BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

gavin6942 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.

morrison-dylan-fan Since having heard his name mentioned in Tim Burton's wonderful film Ed Wood,I have always been wondering when I should take a look at the work of actor Boris Karloff.As I was recently checking up titles that were featured in a sale on Amazon Uk,I was surprised to find this very interesting sounding Karloff mystery Horror film being sold at a fantastic low price,which led to me deciding that I would at last come face to face with a horror icon:The Plot:Heading on his way to be hanged for murdering a number of prostitutes and showgirls,Edward Styles yells out that he did not kill the women,and that his conviction is a miscarriage of justice.With Styles pleads being ignored as the last desperate words of a madman,he is hanged and then taken straight to the prisoners burial ground.Shortly before the coffin is nailed shut,a stranger suddenly appears and quickly chucks a knife (Styles alleged murder weapon) into the coffin.20 years later:A distinguish Victorian novelist and social reformer called James Rankin starts to take a look at the huge collection of cold/closed cases that the police have in their archive.Taking a peek at the files,Rankin suddenly experience's his interest being oddly drawn to the Edward "The Haymarket Strangler" Styles murder case,which he begins to suspect was carried out without every avenue having been looked at.Interviewing some of the showgirls/prostitutes that still work in Haymarket's most popular night time destination,Rankin's starts to get a strong suspicion that the long lost murder weapon could hold the key to the case.Searching high and low to find any trace of the knife,Rankin soon begins to suspect that the murder weapon may have been secretly buried with its most infamous owner.View on the film:Although the screenplay for the film by John Croydon was written super quick so that he could also write the script for 1959's First Man Into Space,I found the first half of the film to be a very enjoyable Victorian era Gothic Mystery.With Croydon having Rankin go on a "tour" which allows him to meet all of the dames and dirt bags who occupy the seedier side of the city.Along with including a small amount of fun smut from the showgirls,Croydon also does well at having Rankin's obsessive side slowly become more dominating as the film goes on.Disapointingly after the terrific build up of the first half,the second half of the movie turns all of that promise in to a real mess,which despite featuring a great performance from Karloff as the "gentle" Rankin,is let down by Croydon and director Robert Day (who would later direct the 1965 Hammer Horror She) pushing all of the wonderful foggy atmosphere right to the side,and replace it with a Hunchback like monster who,instead of looking like a terrifying monster,just looks (and acts) like a man with poor make up who has a deep desire to get closer to some beautiful dames.

Martin Bradley The worst! I can't believe I actually sat to the end of this 'penny-dreadful' Victorian 'chiller' which is nothing more than a shameless exploitation of Boris Karloff as a kind of Jekyll and Hyde figure, very late in his career. It starts promisingly as Karloff sets out to investigate the case of a man he believes was wrongly hanged for being the strangler of the title, (could this be a serious plea for the abolition of the death penalty, I asked myself?), but it soon degenerates into a Todd Slaughter-like piece of ham with Karloff going completely over the top. (No, Boris; screwing your face up and closing one eye doesn't make you scary). One to avoid at all costs.

raymundohpl GRIP OF THE STRANGLER aka THE HAUNTED STRANGLER is one of the films the great Boris Karloff made in the late fifties in his birthplace, Merrie Old England! Unfortunately, there's nothing merry about the sombre mood set by this film with the exception of the dance hall scene in "The Judas Hole", a questionable place frequented by sleazy-looking aristocrats and skivvies. Jean Kent struts her stuff as Cora Seth, the floozie whom "all the boys adore" as her song goes, and she lets rip a full-blooded and catchy chorus of "Cora, Cora" as Dear Boris skulks backstage with a fearful grimace on his contorted face, planning some diabolical skullduggery to unleash upon the unwary damsel. Elizabeth Allan, who survived her encounter with Bela Lugosi's Count Mora in THE MARK OF THE VAMPIRE at MGM almost three decades earlier, plays Boris' wife, and doesn't fare as well in her encounter with King Boris. Anthony Dawson, who played villains in films like DIAL M FOR MURDER, DR. NO and THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, plays police inspector Burke in a rare sympathetic role. Vera Day, who was menaced by George Coulouris and his huge human-eating plant in THE WOMAN EATER, gets "Gripped" by Boris in his strangling hand. The crowd of extras in the opening execution by hanging scene are the most loathsome, grotesque and ugly(both physically and morally) excuses for people who literally uproariously laugh and enjoy the spectacle, foretelling the carnage and fun to follow. By the way, one of the Haymarket Strangler's victims' is named MARTHA STEWART--keep an ear peeled so you don't miss that name! Highly Recommended and great fun without overt blood and gore, very atmospheric and well photographed and ACTED, of course!