User reviews

In 1947 Ronald Colman won an Oscar for Best Actor by portraying an actor who becomes obsessed with the role he is playing .This was Othello ,in Shakespeare's play of the same name .The obsession turns into violence and insanity .It was an A movie production featuring the acclaimed Colman and with the prestigious A list director George Cukor behind the camera . The Brighton Strangler was made 2 years earlier and deals essentially with the same theme but has more modest ambitions .It aims merely to be a neat little chiller and it achieves this ambition with some distinction .John Loder plays an actor in the West End of London during the German blitz on the city in World War 2 .He is playing a strangler in a long running play ;when the theatre is levelled by a German bomb he is rendered unconscious but survives .On waking he is an amnesiac and begins wandering the London streets in a dazed condition .He finds himself at Victoria railway station where he overhears a chance remark from a stranger that is an exact duplicate of one from the play .Convinved that he is really a strangler he boards a train for the seaside resort of Brighton where he begins to re-enact his stage role by embarking on a string of strangulation murders ,his steps dogged by the police. Loder is good and Max Nosseck directs with due skill aided by a good script. The supporting cast is capable and the movie will pass an hour or so with some pleasure for the viewer . Its not a major work but is a good study of dual personality along Jekyll and Hyde lines

Though the film is sometimes hard to take, and had flimsy scenes, Loder is great as the actor overcome by shock, who becomes the character he was portraying on stage, a maniacal strangler! Certainly worth seeing on TV, since it does note seem available on video. And try to catch some of Nosseck's other flics, as he was in interesting german director, and handled noir well, especially with Lawrence Tierney.

John Loder plays Reginald Parker, an actor whose portrayal of a serial killer has made him the toast of London's theater district. During the height of the german blitz Parker has tirelessly played the part to sold out crowds seeking diversion from the horrors of world war 2.

After nearly two years of constant work Parker is on the brink of exhaustion. When his wife and friends demand he take a break he agrees grudgingly but only after one last performance for on leave military personnel.

That night Parker stays late at the theater to review some last minute additions to the script. As he reads german bombers attack London. A stray bomb strikes the theater causing the roof to collapse on the unfortunate actor. He survives but recieves a nasty blow to the head. The blow gives him partial amnesia allowing him to recall nothing save that of the part he has paractically lived for the last two years.

Believing the details of the script are actual memories he comes to believe he is the Brighton Strangler. So it is off to Brighton where he begins hunting down those who resemble his victims from the play.

The plot is a rather far fetched and the story sags in the middle. But John Loder's tormented transform from kindly actor to maniacal killer makes the film worth a look.

It would require the labors of Hercules to spoil a movie that had June Duprez in a lead role. She's startling -- those chubby cheeks, that prominent mental symphysis, those slanted feline eyes, each looking in a slightly different direction, the breathlessly smooth voice. No. She's sui generis.

The movie isn't. It's one of several in which an actor is playing the role of a murderer on stage and gets mixed up about which role is which. Poor John Loder. He becomes amnesic after a bomb strike on his theater during the blitz, wanders around remembering nothing except bits and pieces of his stage role. It leads him to a meeting with June Duprez in Brighton where, following the play's plot, he strangles the mayor and the police commissioner. The last murder committed in the play is that of a woman who has begun to suspect him, and Duprez fits the bill in real life. Does he strangle her, you ask, kiddingly? If it's not entirely original, it's still a tidy little murder drama, nicely acted. Some comic relief is added by Michael St. Angel as an American officer -- "Gee whiz", "That cost twenty smackeroos," and"Okay, you can blow now."

Sometimes Stylish Director Max Nosseck made this the Same Year as His Celebrated Lawrence Tierney Film-Noir, Dillinger. This One has its Moments and is a Serviceable and Above Average Thriller.

The Setting is London, During the War and Much is Made of Blackouts, Coupons, and Uniforms. There are Dead Flyer Brothers that Lead to Family Deceptions and All Sorts of Odd Things. It is an Air-Raid's Falling Debris that Sends Celebrated Stage Actor John Loder into an Amnesiatic Frenzy of Schizophrenia.

That is the Premise and it is Played Out with the Beginning and Ending Acts that are the Best. It Meanders a Bit in the Middle with a Romantic Sub-Plot with an American Serviceman and some Forced Comedy about American Slang, but it Manages to Keep its Footing for the Final Curtain.

Overall, Worth a Watch for the Life During Wartime Setting and a Few Directorial Touches. There are some Tense Murders and it is Atmospheric in Spots. Recommended for Fans of B-Movies and Thrillers, also for those that Like a Bit of a Twist in Movie Murder Sprees.

Readily do I admit my complete ignorance about German-born Director Max Nosseck. Certainly, you can detect touches of the famous German expressionist school in this film, and Loder too provides a quality expressionist performance, all backed up by splendid B&W cinematography from Roy Hunt.

It stands to reason that a 6/10 rating must perforce reflect a number of weaknesses, the screenplay being most obvious one. Though it opens with an interesting premise, that of a play becoming more real than life itself to actor Reginald Parker after suffering concussion in the wake of an air raid on London, I found it highly improbable that the main character had such a good memory of the play but not of the rest of his life, notably his relationship with his beloved.

An unusual finale with applause provides a clever conclusion but by no means reduces the viewer's need to suspend disbelief.

All told, it deserves a watch but not a rewatch. 6/10.

The was a British film portraying a stage actor who is hit on the head during a bombing in World War II raid on London and then acts the "strangler" in the play he's in, forgetting that he's just an actor. It's an interesting premise. Most of the plot was pretty obvious but there was a twist or two thrown in which kept my attention.

However, to be honest, after about 40 minutes my mind started to wander, as the movie just plodded along. A story about a guy with "multiple personalities," so to speak, someone who can't distinguish anymore between fact and fiction, and winds up thinking he's "the Brighton Strangler" should have been a lot more interesting than it was. At 67 total minutes, there is no excuse for this to be a boring movie.

John Loder is good in the lead as "Reginald Parker/Edward Gray," but the story doesn't live up to his performance. It just sags, big-time, in that middle section. There are major plot holes in here, too. The guy plays a "famous" actor yet no one recognizes him. I bet if someone re-made this story, it could a chilling one.

The Brighton Strangler is another movie that BBC2 shown in the early hours over Christmas/New Year 2005-06 and I was certainly glad I taped this.

An actor who plays the part of The Brighton Strangler in the play of the same name is knocked unconscious by rubble during an air raid and has a memory lapse. When he wakes up, he thinks he is in the play and heads for Brighton instead of Canterbury, where he is meant to go. In Brighton, he starts strangling people including the Mayor and Chief Inspector. Police catch up with him in the end and realise what's happened to him.

The Brighton Strangler is rather eerie in parts, especially the nighttime scenes.

The cast includes John Loder in the title role and Jane Duprez, Ian Wolfe.

Watch this if you get the chance. Very eerie and obscure little movie.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

John Loder plays an actor named Reginald Parker, who has been starring in a long-running London play, "The Brighton Strangler". After he receives a head injury in a Nazi air raid that destroys the theater, he wanders off and takes on the identity of the character he'd been playing, a serial strangler named Edward Gray, and proceeds to become the real "Brighton Straangler".

This is a very slow-moving piece, and Loder's performance is somewhat stiff and unmoving. The picture has a few small plot twists but otherwise it's fairly predictable. The beautiful June Duprez does a serviceable job as the wife of a young American Air Force officer who meets "Edward Gray", not realizing who he really is, and seems to be somewhat attracted to him, but nothing more is made of that. The ending is somewhat imaginative, but you still know what's going to happen.

For a murder mystery it really doesn't whip up much tension. It's pretty cut-and-dried, with not a whole lot to really recommend it. If you're a John Loder fan you'll probably like it, but if you're not, there's really not much of a reason to see it.

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 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 film's 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, out in the London smog and be wary of that hatted man coming towards you.........8/10

In 1945 London a kind, gentle actor Reginald Parker (John Loder) is performing in a play called "The Brighton Strangler". During an air raid he's hit on the head. When he regains consciousness he has amnesia and begins playing out his character from the play.

