The Brighton Strangler

In 1947 Ronald Colman won an Oscar for Best Actor by portraying an actor who becomes obsessed with the role he is playing .This was Othello ,in Shakespeare's play of the same name .The obsession turns into violence and insanity .It was an A movie production featuring the acclaimed Colman and with the prestigious A list director George Cukor behind the camera . The Brighton Strangler was made 2 years earlier and deals essentially with the same theme but has more modest ambitions .It aims merely to be a neat little chiller and it achieves this ambition with some distinction .John Loder plays an actor in the West End of London during the German blitz on the city in World War 2 .He is playing a strangler in a long running play ;when the theatre is levelled by a German bomb he is rendered unconscious but survives .On waking he is an amnesiac and begins wandering the London streets in a dazed condition .He finds himself at Victoria railway station where he overhears a chance remark from a stranger that is an exact duplicate of one from the play .Convinved that he is really a strangler he boards a train for the seaside resort of Brighton where he begins to re-enact his stage role by embarking on a string of strangulation murders ,his steps dogged by the police. Loder is good and Max Nosseck directs with due skill aided by a good script. The supporting cast is capable and the movie will pass an hour or so with some pleasure for the viewer . Its not a major work but is a good study of dual personality along Jekyll and Hyde lines

John Loder plays Reginald Parker, an actor whose portrayal of a serial killer has made him the toast of London's theater district. During the height of the german blitz Parker has tirelessly played the part to sold out crowds seeking diversion from the horrors of world war 2.

After nearly two years of constant work Parker is on the brink of exhaustion. When his wife and friends demand he take a break he agrees grudgingly but only after one last performance for on leave military personnel.

That night Parker stays late at the theater to review some last minute additions to the script. As he reads german bombers attack London. A stray bomb strikes the theater causing the roof to collapse on the unfortunate actor. He survives but recieves a nasty blow to the head. The blow gives him partial amnesia allowing him to recall nothing save that of the part he has paractically lived for the last two years.

Believing the details of the script are actual memories he comes to believe he is the Brighton Strangler. So it is off to Brighton where he begins hunting down those who resemble his victims from the play.

The plot is a rather far fetched and the story sags in the middle. But John Loder's tormented transform from kindly actor to maniacal killer makes the film worth a look.

During WW II as one of the Luftwafte air raids hits London, Reginald Parker, a successful actor, is knocked out and heavily concussed. Upon awaking he believes himself to be Edward Grey, the notorious Brighton Strangler he has been portraying on the stage!

Clocking in at just 67 minutes, The Brighton Strangler just about has enough time to get in and do it's job excellently. Something of an under seen gem, it's a film that has enough creepy menace about it to reward the black and white thriller fan. Boasting excellent sets, some very neat camera work from director Max Nosseck and a fabulous lead performance from John Loder, I personally feel that it deserves to be seen by more people. Typically it's a picture that rarely gets aired on British TV, and when it does it's sadly tucked away on BBC 2 at some ungodly hour in the AM. Until film's like this get decent exposure from our TV schedulers then they are going to remain criminally under seen. So keep your eyes out for this one, the formula may now be seen as old hat, but transport yourself back to 1945, out in the London smog and be wary of that hatted man coming towards you.........8/10

Sometimes Stylish Director Max Nosseck made this the Same Year as His Celebrated Lawrence Tierney Film-Noir, Dillinger. This One has its Moments and is a Serviceable and Above Average Thriller.

The Setting is London, During the War and Much is Made of Blackouts, Coupons, and Uniforms. There are Dead Flyer Brothers that Lead to Family Deceptions and All Sorts of Odd Things. It is an Air-Raid's Falling Debris that Sends Celebrated Stage Actor John Loder into an Amnesiatic Frenzy of Schizophrenia.

That is the Premise and it is Played Out with the Beginning and Ending Acts that are the Best. It Meanders a Bit in the Middle with a Romantic Sub-Plot with an American Serviceman and some Forced Comedy about American Slang, but it Manages to Keep its Footing for the Final Curtain.

Overall, Worth a Watch for the Life During Wartime Setting and a Few Directorial Touches. There are some Tense Murders and it is Atmospheric in Spots. Recommended for Fans of B-Movies and Thrillers, also for those that Like a Bit of a Twist in Movie Murder Sprees.

The Brighton Strangler is another movie that BBC2 shown in the early hours over Christmas/New Year 2005-06 and I was certainly glad I taped this.

An actor who plays the part of The Brighton Strangler in the play of the same name is knocked unconscious by rubble during an air raid and has a memory lapse. When he wakes up, he thinks he is in the play and heads for Brighton instead of Canterbury, where he is meant to go. In Brighton, he starts strangling people including the Mayor and Chief Inspector. Police catch up with him in the end and realise what's happened to him.

The Brighton Strangler is rather eerie in parts, especially the nighttime scenes.

The cast includes John Loder in the title role and Jane Duprez, Ian Wolfe.

Watch this if you get the chance. Very eerie and obscure little movie.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.