Other Titles • The Boston Strangler • Der Frauenmörder von Boston (1968)
Synopses for The Boston Strangler (1968)
1.
The unexpected casting of Tony Curtis as the presumed Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, is only the first of the attractions of this hard-nosed suspense picture. Although the style of The Boston Strangler looks dated today, with its split-screen experiments and post-Bonnie and Clyde permissiveness, the film still has the clean, strong lines of a methodical policier. For the first hour, we don't focus on the Strangler, instead following the Beantown cops (led by Henry Fonda) as they track down leads; the best sequence is the near-accidental connection made between burglary suspect DeSalvo and the killings. Director Richard Fleischer had a forceful hand with true-crime material (Compulsion, 10 Rillington Place) and he takes an unblinking look into the then-taboo subject of sexual pathology. Curtis's physical transformation into a dumpy, dull-eyed brute is the best aspect of his performance; it's a role he lobbied hard for, but it did not lead to more challenging work. --Robert Horton
(15 votes)
2.
Boston, 1962. Several elderly women are strangled, apparently by the same unknown assailant. An investigation ensues, but clues lead nowhere. Then the strangler starts to attack younger women. John Bottomly (Henry Fonda) is assigned to direct a more intense investigation, interviewing even the remotest suspects. Meanwhile, the murders continue. Dianne Cluny (Sally Kellerman) survives an attack but remembers only that she bit her attacker’s hand. When Albert DeSalvo (Tony Curtis) is caught breaking into an apartment, his mental capabilities are questioned. He goes to the hospital for observation, and there someone notices a bite mark on his hand...
Director Richard Fleischer forgoes his usual flexible but unobtrusive style in THE BOSTON STRANGLER. Shooting in Cinemascope, he makes flamboyant use of the wide screen--splitting it to show multiple images and multiple action as the police pursue leads and hunt for suspects. As a suspect recounts events in a long interrogation sequence, Fleischer imaginatively shows the suspect and his interrogator in flashbacks. With a fine and uncharacteristic performance by Curtis and vivid appearances by Hurd Hatfield and William Hickey, THE BOSTON STRANGLER is a fine addition to Fleischer’s series of movies based on real-life murders, following THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING and COMPULSION.
(15 votes)
3.
Based On A True Story
One by one, the victims fell, each death more gruesome than the last. The actual murders that rocked Boston in the '60s are the gripping subject matter of this unforgettable police thriller. Henry Fonda stars as the investigating police detective. Tony Curtis delivers a stunning performance as the psychopath Fonda must conquer. Filmed in a documentary style that makes the horrifying events all the more real, The Boston Strangler is one of the most powerful films in its genre.
(15 votes)
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