The plot is old now but was probably new in 1945 and it is extremely well-done. The script is fast, there's good quick direction and there are some very creepy sequences. The acting by Loder is just great--he let's you see the confusion and hatred hiding behind his very gentle exterior. He reminded me of Laird Cregar who played similar roles in "The Lodger" (1944) and "Hangover Square" (1945). My guess is that this was made to cash in on the Cregar movies (both were huge hits).

The sets are just gorgeous and there's some truly funny comic relief -- both intentional and unintentional (it's hard to keep a straight face when one character keeps saying "swell" all the time). The only bad thing is June Duprez--she's beautiful but a very poor actress.

Well worth seeing if just for Loder. Why wasn't he more well known?

RKO's great artistic team of Silvera and D'Agostino, along with stylish director Nosseck and photographer Hunt, lift the visuals to near artistic heights. Even when the story falters, the dream-like atmosphere carries the ball. It appears stage actor Parker's (Loder) head gets conked during a London air raid. Now he has trouble separating his strangler stage role from everyday reality. Needless to say, this causes problems for him and a couple of corpses he leaves behind. On the whole, Loder is excellent as the schizoid Parker. His generally low-key demeanor proves as disturbing as anything more florid. If there's a problem, it's with the script's treatment of the lovely April (Duprez), who seems impossibly naïve. Like when she goes to the dark roof with Parker even after some of his semi-loony behavior. Still, I love that amusing moment when the English maid tries politely to get her head around American slang.

I'm impressed with Nosseck's ability to coordinate a spotty narrative into an atmospheric whole. Looks to me like he's in the Edgar Ulmer (Detour, {1945}) category, working artfully and anonymously in Hollywood's lower rungs. His American career appears limited by mostly innocuous programmers-- unlike Brighton-- which may be why he went back to Germany. Nonetheless, he appears to have a real feel for this sort of Gothic material. Overall, the 60- some minutes is close to a sleeper, except for the spotty script. It also helps show why lowly RKO was the studio of record during the post-war 1940's.

"The Brighton Strangler" is an amazingly good B-movie that was so good that only two years later, it was remade as a feature film...an A-picture starring Ronald Colman in "A Double Life". However, while RKO made the first film, Universal did the remake...but they changed the film enough that apparently RKO didn't feel a need to sue. But they are essentially the same film.

Reginald Parker (John Loder) is responsible for writing and starring in a radio play, "The Brighton Strangler". However, this radio show was made during WWII and soon after completing the show, Parker is caught up in a bombing raid and he's seriously injured. When he awakens, he cannot recall who he is and since the radio show was on his mind when the attack occurred, he now believes that HE is the strangler! As a result, he heads to Brighton and begins replicating the murders in the radio play!!

This is a wonderful B-movie. While it is technically a B due to its brief runtime, it is first class when it comes to the cast and atmosphere. It's tense and exciting...and well worth seeing...just like "A Double Life".

Reginald Parker is the writer and star of the hit play "The Brighton Strangler" although the repetitive play and the constant performances have gotten to him and, despite the sell-out crowds he plans to draw it to an end and do something different. However a bombing attack on London during opening night leaves him stumbling around on his own with a head injury. As he tries to piece things together all he can get is snippets of his play and soon he finds himself remembering the life of character Edward Grey as his own and he boards a train for Brighton.

Although starting out with a clever (if dated) concept this film doesn't do anything of real value with it and instead just plods towards the ending that is actually quite good in a strange way. With a central idea that was probably fresh and new back in the 1940's, the film mainly focuses on following Parker as he becomes his own creation. Problem is that, past this idea and about two moments where he struggles with his conflicting memories, there is nothing to this film and it easily becomes just a simple story about the Brighton Strangler and, if Parker's play was as straightforward as this film then I cannot understand why it sold out so much! I would have liked the character of Parker/Grey to have been complex and interesting as a result of his mixed personalities but as it is he is very straightforward and lacking imagination.

