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* SpiritualSuccessor: Richard Fleischer went on to direct ''Film/TenRillingtonPlace'', another naturalistic, low-key RippedFromTheHeadlines true crime drama.
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''The Boston Strangler'' is a 1968 film directed by Creator/RichardFleischer.
It is a true crime history of the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler "Boston Strangler" murders]] of 1962–64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (Creator/GeorgeKennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
It is a true crime history of the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler "Boston Strangler" murders]] of 1962–64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (Creator/GeorgeKennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
to:
''The Boston Strangler'' is a 1968 American crime film directed by Creator/RichardFleischer.
Creator/RichardFleischer, starring Creator/TonyCurtis, Creator/HenryFonda, and Creator/GeorgeKennedy.
It is a true crime history of the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler "Boston Strangler" murders]] of 1962–64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomesclear apparent that a serial killer {{serial killer}} is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led byDetective Det. Phil [=DiNatale=] (Creator/GeorgeKennedy), (Kennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) (Fonda), to form a task force. Bottomly gets is desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, film, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) (Curtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
It is a true crime history of the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler "Boston Strangler" murders]] of 1962–64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes
The police, led by
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* SpiritualSuccessor: Richard Fleischer went on to direct ''Film/TenRillingtonPlace'', another naturalistic, low-key RippedFromTheHeadlines true crime drama.
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It is a true crime history of the infamous "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64]]. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (George Kennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (George Kennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
to:
It is a true crime history of the infamous "[[https://en.[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler Boston "Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64]].murders]] of 1962–64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=](George Kennedy), (Creator/GeorgeKennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=]
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* WhiteVoidRoom: The interrogation room where Bottomly grills Albert in the third act is maybe not technically a White Void Room, as there is a door and a one-way observation glass window. But it is otherwise painted all in white, and for that matter Albert himself is dressed in an all-white prisoner jumpsuit, symbolizing his isolation and exposure in the featureless room. The movie then ends, and the credits roll, as Albert is shown standing in a corner of the WhiteVoidRoom, which in this shot lacks the interview table or any features at all.
to:
* WhiteVoidRoom: The interrogation room where Bottomly grills Albert in the third act is maybe not technically a White Void Room, as there is a door and a one-way observation glass window. But it is otherwise painted all in white, and for that matter Albert himself is dressed in an all-white prisoner jumpsuit, symbolizing his isolation and exposure in the featureless room. The movie then ends, and the credits roll, as Albert is shown standing in a corner of the WhiteVoidRoom, which in this shot lacks the interview table or any features at all.all.
----
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It is a true crime history of the infamous "Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
to:
It is a true crime history of the infamous "Boston "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64.1962-64]]. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
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* BreakingTheFourthWall: The last closeup shot of Albert, before the camera pulls back for the credits, has him look straight at the camera.
* TheEnd: The closing credits, after noting that [=DeSalvo=] was never tried for the stranglings, say "THIS FILM HAS ENDED, BUT THE RESPONSIBILTY OF SOCIETY FOR THE EARLY RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT OF THE VIOLENT AMONG US HAS YET TO BEGIN."
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-->'''Patron''': ''(regarding Bottomly)'' I've seen some put-ons, but that one's carrying it too far.
to:
-->'''Patron''': ''(regarding Bottomly)'' I've seen some put-ons, but that one's carrying it too far.far.
* WhiteVoidRoom: The interrogation room where Bottomly grills Albert in the third act is maybe not technically a White Void Room, as there is a door and a one-way observation glass window. But it is otherwise painted all in white, and for that matter Albert himself is dressed in an all-white prisoner jumpsuit, symbolizing his isolation and exposure in the featureless room. The movie then ends, and the credits roll, as Albert is shown standing in a corner of the WhiteVoidRoom, which in this shot lacks the interview table or any features at all.
