Grip of the Strangler

Some people have asked why Boris Karloff never played a serious version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" . Well, here it is, even though it is in the form of some "Dr. Tennant / Hyde-like strangler" duality. Once again, Boris Karloff plays the "monster" and like Mr. Hyde in the previous films, he plays a man who degenerates to a rampaging animal which lives to kill. Also like Mr. Hyde, the transformations to the lower form seem to be based on some sort of sexual repression that bursts out in the form of savage attacks on women. In addition, like the "beast" in the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" films, whether one is watching Fredric March, Spencer Tracy, or John Barrymore, the transformation from man to the lower animal state gets uglier with each change. Another thing, the graveyard scenes in the movie are really creepy - kind of a throwback to films such as "Frankenstein", "Bride of Frankenstein", "Return of the Vampire", and "The Body Snatcher". Even though the plot has some strange twists, this is one of the best post-Universal thrillers starring Boris Karloff - one of the last in which he plays both the monster ("Mr. Hyde") and the mad doctor (Tennant). (Karloff did the same thing in "Frankenstein 1970" in which he played both creator and created.) Great hair-raiser.

Watch it in the dark.

Dan Basinger

A researcher (Boris Karloff) investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.

I love that this film was given the star treatment by Criterion. It's definitely not one of the better-known Karloff films, which is a bit of a shame, because it's at least as good as anything he did for AIP. Maybe horror fans need to pay more attention to Criterion.

The simplicity of the transformation is great. Apparently the originally script called for more of a "possession" angle, and then it developed into more of a physical thing -- sort of Jack the Ripper meets Jekyll and Hyde. And Karloff nails it. By simply taking out his dentures, he successfully plays two very different people.

Boris Karloff makes his living as a novelist. He is also a social reformer, investigating murderers hanged at Newgate whom he believes innocent. One such is the Haymarket Strangler, executed twenty years earlier. He bribes a guard to let him dig up the Strangler's coffin, and locates a key bit of evidence.... and goes mad, strangling showgirls.

Karloff achieves the transformation into a grotesque figure by taking out his dentures. Director Robert Day directs this old-fashioned thriller with some loving details, showing the filth beneath late Victorian propriety, with some effective camerawork by Lionel Banes. The cast includes Elizabeth Allan in her last screen role, Jean Kent as a strumpety showgirl, and Leslie Perrins in his last big-screen appearance.

I am still kicking myself in the buttocks repeatedly for having missed the double feature of Boris Karloff's "The Haunted Strangler" (1958) and "Targets" (1968) at NYC's Film Forum a little while back. Thus, seeing a nice, crisp-looking DVD version of "Strangler" the other day came as a very nice consolation prize for me. In this one, Karloff plays a writer and social reformer living in London in 1880. He is investigating what he believes to be the wrongful execution of a man 20 years earlier; a man who had been accused of being the notorious Haymarket Strangler. Unfortunately, as Boris proceeds with this Victorian "cold case," all leads come back to...himself, and before long, he begins to act just a wee bit homicidal. As his Hyde-like nature emerges, Boris bites his underlip, sticks his teeth out, closes one eye and sweats a lot; still, it's a fairly impressive-looking transformation. Karloff was 71 when he essayed this role, but he still manages to exude a great deal of energy and enthusiasm (just watch him try to rip himself out of that straitjacket!). Perhaps being back in England again to make a film was somewhat responsible for this boost. And speaking of energy boosts, I must say that a neat surprise concerning Boris' character comes halfway through that really does shake things up. "The Haunted Strangler" also offers some interesting supporting characters, including cancan dancer Vera Day (who, with her bullet bra, made such a double impression on me in the following year's "Womaneater") and Scotland Yard agent Anthony Dawson (who, come to think of it, attempted a bit of strangulation himself in 1954's "Dial M For Murder"). Bottom line: This Karloff pic really ain't half bad!

"The Haunted Strangler" is an unusual beast for a horror movie. It makes the surprising decision to feature no surprise. There is never any question of who the killer is because the movie tells you early on. It doesn't even end with a twist.

There are examples of this being done well with horror movies and thrillers, usually when the aim is to disturb, rather than scare the audience. Consider films like "American Psycho", where you already know the guy on screen is a killer. The suspense comes from wondering who they'll off next. "The Haunted Strangler" doesn't seem to be trying for that, though. The main feeling it evinces is sadness, I guess, at the tormented killer, when really you should just be scared of him. He's hideous and fearsome, but not interesting enough for the movie to show its hand so soon.

The plot concerns an infamous killer called the Haymarket Strangler who is hanged in Victorian London. Twenty years later, Boris Karloff plays an ageing writer and social reformer who is determined to prove that the man executed for the Haymarket crimes was innocent. Karloff unravels the mystery of the case and the killings begin again.

Who could the killer be?

If you think I'm hedging perilously close to a spoiler with this review, the people who made the movie would have disagreed. The revelation of who the killer is could have been used to great shock and suspense, but instead, it's thrown away carelessly early on. With it, sadly, goes all trace of suspense.