Loder is good at the start and as he becomes Grey but once he is in character (literally) he just does the basics and lacks any sort of flair or style – by the end of the closing credits I had already forgotten what he even looked like. His support is just as uninspiring with solid but unmemorable turns from Duprez, St Angel, Mander, Hobart and Evans to name the main players. The director does quite well with the sets but without the material being darker and/or deeper there was only going to be so much he could do.

Overall this is an interesting idea but the film doesn't carry it further than that. The characters of Grey and Parker briefly cross over twice but other than that there is nothing in either of them to produce a real interest. The murders are quite engaging but without the moral darkness they are only as atmospheric as the music and direction allows them to be. Worth seeing as a light thriller but with so much missed potential it is understandable why it is rarely seen these days.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Brighton Strangler. It seemed initially like a B-rated noir but grew to be so much more thanks to three things...a great script, wonderful sets/costumes and phenomenal acting particularly by John Loder who plays the main character and actor phenom Reginald Parker.

The story is about a famous theatre actor Reginald, who has been playing the lead in a long running play written by his fiancée, writer Dorothy Kent, entitled The Brighton Strangler. The two have plans to Barry and be together for New Year's Eve. We see Reginald congratulate the cast on the final night as he prepares to head to the train station, where he will travel to his bride to be for their nuptials on Christmas Eve. And then the theatre is bombed by the Germans...destroying the theatre in the resulting fire. Reginald is presumed dead, but actually was struck on the head. Dazed and confused he finds a luggage claim ticket for Victoria Station, where he claims his luggage and upon overhearing a conversation about Brighton...thinks he is the character he had been playing so long on stage, Edward Grey...the Brighton Strangler. This sets up a series of tragic events when real-life begins to imitate fiction!

The acting was so good I was captivated by the story...and the end was unexpected! I think thriller and noir fans alike will appreciate this underrated little gem. The details from WWII were great, as were the little set details like Christmas trees with tinsel. I highly recommend this film...classic thriller noir, there is a little something for everyone.

We often forget that director Max Nosseck did not only gave us two Lawrence Tierney's vehicles: DILLINGER and THE HOODLUM, but also this one, in response, I guess, to THE LODGER or DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE. The inspiration is more than obvious and such a lead role could easily have been played by the likes of George Sanders, Laird Cregar, Albert Dekker.... Yes, what a tremendous little film, thriller drama produced by RKO pictures. Tense, no useless scene, good dialogues, terrific suspense for such a cheap production. It should be more recognized, more widely shown. For me, it's definitely an underrated gem.

Terrific old fashion thriller from RKO Pictures, with shades of the atmospheric horror films produced by Universal at the time, replete with some memorable British actors. It may also remind you of SHERLOCK HOLMES, minus Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

Tall, dark and handsome John Loder portrays stage actor Reginald Parker, who happens to be appearing in a London play just as WWII bombs are dropped, destroying the theatre and causing him to suffer amnesia. The uncanny situation Parker faces is the fact he now believes he's a mad strangler, the very character he was portraying on stage. International director and writer Max Nosseck crafted this into a semi-remake of DR JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and just as chilling. Loder is quite effective playing the lost soul, addicted to strangling victim after victim during the London Blitz.

Beautiful June Duprez (known for THE THIEF OF BAGDAD) plays April, the young lady he chances to meet --and could she be next? Nosseck, born in Poland, brings out some truly fine performances, foremost Loder, in one of his most memorable roles in a lengthy career.

Michael St. Angel co-stars as the police lieutenant, Miles Mander, a staple in many of Universal's horror productions, plays the chief inspector assigned to the case. Also look for Rose Hobart (who co-starred in the 1931 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MRS. HYDE) and Gilbert Emery as Dr. Manby. This would be Emery's final screen role. Ian Wolfe, another frequent character actor at Universal, plays Lord Mayor Clive.

A 10 Star mystery thriller for Max Nosseck, who the same year would direct DILLINGER, the consummate crime film biography.

Originally on vhs for years, now on remastered dvd. Thanks to MOVIES Net for running this golden oldie for all us big kids.