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IMDb > Grip of the Strangler (1958)

Grip of the Strangler (1958) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   345 votes
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Director:
Robert Day
Writers:
John Croydon (writer)
Jan Read (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Haunted Strangler on IMDbPro.
Genre:
Crime | Mystery | Horror more
Tagline:
Their wild beauty marked them for death by . . . The Haunted Strangler more
Plot:
A writer investigating the execution of a serial killer known as "The Haymarket Strangler" 20 years... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Bizarre Version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Legend more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Strangle Hold (UK) (original script title)
The Haunted Strangler (USA)
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Runtime:
USA:78 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Last feature of Leslie Perrins. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: The Haunted Strangler (1958) (#1.41)" (1980) more

FAQ

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
Bizarre Version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Legend, 11 February 2005
Author: wdbasinger (wdbasinger@hotmail.com) from Beltsville, Maryland

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

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