User reviews

Set in Victorian times, Boris Karloff plays a determined writer who becomes obsessed with a twenty-year-old case surrounding "The Haymarket Strangler" and intends to prove that the young man who was hanged for the murders two decades earlier was in fact innocent. All evidence seems to point to a certain Dr. Tenant who used a surgeon's knife to not only choke the life out of his victims, but to slash their flesh as well. But the details of Tenant's life and whereabouts since the crimes remains a mystery, one which Karloff comes to learn hits closer to home for him than he suspected.

It's amazing to realize that Boris Karloff was nearly 70 when he appeared in this film as it is impressive to see him perform so vigorously in a very physically demanding role. He is required to undergo very strenuous activity as he contorts his body and facial features to simulate a Jekyll/Hyde madman on the loose -- upper teeth gnawing spasmodically at his lower lip, one eye half-closed, a twisted arm wielding a scalpel. At more refined times, Karloff is very dedicated in his role as the well-meaning but disoriented author on a road to madness.

There is no question that there are some powerful moments in this feature, and it is highly required viewing for any fan of Karloff. Unfortunately, the film bears a weight of becoming tedious on occasion, so first-time viewers would want to make allowances for this in between the thrills. **1/2 out of ****

A researcher (Boris Karloff) investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.

I love that this film was given the star treatment by Criterion. It's definitely not one of the better-known Karloff films, which is a bit of a shame, because it's at least as good as anything he did for AIP. Maybe horror fans need to pay more attention to Criterion.

The simplicity of the transformation is great. Apparently the originally script called for more of a "possession" angle, and then it developed into more of a physical thing -- sort of Jack the Ripper meets Jekyll and Hyde. And Karloff nails it. By simply taking out his dentures, he successfully plays two very different people.

... or did he? Ever? In 19th century England Edward Styles, a one-armed man, is being hung, for the murder of several women, with a large crowd watching. Who thinks watching an execution is entertainment anyways? But I digress. Styles is professing that he is innocent up to his death. He is buried in a lonely prison yard grave.

Fast forward twenty years and novelist James Rankin (Boris Karloff) is revisiting the Styles case to prove that if he had an attorney provided he would have likely been acquitted. He is trying to get this policy - the crown paying for an attorney for indigent defendants - to become law in England and use the Styles case as an example. After some digging - and some of that literally - he determines that the case against Styles was not only weak, but that the evidence points to a doctor who did the autopsy on Styles, was at his burial, and was the doctor present when the strangler killed all of his victims. He tries to find this man but his trail goes cold.

As for the rest of it, it has such a unique premise that I will say no more. Karloff is the best thing about this film, and the rest of the actors just seem like props around which he performs. It has great atmosphere, and I can really only say one bad thing about it. That one bad thing is that the scene at the bawdy music hall where The Strangler killed one of his victims is long and tedious. There actually is an entire musical singing number by one of the actresses and it just bored me. It would have been better if Karloff had just asked his questions, and maybe given you a feel for the place, and then have the movie just leave that place never to return.

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

Having been - as was the case with THE TIN DRUM (1979) - the one to 'announce' several years ago the re-release on DVD of 4 Richard/Alex Gordon productions through Criterion on another online Forum (after writing to Image Entertainment to see if their bare-bones OOP editions were going to be re-issued), this set has been a long time coming indeed! As some of you may know, I'd never watched this one prior to purchasing the expensive "Monsters And Madmen" set - or, for that matter, its follow-up CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1958); however, I knew enough of their reputation as two of Boris Karloff's best latter-day films to make me spring for them regardless.

To be honest, as I lay watching THE HAUNTED STRANGLER, I was somewhat let down by it and my heart actually sank when, in the Audio Commentary, both Richard Gordon and Tom Weaver opine that they prefer this one over CORRIDORS OF BLOOD! Still, going through the film twice in a matter of hours can sometimes work wonders: at first glance, it's a handsome-looking yet rather lurid film - reveling in the permissiveness of the time to include as many (often gratuitous) instances of sleaze and sadism as it possibly could; in that respect, it's similar to THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS (1959) - incidentally, another well-regarded title I had long wanted to watch and been underwhelmed by on a preliminary viewing.

