The Strangler [Blu-ray]

Director: Burt Topper Burt Topper

Overview

In 1964, as the "Boston Strangler" killings of young nurses in Boston remained unsolved, this film was rushed into release to exploit the horrifying situation. Victor Buono gives a chilling performance as Leo Kroll, a worker in a Boston hospital who has a propensity for strangling young nurses. Like Norman Bates in Psycho, Leo has an extremely unhealthy mother fixation. When Mom (Ellen Corby) suffers a heart attack and Clara (Jeanne Bates), a young and attractive nurse, is assigned to care for her, Leo's hormones start to rage. On one hand Leo is attracted to Clara, but he is also jealous of her, fearing that she has replaced him in his mother's affections. Leo proceeds to go on a killing spree, targeting young and attractive nurses. But Leo's downfall is imminent; he is a collector of kewpie dolls, and mistakenly leaves one behind at the scene of one of his murders.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/06/2023
UPC:	0826663236200
Original Release:	1964
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	1,698

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Victor Buono	Leo Kroll
David McLean	Lt. Frank Benson
Diane Sayer	Barbara Wells
Davey Davison	Tally Raymond
Ellen Corby	Mrs. Kroll
Michael Ryan	Posner,Posner
Baynes Barron	Sgt. Clyde
Russ Bender	Dr. Sanford
Jeanne Bates	Clara
Wally Campo	Eggerton
Mimi Dillard	Thelma
Byron Morrow	Dr. Morton
John Yates	Intern
James B. Sikking	Artist
Selette Cole	Helen
Robert Cranford	Jack Rosten
Victor Masi	Attendant
Marlin Skiles	Composer

Technical Credits

Bill S. Ballinger

Burt Topper	Director
Bill S. Ballinger	Screenwriter
Samuel Bischoff	Producer,Producer
David Diamond	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The Strangler is pure exploitation, but at least the passage of time means that it's no longer offensive: when originally released in 1964, the concurrent real life Boston Strangler murders gave an unpleasant tinge to the film. Strangler clearly is a low-budget "quickie," and as such its screenplay is strictly a matter of "get something up on the screen that mostly makes sense and don't worry about art." Much of the screenplay is clichéd and all of it is manipulative, and the sexual nature of the crimes certainly allows for ample scantily clad women. It also doesn't help matters that screenwriter Bill S. Ballinger clearly saw Psycho a number of times. Perhaps a visionary director could have taken this lump of clay and created a film with a life of its own, but -- with a few exceptions -- Burt Topper uses predictable methods to create whatever tension and life he can. There are, however, moments that indicate that Topper would have liked been a bit more imaginative in other circumstances. For example, the manner in which the first murder fills the titular character's eye shows promise. Topper at least has the very good fortune of having Victor Buono on hand as his brow-beaten murderer. Buono fills the screen with his bulk, which contrasts beautifully with the manner in which his character tends to withdrawn within himself -- and which makes for marvelous contrast when he comes alive as he is claiming his victims. Buono is a delicious little horror show, and it provides the film with whatever punch it has.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler