He Terrorized Boston!

 The Boston Strangler (1968) –
Boston lives in fear of a brutal murderer. When the hunt begins all
they know is that his victims let him into their homes before he
strikes.

Directed by Richard Fleischer                  Starring Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy

The movie is based on the real
life search for a killer and rapist in the early 1960s in the greater
Boston area. Over the course of two years, 13 deaths were attributed
to the mysterious “strangler”. The question of if there was a
single culprit, or multiple killers still goes on today.

In the end, Albert DiSalvo
confessed to being the Strangler. With a criminal history, DiSalvo
was arrested for a series of rapes and confessed the murders to his
cellmate. The movie works from the basis that his confession was
true.

This is a very different role
for Curtis, who was better known for lighter roles and less intense
characters. Watching him dive deep into the mind of DiSalvo is the
best part of the movie. He controls the madness, the anger, the pain
and confusion in every moment. DiSalvo is held just at the edge of
control, then slips free to commit his crimes. Curtis is brilliant.

Curiously, he doesn’t appear
on screen until an hour into the movie! The build up uses a
storytelling technique that looks dated today, but serves an
important function. The movie uses visual boxes to compartmentalize
the work of the killer. The colors are drained from the images at
times as he sizes up each victim. Meanwhile, story line of the
state’s attorney chosen to lead the search for him (played by Henry
Fonda) is told in a straight forward style. The technique always
makes clear whose point of view we’re watching and builds tension
as more victims fall. It’s a movie style that was common in the
late ‘60s and early ‘70s. If you understand the purpose, I think
it will bother modern viewers less than it might.

The violence is more
“stylized” here because of the standards of the day. In some
ways, that makes it more disturbing. This is not a pleasant topic,
and the main character is not sympathetic. Through it all, the movie
tells a compelling story.

The rest of the cast, including Fonda,
Kennedy and Sally Kellerman (as a sexual assault victim who escapes
with her life) is solid. But they are background to Curtis’s
amazing work. That performance overcomes any issue I have with the
topic or the style.

Rating – *** Worth A Look