Boston Strangler (1968)

AKA: –
Year: 1968
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Starring: Tony Curtis (The Strangler), Henry Fonda (John Bottomly), George Kennedy (Detective DiNatale)
Country: US
Language: English (English Subtitles)
Runtime: 01:56:09
Genres: Serial Killers, Detective-Mystery, Rape-Sexual-Violence against Women, Based on a True Story

Plot – Spoilers:
Made within a year of Albert DeSalvo’s sentencing as the serial killer dubbed ‘The Boston Strangler’, this movie is renowned for Tony Curtis’ performance as the Strangler.

In the 1960s, the Boston area was panic stricken by a series of murders and sexual assaults on women varying in age groups from young to the old. Despite the media coverage and hysteria, the murders continued for a year and a half and police were confused why women continued to let in the Strangler into their homes.

Tony Curtis as the Strangler makes a late entry into the movie as most of it details the bodies being discovered, the police investigations and false positives. But once Curtis enters the frame, it’s pure gold as he puts on a remarkable performance as the mentally sick Albert DeSalvo trying to get to grips with a part of him that he himself finds difficult to pin down

The Boston Strangler was based on a book. It seems to have been the tradition with serial killers, that a whole bunch of literature was churned out and doubts cast by multiple sources regarding the guilt of the convicted killer. In this case though, despite the lack of proper evidence, Albert DeSalvo was confirmed in 2013 to have indeed been the Strangler.

Favourite Scenes:
The final scenes unquestionably with the long continuous shots:
Tony Curtis transforming from a confused searching DeSalvo to the confident smarmy Strangler is a must watch.