The film actually precedes Hammer's DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE (1971) in that it mingles the Stevenson perennial with the equally popular exploits of Jack The Ripper; to these it attaches a thriller angle by having Karloff act as a detective investigating an old series of murders, ostensibly to prove a miscarriage of justice, but whose repercussions are far worse - to say nothing of closer to home - than he could have imagined (itself an oft-used device as in, say, THE BIG CLOCK [1947])! While I knew of the twist from reading about the film beforehand (and which is actually revealed fairly early in the game), I feel that it doesn't quite work here because, for one thing, the star was simply too old for the role (though I'll readily admit that he entered with glee into its quite physical attributes, even coming up with the economical make-up design himself!) but also because the character's mental condition and its effect on his backstory is conveniently kept under wraps until the revelation (when it should, at least, bother him equally as much as wanting to prove the innocence of an anonymous and legally convicted serial-killer). Incidentally, though strangulation is involved in the crimes, the film's title is somewhat misleading because it's the scalpel which sets the 'monster' off and, for this reason, the U.S. moniker is rather more accurate!

Anyway, one of the film's major assets is surely Lionel Banes' black-and-white cinematography; the second half of the narrative, then, creates reasonable suspense and excitement with the scenes involving the rampaging 'monster' and his ultimate identity crisis. In the end, I wouldn't really classify THE HAUNTED STRANGLER as one of the star's very best vehicles - but it's undoubtedly among the more satisfying from his later work that I've watched (along with THE RAVEN [1963] and TARGETS [1968]).

The DVD supplements are very adequate: the Audio Commentary featuring genre authority Tom Weaver and the film's producer Richard Gordon (with interjections from his late brother/partner Alex) is especially interesting - apart from the privilege of having Weaver and the two Gordons name their 3 favorite Karloff pictures, amongst many other things I learned that Boris once almost worked with Edward D. Wood Jr. (and Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. to boot) on the project which eventually became BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1955)!

I am still kicking myself in the buttocks repeatedly for having missed the double feature of Boris Karloff's "The Haunted Strangler" (1958) and "Targets" (1968) at NYC's Film Forum a little while back. Thus, seeing a nice, crisp-looking DVD version of "Strangler" the other day came as a very nice consolation prize for me. In this one, Karloff plays a writer and social reformer living in London in 1880. He is investigating what he believes to be the wrongful execution of a man 20 years earlier; a man who had been accused of being the notorious Haymarket Strangler. Unfortunately, as Boris proceeds with this Victorian "cold case," all leads come back to...himself, and before long, he begins to act just a wee bit homicidal. As his Hyde-like nature emerges, Boris bites his underlip, sticks his teeth out, closes one eye and sweats a lot; still, it's a fairly impressive-looking transformation. Karloff was 71 when he essayed this role, but he still manages to exude a great deal of energy and enthusiasm (just watch him try to rip himself out of that straitjacket!). Perhaps being back in England again to make a film was somewhat responsible for this boost. And speaking of energy boosts, I must say that a neat surprise concerning Boris' character comes halfway through that really does shake things up. "The Haunted Strangler" also offers some interesting supporting characters, including cancan dancer Vera Day (who, with her bullet bra, made such a double impression on me in the following year's "Womaneater") and Scotland Yard agent Anthony Dawson (who, come to think of it, attempted a bit of strangulation himself in 1954's "Dial M For Murder"). Bottom line: This Karloff pic really ain't half bad!

