Grip of the Strangler (1958)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Great Film overall

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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

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 is a crusading novelist trying to change the British legal system by looking into the Haymarket Strangler case. Boris is convinced the man hung for the crime didn't do it. Of course his investigation turns up proof that he was right, and that he himself was the killer. Well made and well acted little thriller is on okay film to have on in the background. Recently released by Criterion as part of a 4 film set its an okay time killer best watched late at night. To be certain Karloff is wonderful to watch, especially in the scene where he finds the important piece of evidence which proves him right and also slides him into madness. However the mover isn't anything special and can be a bit dull (too much music). (The criterion commentary is excellent and the real reason to pick this up)

Grip of the Strangler starts in Victorian London at 'Newgate Prison 1860' where a notorious murderer named Edward Styles (Michael Atkinson) dubbed the 'Haymarket Strangler' is sent to the gallows & hanged in front of a cheering cockney public... Jump forward 20 years & novelist James Rankin (Boris Karloff) also happens to be a social reformer & is taking a great deal of interest in the conviction & hanging of Styles, he believes that had Styles had the money to pay for a decent legal defence in court he would never had been convicted & in an attempt to get good legal aid for everyone Rankin decides to prove that Styles was innocent. Along with his assistant Dr. Kenneth McColl (Tim Turner) Rankin collects overwhelming evidence that a doctor named Tennant was responsible for the brutal killings, unfortunately his investigation's take a sinister & unexpected turn as the murders start up once more...This English production was directed by Robert Day & was better than I had expected. The script by John Croydon & Jan Read, who also wrote the story 'Stranglehold' upon which Grip of the Strangler is based, main asset is a couple of neat twists & turns that caught me by surprise & it seems a fair amount of thought went into it. The mystery elements are minimal as it's made clear from the start Styles is innocent & Tennant was responsible but even with this basic framework of a murder mystery about half way through Grip of the Strangler suddenly turns into a 50's slasher film with a neat plot twist. At less than 80 minutes long it never becomes boring, the story engages, the character's are alright & is more than watchable.Director Day does an OK job but you have to take into consideration that Grip of the Strangler is the best part of half a century old, I would have thought it was quite risqué at the time with a knife wielding maniac running around strangling & slashing young women to death & it bar in which scantily clad (for the 50's) women perform on stage for men. There's a nice period atmosphere to the film & there's some effective scenes.Technically the film is fine with nice black and white cinematography & good solid production design. The acting was better than expected, Karloff pulls a strange face at the end as he is meant to be paralysed down one side & looks pretty ugly if nothing else.Grip of the Strangler is a good solid British horror film that is well worth watching for fans of the genre or fans of Karloff. Worth tracking down.