* WhiteVoidRoom: The interrogation room where Bottomly grills Albert in the third act is maybe not technically a White Void Room, as there is a door and a one-way observation glass window. But it is otherwise painted all in white, and for that matter Albert himself is dressed in an all-white prisoner jumpsuit, symbolizing his isolation and exposure in the featureless room. The movie then ends, and the credits roll, as Albert is shown standing in a corner of the WhiteVoidRoom, which in this shot lacks the interview table or any features at all.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2682258b_4b12_41c7_9d63_7f41fb55f1f9.jpeg]]
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* HandGag: This one proves extremely plot relevant. [=DeSalvo=] tries to silence a victim with a HandGag, but she bites down on his hand. He winds up letting her live, which leads to him being identified as the Strangler by the wound on his hand.
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Creator/JamesBrolin has a small part as a detective.
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Creator/JamesBrolin has a small part as a detective.
Detective Lisi.
* DramaticSitDown: Creator/JamesBrolin's brief appearance has him sitting down rather heavily after Peter Hurkos says that Det. Lisi wasn't late because of traffic, he was late because he took some time that morning for a quickie with his girlfriend.
* FaceFramedInShadow: When Tony Curtis finally appears, halfway through the movie, his face is neatly half-framed in shadow as he sits in his living room and watches UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's funeral on TV.
* FaceFramedInShadow: When Tony Curtis finally appears, halfway through the movie, his face is neatly half-framed in shadow as he sits in his living room and watches UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's funeral on TV.
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* POVCam: Used for a shot of the killer climbing the stairs, after he has tricked an old lady into inviting him in.
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* POVCam: POVCam:
** Used for a shot of the killer climbing the stairs, after he has tricked an old lady into inviting himin.in.
** Another shot shows [=DeSalvo=] scanning the names on apartment buzzers, with the camera stopping on a label that indicates a woman living alone.
** Used for a shot of the killer climbing the stairs, after he has tricked an old lady into inviting him
** Another shot shows [=DeSalvo=] scanning the names on apartment buzzers, with the camera stopping on a label that indicates a woman living alone.
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* ThirdPersonPerson: Peter Hurkos, the psychic called in by a desperate Bottomly, does this a lot. ("Maybe Hurkos big fake.")
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Creator/JamesBrolin has a small part as a detective.
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* INeedAFreakingDrink: A "Colonel Brumley" enters the home of a very good-looking woman. She offers him a drink but he declines. After two cops enter from a side door and it's revealed to be a trap, the man says "In that case, I will take that drink."
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** SerialRapist: He's this as well, although the police are unsure about it for some time.
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More to come
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''The Boston Strangler'' is a 1968 film directed by Creator/RichardFleischer.
It is a true crime history of the infamous "Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (George Kennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
----
!!Tropes:
* TheFaceless: The face of the killer in the opening scene is never shown, and in the second murder scene there's only a POVCam. Tony Curtis does not appear until halfway through the movie.
* ThePeepingTom: One woman calls the cops in on a man staring through her window from the street.
* PhoneTraceRace: One scene has a woman receiving a harassing phone call, and deliberately keeping him on the line while her roommate scampers to another apartment and calls the cops. The cops trace the call to a phone booth and the man is arrested.
* POVCam: Used for a shot of the killer climbing the stairs, after he has tricked an old lady into inviting him in.
* RevealShot: The camera following the man ransacking an apartment eventually pans to reveal a corpse lying on the floor.
* SerialKiller: Albert [=DeSalvo=], the Boston Strangler, identified as the killer of thirteen women.[[note]]In RealLife [=DeSalvo=] recanted his confession, before he was murdered by another prison inmate in 1973. His identification as the Strangler remains controversial, although a 2013 DNA test did definitively link him to at least one of the murders.[[/note]]
* SplitScreen: Used heavily throughout the film. A TimePassesMontage of the investigation is shown with a series of split screens. Split screens are used in murder scenes. Sometimes the split screen shows the same shot in two different ways: on two occasions the discovery of a victim is shown in split screen, with a middle-distance shot showing a body as a witness discovers it, paired with the same shot zoomed in on the witness's horrified face.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In one scene where [=DiNatale=] is interrogating a john, after getting tipped off by the john's suspicious prostitute.
-->'''[=DiNatale=]''': You know a girl named Chloe.\\
'''Carr''': I don't know any hookers.\\
'''[=DiNatale=]''': I didn't say she was a hooker.
