''The Boston Strangler'' is a 1968 American biographical

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

film loosely based on the true story of the Boston Strangler and the 1966 book by Gerold Frank. It was directed by

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though h ...

and stars

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and r ...

as John S. Bottomly, the chief detective who came to fame for obtaining DeSalvo's confession. Curtis was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for his performance. The cast also featured George Kennedy, Murray Hamilton and Sally Kellerman.

Plot

After three murders of elderly women, the victims being strangled and penetrated with foreign objects, the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

police conclude that they have a serial killer to catch. As the murders stretch over several police

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Ju ...

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder al ...

Edward W. Brooke Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as th ...

appoints John S. Bottomly as head of a "Strangler Bureau" to coordinate the investigation. Several suspects are interrogated and released. As the body count grows, Bottomly, in desperation, calls in a psychic,

Peter Hurkos Pieter van der Hurk (21 May 1911 – 1 June 1988) known as Peter Hurkos, was a Dutchman who allegedly manifested extrasensory perception (ESP) after recovering from a head injury and coma caused by a fall from a ladder when aged 30. He came to t ...

, who pinpoints Eugene T. O'Rourke, a man who seems to fit the profile. The severely

masochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refe ...

O'Rourke is taken in for psychiatric observation for ten days but nothing implicated him to the murders. Another murder is committed while O'Rourke is under observation, clearing him of suspicion. While the 1963 funeral of John F. Kennedy is on television, Albert DeSalvo leaves his wife and children, under the pretext of work. He gains entry into the apartment of a woman, Dianne Cluny, by posing as a plumber sent by the building supervisor. He attacks her, tying her to her bed with rags ripped from her dress. DeSalvo is taken aback by the sight of himself in a mirror as he tries to subdue Dianne and she struggles free and bites his hand; DeSalvo flees. He tries to enter the apartment of another woman, only to find that her husband is home. DeSalvo is apprehended by a passing police patrol. Found incompetent to stand trial for attempted breaking and entering, he is committed to a hospital for psychiatric observation. By chance, Bottomly and Detective Phil DiNatale pass by DeSalvo in an elevator, where they had been visiting Dianne, who survived the earlier attack. Observing the wound on DeSalvo's hand (Dianne, who survived his attack, could remember biting him but not his appearance), the pair make him a suspect for the Boston Strangler murders. Conventional interrogation is ineffective because the treating physician thinks that DeSalvo suffers from a

split personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

: he has two identities that are unaware of each other. His "normal" personality fabricates memories in place of the memories of murder committed by the "strangler" personality. The treating physician thinks that DeSalvo could be made to confront the facts but that the shock risks putting him in a

catatonic Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...

state. Bottomly expresses the opinion that catatonia would be the second-best thing to a conviction. Under the condition, imposed by DeSalvo's defense counsel, that none of what comes to light is

admissible evidence Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. Fo ...

in court, Bottomly is allowed a final round of interviews with DeSalvo. After several sessions, Bottomly manages to reveal DeSalvo's hidden personality to himself. Reeling from the shock, DeSalvo slips into a catatonic state.

Cast

Production

Film rights to Frank's book were bought for $250,000 (equivalent to $ million in ).

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wa ...

was hired to do the script but the producer was unhappy with it. Edward Anhalt was then brought in.

Box Office

According to Fox records the film required $8,625,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $11,125,000 so made a profit to the studio.

Critical response

Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave three stars out of four but criticized the film's content, In the same vein, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' film critic

Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1938) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'', and in 1968–69, she served as chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is also a write ...

wrote, In 2004, film critic Dennis Schwartz discussed the film's style,

Accolades

Nomination: Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama, Tony Curtis; 1969. * Edgar Award: Edgar Allan Poe Award Nomination, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, Edward Anhalt; 1969. * American Cinema Editors: Eddie, Best Edited Feature Film, Marion Rothman; 1969.

References

External links

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''The Boston Strangler''
at DVD Beaver (includes images) ] {{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Strangler 1968 films 1960s biographical films 1968 crime drama films 1960s serial killer films 20th Century Fox films American biographical drama films American crime drama films American neo-noir films American serial killer films Biographical films about serial killers Crime films based on actual events Cultural depictions of Albert DeSalvo American docudrama films Films directed by Richard Fleischer Films scored by Lionel Newman Films set in 1963 Films set in 1964 Films set in Boston Films shot in Massachusetts Films with screenplays by Edward Anhalt 1960s English-language films 1960s American films