Not one of Boris Karloff's best films or performances, but very interesting, sort of a take on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with a miscarriage of justice element, and pretty good as a film. Even with the big problems it has, it is still one of Karloff's better later films, Grip of the Strangler's problems never reach rock-bottom quality like the Mexican films he starred in did. The script is on the simplistic side, there are some pacing problems with the film taking a little too long to get going and then feeling rushed towards the end, and the ending could have been better rounded off. It looks reasonable though, the settings are effective, the photography is crisp and the make-up for Karloff is used very well, when in his more murderous madman guise it is quite grotesque-looking. The music is also haunting and effectively used. There are some creepy moments and the atmosphere is unsettling and well-evoked. The story on the most part is interesting and entertaining, the first half is very promising especially. The performances are solid, best in support are Vera Day and Anthony Dawson. But only one performance comes off as really "great" and that is (predictably perhaps) Boris Karloff, as ever showing a gift for changing personalities expressively and sometimes subtly. All in all, Grip of the Strangler is a pretty good film, often decent and solid without reaching greatness excepting Karloff's performance, the best thing about the film by some considerable distance. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Boris Karloff makes his living as a novelist. He is also a social reformer, investigating murderers hanged at Newgate whom he believes innocent. One such is the Haymarket Strangler, executed twenty years earlier. He bribes a guard to let him dig up the Strangler's coffin, and locates a key bit of evidence.... and goes mad, strangling showgirls.

Karloff achieves the transformation into a grotesque figure by taking out his dentures. Director Robert Day directs this old-fashioned thriller with some loving details, showing the filth beneath late Victorian propriety, with some effective camerawork by Lionel Banes. The cast includes Elizabeth Allan in her last screen role, Jean Kent as a strumpety showgirl, and Leslie Perrins in his last big-screen appearance.

"Grip of the strangler" or "The Haunted Strangler" is a nice terror movie in which Boris Karloff is a novelist investigating a 20-year-old murder to his own cost who begins copying some of the killer's acts. Then , a series of grisly killings happening and an intelligent Police Inspector : Anthony Dawson investigate the strange events . Their wild beauty marked them for death by... The Haunted Strangler! Karloff King of Monsters in his new picture of 1000 Horrors ! Karloff King of the Monsters in his new Horror Hit !

Eeerie and frrightening story from a script by John Cooper and Jan Read , both of whom contributed efficiently to deliver a really riveting story in "Dr Jekill and Mister Hyde" style that involves a writer investigating an old murder case . Boris Karloff is awesome as the writer investigating past crimes resulting in fateful consequences . An effective and horrifying detective tale in which the great Boris Karloff plays masterfully a novelist who develops the homicidal tendencies of a long-dead murderer he's been writing about and eventually unravelling the mystery at a cemetery at last . This splendid film brought Karloff back to British films after 20 years away , from now on , Boris to play several English horror movies : "The Sorcerers" , "Curse of Red Altar" and other countries as Italy : "Black Sabbath" , Spain : " Cauldron of Bood" and Mexico : " Cult of the Dead" , : The Incredible Invasion" , "Fear Chamber" . For the ocassion Karloff , without makeup , puts weird faces , twisted gestures and terrific manners , causing a deeply creepy impression . Karloff is very well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Elizabeth Allan , Jean Kent , Tim Turner Vara Day and special mention for Anthony Dawson as police Inspector Burk .

There's a magnificently atmospheric cinematography , heightened by professional cameraman Lionel Banes providing vivid black and white photography . This literate terror thriller was competently directed by Robert Day . This British director was a good artisan who made all kinds of genres as adventures , thriler , terror , such as : "The Big Game" , " Corridors of Blood" , " Click and the dead" , "Initiation of Sarah" , "Man with Bogart's Face" , " Grass is always Greener over the Septic Tank", "She" , "The Way Stretch" . Furthermore , he made TV series episodes from Dallas, Disleyland , The Sixth Sense , Ghost story , Sam Cade , Matt Lincoln , The Bold ones , Ironside, FBI , The Invaders The avengers , among others .

THE HAUNTED STRANGLER has long been a rerun fave on tv. It's just fun to watch.

No. 1 It's campy.

No. 2. It's Karloff, albeit a little older. The behind the scenes story concerned the actor's dentures??? After consulting with the makeup crew, Karloff suggested he remove his dentures in order to get a twisted look on his face as the insane Jekyll/Hyde strangler. It was extremely convincing. The film is also quite atmospheric with a dark , gothic look to add to the general creepy real feel, and it's generally shown with a crisp b & w print; no grains or marks, so common with older films.

