Grip of the Strangler (1958)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Robert Day

Writers:

John Croydon (writer)
Jan Read (screenplay)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Horror

Tagline:

Their wild beauty marked them for death by . . . The Haunted Strangler

Plot:

A writer investigating the execution of a serial killer known as "The Haymarket Strangler" 20 years...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Murder | Escaped Lunatic | Knife | Grave

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	James Rankin
Jean Kent	...	Cora Seth
Elizabeth Allan	...	Barbara Rankin
Anthony Dawson	...	Supt. Burk
Vera Day	...	Pearl
Tim Turner	...	Dr. Kenneth McColl
Diane Aubrey	...	Lily Rankin
Max Brimmell	...	Newgate Prison Turnkey
Leslie Perrins	...	Newgate Prison Governor
Jessica Cairns	...	Asylum Maid
Dorothy Gordon	...	Hannah
Desmond Roberts	...	Dr. Johnson
Roy Russell	...	Medical Superintendent
Derek Birch	...	Guyse Hospital Superintendent
Peggy Ann Clifford	...	Kate

Also Known As:

Strangle Hold (UK) (original script title)
The Haunted Strangler (USA)

Runtime:

USA:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | UK:12 | Finland:(Banned) (1958) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Walton Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amalgamated Productions

Trivia:

Last feature of Leslie Perrins.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: The Haunted Strangler (1958) (#1.41)" (1980)

Bizarre Version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Legend

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