* TimePassesMontage: A montage in split screen shows the investigation pursuing a series of fruitless leads: peeping Toms, creeps who shine flashlights on women in movie theaters, creeps who make obscene phone calls, etc.
* VerbalIrony: After the murder cons an old lady into letting him in, she says "Well, you know you can't be too careful these days", as she greets him at the door.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Much of the story is fictionalized, including the suggestion that [=DeSalvo=] had a split personality, an idea that was never raised in the real investigation.
* VillainOpeningScene: The first scene shows a man ransacking an apartment, before revealing a dead body on the floor.
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: One lead has Bottomly going to what is clearly a gay bar (men are dancing together).
-->'''Patron''': ''(regarding Bottomly)'' I've seen some put-ons, but that one's carrying it too far.
It is a true crime history of the infamous "Boston Strangler" murders, 1962-64. The film opens with a man ransacking an apartment, before the camera reveals a dead woman lying on the floor. It soon becomes clear that a serial killer is stalking the Boston area, finagling his way into single women's apartments (there are no signs of forced entry) and strangling them to death.
The police, led by Detective Phil [=DiNatale=] (George Kennedy), pursue various leads and theories but basically get nowhere. The Attorney General of Massachusetts orders one of his staffers, John Bottomly (Creator/HenryFonda) to form a task force. Bottomly gets desperate enough to call in a psychic, which results in the task force temporarily fingering an innocent man. Halfway through the movie, one Albert [=DeSalvo=] (Creator/TonyCurtis) appears onscreen. [=DeSalvo=] attacks another woman, but this time his victim survives, and even more importantly, bites him on the hand, which eventually leads to the task force finally getting a lucky break.
----
!!Tropes:
* TheFaceless: The face of the killer in the opening scene is never shown, and in the second murder scene there's only a POVCam. Tony Curtis does not appear until halfway through the movie.
* ThePeepingTom: One woman calls the cops in on a man staring through her window from the street.
* PhoneTraceRace: One scene has a woman receiving a harassing phone call, and deliberately keeping him on the line while her roommate scampers to another apartment and calls the cops. The cops trace the call to a phone booth and the man is arrested.
* POVCam: Used for a shot of the killer climbing the stairs, after he has tricked an old lady into inviting him in.
* RevealShot: The camera following the man ransacking an apartment eventually pans to reveal a corpse lying on the floor.
* SerialKiller: Albert [=DeSalvo=], the Boston Strangler, identified as the killer of thirteen women.[[note]]In RealLife [=DeSalvo=] recanted his confession, before he was murdered by another prison inmate in 1973. His identification as the Strangler remains controversial, although a 2013 DNA test did definitively link him to at least one of the murders.[[/note]]
* SplitScreen: Used heavily throughout the film. A TimePassesMontage of the investigation is shown with a series of split screens. Split screens are used in murder scenes. Sometimes the split screen shows the same shot in two different ways: on two occasions the discovery of a victim is shown in split screen, with a middle-distance shot showing a body as a witness discovers it, paired with the same shot zoomed in on the witness's horrified face.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In one scene where [=DiNatale=] is interrogating a john, after getting tipped off by the john's suspicious prostitute.
-->'''[=DiNatale=]''': You know a girl named Chloe.\\
'''Carr''': I don't know any hookers.\\
'''[=DiNatale=]''': I didn't say she was a hooker.
* TimePassesMontage: A montage in split screen shows the investigation pursuing a series of fruitless leads: peeping Toms, creeps who shine flashlights on women in movie theaters, creeps who make obscene phone calls, etc.
* VerbalIrony: After the murder cons an old lady into letting him in, she says "Well, you know you can't be too careful these days", as she greets him at the door.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Much of the story is fictionalized, including the suggestion that [=DeSalvo=] had a split personality, an idea that was never raised in the real investigation.
* VillainOpeningScene: The first scene shows a man ransacking an apartment, before revealing a dead body on the floor.
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: One lead has Bottomly going to what is clearly a gay bar (men are dancing together).
-->'''Patron''': ''(regarding Bottomly)'' I've seen some put-ons, but that one's carrying it too far.