Here, Karloff portrays the good/bad doc hung for being a serial killer who returns for the grave. It actually begins more of a mystery as the good doc investigates a wrongful execution... and all the evidence eventually points to him. Interestingly, Karloff after years of grueling makeup as FRANKENSTEIN and the MUMMY, thankfully wore very light makeup; the scares were made by simply wrinkling his face. And what a face! This was very similar in concept to Spencer Tracy's portrayal in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941).

According to film notes, Karloff was paid 27,000 dollars for his role, equal to 250,000 dollars today for a few weeks work. He followed this up with FRANKENSTEIN 1970 for Howard W. Koch. Who said horror film actors didn't make good money?

This was presented on a double bill with the cult film FIEND WITHOUT A FACE, earning a handsome profit. THE HAUNTED STRANGLER is out on dvd, but some releases are quite expensive because it is a European import. Shop around.

Boris Karloff plays a man who comes to believe that a serial killer from 20 years previously was innocent of the murders for which he was hanged. The case starts to consume him, literally...

Based on the story "Stranglehold" written by Jan Read, pic unfolds as a creepy take of the Jekyll and Hyde kind. It's never overtly scary, but the atmospherics are palpable and the period flavours superb. This never resorts to cheap thrills, and unusually for the era of film making it doesn't rely on effects work for the transformation sequences - it is just Karloff acting!

Plenty of horror movie staples are adhered to, such as a hanging, a coffin opening, an awful prison and an asylum, whilst that even though there's a little filler that could have been cut from the running time, Karloff and the intriguing mystery part of the narrative marry up to the atmosphere to round out a good old classic horror yarn. 7/10

Novelist and social reformer James Rankin (Boris Karloff) is researching the notorious murderer known as the Haymarket Strangler, and believes that the man sent to the gallows for the crimes, Edward Styles, was innocent; he surmises that the real villain was surgeon Dr. Tennant, who carried out the autopsies on the victims, and who disappeared shortly after the execution of Styles was carried out.

To prove his theory, Rankin bribes a guard at Newgate Prison to let him dig up Styles' coffin, where he finds Tennant's missing scalpel - the murder weapon; when Rankin grasps the knife, he becomes the Haymarket Strangler, for he is actually Tennant, his murderous personality reawakened by the touch of the steel blade.

A showcase for Karloff, this film sees the actor in both his amiable gentleman persona, and as a drooling psychopath, which is a lot of fun for his fans - two Karloffs for the price of one! It's a fairly mediocre movie up to the point where Rankin finds the scalpel, after which it gets a whole lot more entertaining, Karloff chewing up the scenery (no mean feat seeing as he's not wearing his dentures). With his Tennant personality in control, Rankin is totally deranged, strangling and slashing poor showgirl Pearl (the gorgeous Vera Day), killing his wife Barbara, and almost doing the same to his daughter Lily (Diane Aubrey).

Eventually, Rankin regains enough control to confess his crimes, and he is sent to a lunatic asylum, confined to a padded cell. In the film's silliest moment, it is revealed that the cell is fitted with a gas lamp (surely someone would have guessed that might be problematic), which enables Rankin (as Tennant) to escape, the madman making his way to Styles' grave to try and rebury the murder weapon. As he does so, he is shot dead by the prison guards.

Karloff was over seventy when he made this film, but he shows no sign of slowing down, throwing himself enthusiastically into his part -- it is the horror icon's energetic performance(s) that makes this one a treat.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

"The Haunted Strangler" is an unusual beast for a horror movie. It makes the surprising decision to feature no surprise. There is never any question of who the killer is because the movie tells you early on. It doesn't even end with a twist.

There are examples of this being done well with horror movies and thrillers, usually when the aim is to disturb, rather than scare the audience. Consider films like "American Psycho", where you already know the guy on screen is a killer. The suspense comes from wondering who they'll off next. "The Haunted Strangler" doesn't seem to be trying for that, though. The main feeling it evinces is sadness, I guess, at the tormented killer, when really you should just be scared of him. He's hideous and fearsome, but not interesting enough for the movie to show its hand so soon.

The plot concerns an infamous killer called the Haymarket Strangler who is hanged in Victorian London. Twenty years later, Boris Karloff plays an ageing writer and social reformer who is determined to prove that the man executed for the Haymarket crimes was innocent. Karloff unravels the mystery of the case and the killings begin again.

