The Brighton Strangler

The Brighton Strangler

  • 67 Mins
  • 1945
  • en
  • star5.9/ 10

After suffering a head injury during the Blitz, John Loder, a theatre actor comes to believe himself to be the Brighton Strangler, the murderer he was playing onstage.

Cast & Crew

Review

John Chard

You shall not see in the New year. During WW II as one of the Luftwafte air raids hits London, Reginald Parker, a successful actor, is knocked out and heavily concussed. Upon awaking he believes himself to be Edward Grey, the notorious Brighton Strangler he has been portraying on the stage! Clocking in at just 67 minutes, The Brighton Strangler just about has enough time to get in and do it's job excellently. Something of an under seen gem, it's a film that has enough creepy menace about it to reward the black and white thriller film fan. Boasting excellent sets, some very neat camera work from director Max Nosseck, and a fabulous lead performance from John Loder, I personally feel that it deserves to be seen by more people. Typically it's a picture that rarely gets aired on British TV, and when it does it's sadly tucked away on BBC 2 at some ungodly hour in the AM. Until films like this get decent exposure from our TV schedulers then they are going to remain criminally under seen. So keep your eyes out for this one, the formula may now be seen as old hat, but transport yourself back to 1945, get out in the London smog and be wary of that hatted man coming towards you... 8/10

CinemaSerf

This is a rather better effort than I'm used to from John Loder. He's a successful actor who has wowed the audiences with his eponymous portrayal for 300 nights but has now had enough. Planning to head to the seaside for a break with his fiancée "April" (June Duprez) they get caught up in the blitz and next thing he has quite a bandage on his head. Meantime, people start turning up dead, strangled, and he begins to wonder if there isn't something of the "Jekyll" and "Hyde" to his post bump-on-the-head character? There's quite a fun dynamic between the two and a few familiar faces pop up now and again to shore up their leading roles and bring a bit of Transatlantic box-office (Michael St. Angel) to this cheap and cheerful, but perfectly watchable and sometimes quite creepily produced, wartime film noir that has an entertaining twist in it's tail at the end, too.

Image 0

Movies You May Like

Der Untergang
Soldaat van Oranje
La vita è bella
Spionen
Die Blechtrommel
Die Ehe der Maria Braun
Pearl Harbor
All About Eve
The Last Emperor
The Eternal Sea
Nirgendwo in Afrika
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
Il giardino dei Finzi Contini
Never So Few
The Blood of Others
Jeux interdits
Paris brûle-t-il?
Hannibal Rising
Letters from Iwo Jima
Les Enfants du Paradis

Recommended Movies

WWE WrestleMania VIII
Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)
Circle
12
Jorge Drexler - Eco2
The Wedding Veil Inspiration
Kathleen Madigan: Madigan Again
Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds
Naked Surrender
Чыскы
水の花
Confessions d'un Barjo
O Que Se Move
Disney Presents: Main Street Electrical Parade - Farewell Season
12
Playdate
Canada Vignettes: Bill Miner
Roodkapje: Een modern sprookje
Reservoir Dogs: Playing It Fast & Loose