The movie
Show notes
In a film in which the audience buys its tickets knowing who will play the title role, what happens when you don’t have him enter the frame until a solid hour has passed? How does the focus shift from the horrific villain to the horror felt by his victims? Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler (1968) isn’t a faithful retelling of Albert DeSalvo’s crimes or an explanation of his compulsion: he’s not Raskolnikov or Buffalo Bill. Instead, the film masterfully involves its viewers in the procedure of the hunt before throwing them into what feels like a separate one-act play, a conclusion in which nothing is concluded. Gerold Frank’s The Boston Strangler was the basis for the film: you can find the book here . Incredible bumper music by John Deley . Please subscribe to the show and consider leaving us a rating or review. You can find over three hundred episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show on X and on Letterboxd –and email us any time at fifteenminutefilm@gmail.com with requests and recommendations. Also check out Dan Moran’s substack, Pages and Frames , where he writes about books and movies, as well as his many film-related author interviews on The New Books Network . Check out Mike Takla’s substack, The Grumbler’s Almanac , for commentary on offbeat topics of the day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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