The Boston Strangler (film)
| The Boston Strangler | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Fleischer |
| Produced by | James Cresson Robert Fryer |
| Screenplay by | Edward Anhalt |
| Story by | Gerold Frank |
| Starring |
Tony Curtis Henry Fonda George Kennedy Sally Kellerman William Hickey |
| Music by | Lionel Newman |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Edited by | Marion Rothman |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.1 million |
| Box office | $17,810,894 |
The Boston Strangler is a 1968 American neo-noir film based on the true story of the Boston Strangler and the book by Gerold Frank. It was directed by Richard Fleischer, and stars Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and Henry Fonda as John S. Bottomly, the chief detective who came to fame for obtaining DeSalvo's confession.
Curtis was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The cast also featured George Kennedy and the film debut of Sally Kellerman.
After three murders of elderly women with the same M.O. (the victims were strangled and penetrated with foreign objects), the Boston police conclude that they have a serial killer on their hands. As the murders stretch over several police jurisdictions, a "Strangler Bureau" is set up to coordinate the investigations, with John S. Bottomly (Henry Fonda) appointed as its head. Several suspects are interrogated, with all cleared of the murders.
As the body count grows, Bottomly, in desperation, calls in a psychic, Peter Hurkos (George Voskovec), who pinpoints a man who seems to fit the profile. The (severely masochistic) man is taken in for psychiatric observation for ten days, but nothing conclusive tying him to the murders is found. There is another murder during the time the man is under observation, clearing him of suspicion.
While the 1963 funeral of John F. Kennedy is on television, Albert DeSalvo (Tony Curtis) leaves his wife and children under the pretext of work. Instead, he gains entry into the apartment of a woman by posing as a plumber sent by the building supervisor. He attacks her, tying her to her bed with rags ripped from her dress. But when DeSalvo is taken aback by the sight of himself in a mirror as he tries to subdue the woman, she struggles free and bites his hand. DeSalvo flees.
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