Who could the killer be?

If you think I'm hedging perilously close to a spoiler with this review, the people who made the movie would have disagreed. The revelation of who the killer is could have been used to great shock and suspense, but instead, it's thrown away carelessly early on. With it, sadly, goes all trace of suspense.

This certainly is a fine paradigm to make a cheap picture in three weeks with a flashy story, well design screenplay, a skilled technical crew, beauty girls and finally a great actor as Boris Karloff, then you have a good production to sell expecting a foreseeable success, produced by Amalgameted Co. a small British company, focusing all forces in main character to take ahead the whole project, Karloff spoke for himself, the casting leadingly the female cast as gorgeous singer Jean Kent and the younger dancer Vera Day, who were the key to draw attention at Judas Hole burlesque nightclub, shot in a spooky dark atmosphere on several places of old London, resourceful plot which some IMDB's users have been implying a strong sameness with Jekill & Hyde, indeed just a little bit, totally digitally remastered preserving the original screen format 3 x 4 on brightness black & white color!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

The infamous serial killer "The Haymarket Strangler" may be long dead but writer James Rankin is convinced that the wrong man was hanged and sets out to investigate the crimes and the killer for himself. He makes progress into the case and it begins to appear that he is correct. However when he recovers the scalper supposedly used by the murderer he finds himself compelled to kill as his personality splits – with his normal, composed self becoming more and more desperate to prevent further deaths.

This film has got so-so reviews and, always one to stick my nose in where not required, I'd like to agree with everyone who simply said "is OK" about it, because it is. Some have ripped into it and I think that is unfair because really the film delivers a basic B movie horror that didn't bore me even if it wasn't what I hoped it would be. For me the film falls down in its aspirations because it seems happy to be basic when it could have been more complex and engaging. The film takes too long to get to the point of finding the knife (and making the transformation happen) and up to this point, yes, it is a little dull. The bigger downside of this delay, though was that it mean the second half of the film (the potentially strongest half) is too short and rushed. So instead of a complex story where Rankin struggles with a demon from inside himself mostly it is just a straight "pull a face, get to killing" story.

To make this work it does need to be urgent and scary but sadly it doesn't really deliver on that either, allowing the viewer to wander in their thoughts and think of what might have been. It is perfectly fine as a bit of Karloff b-movie and it does have some nice atmosphere and twists to the delivery but what with what "could" have been and all the weak material that does take up time in the first half, it only comes out as "OK". Karloff has his moments and I did think he was very good when Rankin was near-frantic as he understood what he was doing but mostly he just contorts his face and lurches forward in the time-honoured fashion. His supporting cast are OK but nobody really stuck in the mind – which I think speaks volumes.

So an OK film but nothing special whatsoever. Meeting it on its own terms will help but it still isn't that good and one cannot help look at it and see several major ways that it could have been a lot better.

The fabulous BBC couldn't possibly start the new year 2006 better than by showing this little known but surprisingly gripping 50's chiller. "Grip of the Strangler" is excellent (but scandalously underrated) with one of Karloff's most impeccable performances and a gloomy Victorian atmosphere. The screenplay is a extra violent variation on the famous "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" story, with Boris as a respected novelist investigating a serial-killer case that took place 20 years earlier. According to his research, the person who got executed was actually innocent, and he intend to use the case to make a statement regarding the lousy defense poor people receive when they're on trial. He discovers a LOT more than he bargained for, however, and he as well as his family are about to meet the real Haymarket Strangler... This film contains a lot of tension, engaging plot-twists and some very grim moments. The opening sequence, for example, is extremely disturbing as it shows a public hanging where a crowd of socially low classed people are laughing hysterically (!). The make up effects on the mad-raving killer are genuinely scary and the filming locations really fit the obscure nature of the Victorian era. There are nasty cemeteries, dark police archives and – above all – the Judas Hole; a sleazy nightclub where there's little left to the imagination. Great shocker, definitely one of the best story-driven horror films since Val Lewton's finest productions of the early 40's. A must for all fans of classic horror!