Two real different movies for the same topic.

Victor Buono gives an excellent performance in what is otherwise a straightforward crime movie. In fact it's a safe bet to say that Buono's acting elevates this film as a whole and makes it worthwhile. As crime movies go, it pretty much plays by the book and doesn't offer up much in the way of surprises or shocks. Indeed, the format of the film is simple, a scene of stalking and murder followed by police investigation, repeated over and over. The black and white photography is sharp and clear, so no problems there. The police investigation is kept interesting as we watch how the police work, piecing together their clues and the like, and gadgets like bugs and lie detectors are brought into play. The acting of the supporting cast is adequate as well, and the two women working in the ring booth are particularly sympathetic and believable. This is a fairly racy film for the time, as it shows each victim stripping off her clothes before the murder, and implies that Buono gets sexual gratification from the act, themes that would become more explicit as the years passed. The real drawing point of this film is Buono's character, and his portrayal. Leo Kroll is a sympathetic murderer, whose psychology has been warped by a cruel, oppressive mother who has stopped him ever having any friends in his life (shades of PSYCHO here). He is unable to kill her directly, and so instead takes his anger out on the various women he murders. Of course, this is only part of it, as he's obviously a bit of a pervert too, so what we have is a pretty disturbed and complex guy. Buono's performance is an alternatively smug and twitchy one, and he does just the right job of being realistic, likable to the audience (his is the leading role, after all) and tragic in a way. There are no two ways about it, THE STRANGLER is nothing more than a low budget B-movie through and through. Yet Buono's acting and the professionalism of the film make it suitably entertaining and interesting in its own right.

Oddball, but enjoyable low-budget horror film features Victor Bruno as an overweight, insecure lab technician with an overbearing mother, which somehow drives him to become a serial killer, strangling nurses at the hospital where he works. "The Strangler" capitalized on Bruno's Oscar nominated performance in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and although this clearly a lesser film, it does have a low rent William Castle type of charm. Bruno carries the film, giving a creepy performance as an unassuming killer along the lines of David Berkowitz or John Wayne Gacy, far removed from the usual more flamboyant of serial killers presented on films (i.e. Hannibal Lecter, Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," Harry Powell in "Night of the Hunter", etc.). Overall, it's not a classic and is not for all tastes, but if you're in the mood for something along the lines of "Strait-Jacket" or "Homicidal," you'd probably enjoy this low budget chiller.

Straightforward and with very few frills this one has almost a too-real-feel that makes it a rather disturbing Movie. The Acting and production look fine and it all unfolds at an even unsettling pace. The murders are quick but quintessentially quirky and there is very little restraint on the Sexual-Psycho aspect. Keeping with the post Psycho (1960) theme that it's all Mother's fault, this is another Boy who was dominated and ridiculed from birth by his MaMa and that means trouble. This is quite heavy handed here even throwing in a significant Doll that says Mama, Mama. But most of the Psychological aspects and Police procedures are done with some attention to detail. Overall, with a great performance from the rotund Victor Buono with his expressive face and brightly shining eyes, and some fine work by the production staff this is an above average entry in the popular Genre of Serial Killers that really got going in the 1960's.

Was very intrigued by the story for 'The Strangler', being a fan of murder/mystery/psychological films this was the sort of story that would have appealed to me straightaway, and have liked Victor Buono in other things. The racy content that 'The Strangler' has been referred to as having was another interest point. 'The Strangler' turned out to be a nicely done, entertaining and intriguing film that does much more right than it does wrong. Not great or a masterpiece but well above average and worth a watch, would say too that it deserves more attention than it gets. It is very rarely seen now and it deserves better than that. It does lack finesse visually, with it looking like it was made hastily. Occasionally the pace creaks in spots. Other than Victor Buono and Ellen Corby, the rest of the cast don't really stand out, not because they're awful but their characters are nowhere near as interesting. Would have liked a slightly clearer motivation for what drove Kroll to target nurses perhaps and why he chose the methods. Buono however is the main reason to see 'The Strangler'. He clearly has a ball here and while he is often chilling Buono succeeds in making Kroll more than that and gives him a sympathetic edge. Corby is suitably beastly as the dominating mother figure. The direction is more than capable and much of the script is taut and thought-provoking. The music is haunting without being intrusive. From start to finish, the story is compelling with lots of suspense, especially in the build ups to the killings, and it is hard to not admire the film's raciness in its unconventionally (at the time) brutal tone, that provides some genuine unsettlement, and the ahead of its time content. The pace is mostly both controlled and tight and the investigative/procedural approaches are fascinating. On the whole, well done. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In the 1960s and 70s, Victor Buono made a niche for himself playing crazy guys or playing in films with other crazy folks--much like Anthony Perkins did. This is the fourth such Buono film I've seen and I am sure he did more. And, believe it or not, his crazed strangler in "The Strangler" is not among his weirdest and sickest roles--in one film he played a butcher who made sausages out of his neighbors!! "The Strangler" is a film obviously inspired by the Boston Strangler, though the stories are quite different in many ways. Buono plays a man who absolutely hates his mother. However, instead of killing her, he displaces his anger on innocent women--many of whom are nurses who take care of his horribly nasty mother (Ellen Corby) in a nursing home. Eventually, however, his crimes come back to haunt him in an exciting finale. The film is amazingly blunt for a mid-1960s film. The movie uses the word 'rape' (a rarity for the time) and shows some brutal murders. Some might think this is a bit salacious but I appreciated how the story was direct and unflinching. About the only thing I did not like about the film was the doctor's description of schizophrenia--much of it was wrong--even for 1964. Still, it's a small complaint and another successful sicko film for Buono.

While this is not by any stretch of the imagination a good film, because of the slow pacing, the inane police sequences, and the thuddinmg obviousness of much of it. It still has it's imaginative stretc hes. For example, showing that the killer has an * every time he kills is unusual and quitye ahead of the time. Several of the strangling scenes where suspensilly paced, but weakened by how quickly the victim usually died (it only takes him about 10 seconds to strangle each woman with a silk stocking!) and also weakened by having every woman changer into her underwear before she gets killed. Basically much of this is saved by Victor Buono's performance which is not his best, is still quite menacing and one of the more realistic serial killers on film. His exaggerated false smiles of respectability brought to mind similiar ones I had seen on the faces of John Wayne Gacy. And the scene where he trashes the apart ment the hole time his mouth workingh inadvertenly was magnificent.