Grip of the Strangler (The Haunted Strangler) (1958)
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47% of users liked it
(269 ratings)
There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was… More There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was executed for the Strangler's crimes, but was he guilty? It turns out that the actual culprit was the surgeon who performed Styles' autopsy. Coming into possession of the surgeon's scalpel, Rankin is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of bloodlust and guilt. It is at this point that Rankin realizes that he is truly his own, and London's, worst enemy. Originally released in England as Grip of the Strangler, The Haunted Strangler was distributed by MGM in 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Robert Day
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Horror
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jul 3, 1958 Wide
- Studio
- Criterion Collection
Critic Reviews
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Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
[Boris Karloff is] again near the top of his game as the best thing about this slow but effective Victorian who-actually-done-it.
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Cast
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Boris Karloff
as James Rankin
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Anthony Dawson
as Supt. Burk
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Derek Birch
as Superintendent
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Dorothy Gordon
as Hannah
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Elizabeth Allan
as Barbara Rankin
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Diane Aubrey
as Lily
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Tim Turner
as Kenneth McColl
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Jean Kent
as Cora Seth
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Vera Day
as Pearl
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Peggy Ann Clifford
as Kate
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Leslie Perrins
as Prison Governor
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Michael Atkinson
as Styles
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Des Roberts
as Dr. Johnson
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Jessica Cairns
as Maid
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John Heller
as Male Nurse
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Roy Russell
as Medical Supt.
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George Hirste
as Lost Property Man
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George Spence
as Hangman
