The Strangler

I just saw this on TCM this morning. I agree that the other actors were quite wooden and some of the things the police overlooked (or the scriptwriter conveniently left out) were ridiculous, but Victor Buono was perfect as the killer and that is the reason to watch this film. They got much right about serial killers and their MO and "type" and Buono's ability to move from tenderness to arrogance and hatred creepiness and craziness - all with his face - was quite a thing to see. Just watch it for his portrayal. Ellen Corby as the harridan of a mother is quite fine too. The women who worked at the arcade were a bit dense, though I was glad to see the mother's nurse and the woman who worked with Buono in the lab were not. The movie is of its time, but Victor Buono is so good in this, it shouldn't be discounted.

The Strangler is an excellent film of its genre.Victor Buono gives an excellent performance as the disturbed lab technician who hates women because of his over possesive,critical and domineering mother.Jeannie Bates who played his mothers nurse would have been better off letting the miserable old bat die than trying to keep her alive.IF ONLY SHE KNEW.Buonos acting was superb,he could act calm and mild mannered at one point and seem like a total nutburger at another.You have to say one thing about Buono,he really put his whole heart and soul into his little hobby of killing.This man would have done "The Boston Strangler" proud. This movie makes "Frenzy" look like "Little Women" The word strangle deserves a definite place in history thanks to buono who gives new meaning to the word.

It's a Buono showcase. His restrained portrait of an unattractive, mother-hating serial killer is a grabber. No wonder he loathes his bed-ridden mom. Obviously, she's brow-beaten him his whole life, taking what little self-esteem he ever had. Now, at thirty, he lumbers around like a fat rhino among sleek gazelles, picking off single women one-by-one and leaving cheap arcade dolls in their place. Somehow in his twisted mind, however, she won't stay dead. No matter how many times he kills her, there she is back again in her bed, making whining demands. He's almost a figure of pity as much as loathing, and it's to actor Buono's credit that he manages to create the difficult mix.

I like the cops here, especially Sgt. Clyde (Barron). They come across more like real cops than the usual. At the same time, their interviews with suspect Kroll (Buono) are little gems of thrust and parry. Director Topper films in straightforward fashion, without the sinister lighting that might be expected, but with good judicious use of close-up. This is not a slasher-type movie. In fact, despite the lurid material, the movie comes across more like a dark psychological study than a horror film, thanks mainly to Buono's shrewdly calculated performance and Topper's refusal to play up the violence.

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

This movie is actually based on the Boston Strangler. There are many hints to it such as; women setting up bottles in front of their door so they can hear the strangler coming in, the stocking tied around the victim's neck and the fact that most of the women killed were nurses. At the time of the murders, they also believed the Boston Strangler was mother fixated, as Leo Kroll is in the movie. There are many things I like a lot better in this movie than The Boston Strangler with Tony Curtis. I love the plot, the score, and of course, the great acting by Victor Buono. Although it is hard to say whether Buono is better than Tony Curtis. You never really see Curtis strangling in his movie. You barely see Tony Curtis at all in The Boston Strangler. That's probably because no one is absolute certain that Alberto DeSalvo was the Strangler. The interesting thing about this movie is that the real Boston Strangler could've very well been a guy like the one in this movie.

After seeing this movie and a couple other movies of Buono, I think he is a great actor. The black and white cinematography is also very good. One thing that definitely sets the mood is the eerie music while Buono is hiding from his victims in the dark. There's even an incredible point of view shot through the Strangler's eye in the beginning. One thing that is very realistic is the fact that Buono gets pleasure while he is strangling, like a real serial killer. Buono also got me to sympathize with him in the movie. Even up until the very end. One of my favorite parts in the movie is when there is a sudden burst of violence when Buono strangles his mother's nurse. Especially great acting by Buono in that scene. At first I thought this would just be another B movie, but it wasn't. It was very well made. See this movie. You won't be disappointed.