REVIEWED BY DAN STUMPF:         


THE STRANGLER. Allied Artists, 1964. Victor Buono, David McLean, Diane Sayer, Davey Davison, Baynes Barron, Ellen Corby, Jeanne Bates. Screenplay: Bill S. Ballinger. Director: Burt Topper.

THE STRANGER Victor Buono

   Very much in the Zugsmith mold, but in fact directed by one Burt Topper, The Strangler is a wonderfully perverse and to-the-point bit of sickness put out when no one was looking.

   Victor Buono stars delightfully as an emotionally-constipated mama’s boy who gets off (and I mean that literally; the close-ups of his face leave no doubt about the sexual nature of his acts) strangling nurses and leaving broken dolls at the scene of his crimes.

   Nasty stuff, done with pleasing simplicity and not a bit of wasted time by a mostly-undistinguished director who seems here to have risen to the occasion. Credit must be shared with Bill S. Ballinger’s no-nonsense script, and art direction by Eugene Lourie, no less, but it’s primarily Victor Buono’s compelling performance that carries this thing off.

   Fauning over an arcade girl, fretting about his sick mama, or just flitting prissily amid the mid-60s decor of sterile hallways and plastic furniture, he commands our full attention, disgust and even a bit of sympathy, in a bit of great acting where no one looks to find it.

THE STRANGLER Victor Buono