The Boston Strangler (film) The Boston Strangler (film) The Boston Strangler is a 1968 American neo-noir film loosely based on the true story of the Boston Strangler and the book by Gerold Frank. It was directed by Richard Fleischer, and stars Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and Henry Fonda as John S. Bottomly, the chief detective who came to fame for obtaining DeSalvo's confession. Curtis was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The cast also featured George Kennedy and the film debut of Sally Kellerman. After three murders of elderly women, with all victims being strangled and penetrated with
The Boston Strangler (film) free and bites his hand. DeSalvo then flees. Later, he tries to enter the apartment of another woman, only to find that her husband is home. DeSalvo is apprehended by a passing police patrol. Found incompetent to stand trial for attempted breaking and entering, he is committed to a hospital for psychiatric observation. By chance, Bottomly and Detective Phil DiNatale (George Kennedy) pass by DeSalvo in an elevator, where they had been visiting the woman who survived the earlier attack. Observing the wound on DeSalvo's hand (the woman who survived attack could remember biting him but not his appearance), the