A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

The Brighton Strangler does not set out to achieve anything in arduous storytelling, but rather is a cheeky tale that lives in Golden Age "B" movie heaven. Reginald Parker (John Loder) is the lead stage actor in a play called The Brighton Strangler. He has performed the play hundreds of times and has decided he wants to move on because he's played the "Strangler" character for so long. After his final show as the killer, a German blitz bombs the theater almost killing Parker. He is left with a head wound that bungles his mind, leading him to believe he actually is Edward Grey, or The Brighton Strangler. He is then doomed to "act" out his play with innocent people.While the concept is an amusing one and the imagery has some fantastic moments of long stark shadows and hands feeling the rope of a noose, John Loder's performance is just about the most lackluster acting I have ever seen. Everything about him is wooden: his expressions, his tone, and even his posture! It does, however, add to the fun of it all because he looks so silly doing it.Throughout the film there is not really an antagonist opposite of Parker. There is also no suspense drawn from other characters because each victim doesn't figure out what is happening. Parker just tells them what he is going to do. The only person who figures out that something is wrong and then acts upon it doesn't do so until about 10 minutes before the end, probably even less. There is no chase or tension throughout story.While very flawed, The Brighton Strangler is a good fun film that does not try to go beyond its identity. It's a quick easy watch at only 67 minutes. Check it out if you are a fan of old-fashioned pulpy thrillers.Also June Duprez's eyes on the poster are hilarious.

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.

I love British mysteries, and having a mystery done during wartime makes "The Brighton Strangler" even better.The plot is similar to "A Double Life" from 1947, concerning an actor (Ronald Colman) playing Othello who starts strangling women in real life.In this film, an actor, Reginald Parker (John Loder) plays the Brighton Strangler in a long-running play. After closing night, as he's in his dressing room, there's a bombing. The theater is hit, and he's knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he confuses the play with reality, to the extent that he gives his name as Edward Grey, the name of his character. After boarding the train to Brighton, he meets a young WAC (June Duprez) who sees that he's wounded and helps him. He's invited to her home. Little does anyone know that he's following the script of the play.Atmospheric thriller with a great rooftop set at the end. Lots of references to things like clothing coupons and the war.People here are raving about John Loder; I found him fairly one note. I also didn't find the play he appeared in very well directed. The first scene is from the play, and Edward Grey announces to the young woman he's with that he's the Brighton Strangler. There he is, with silk rope in his hand, and she just stands there. . Oh, well, you can't have everything. Really enjoyable.

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?