Karloff is on the Case to Reveal the Real "Haunted Strangler"- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- we have an eerie tale from a little later in the great Boris Karloff’s career- where he portrays a man out to prove the innocence of a man executed for murder- not realizing that discovering the knife used for the killings will have a devastating effect on his own self! Victorian London soon finds itself fearful of the “Haunted Strangler”!

In this 1958 chiller, we witness the hanging of the man dubbed the “Haymarket Strangler”, one Edward Styles, accused of the brutal murder of five women. As an indifferent and jeering crowd observe his final moments, he claims he is innocent- to no avail.

Twenty years later- a distinguished social reformer and author, James Rankin, after some research, feels that Styles was indeed innocent, and begins his quest to prove it! He enlists his assistant, young Dr. McColl, who also, unbeknownst to Rankin, is in love with his daughter, Lily, and the two begin to search for clues. One curious fact- Dr. Tennent who did the autopsies on all the victims was involved in a scandal and disappeared- as did the knife used to commit the horrible acts. Rankin thinks that knife could reveal a great deal, and sets out to find it- and possibly the whereabouts of the missing Tennent.

His obsession with the case begins to worry everyone, including his wife Barbara, and begins to anger police superintendent Burk. Rankin tracks down witnesses, including one of the showgirls at a seedy nightspot known as the Judas Hole, where the strangler trolled for victims. Tracking down the missing knife, he resorts to illegal activities including bribery- but he does finally find the knife!

However, when Rankin touches the knife- he seems possessed! He undergoes a physical transformation with all the features attributed to the Haymarket Strangler- and, even worse, sets out in search of new victims! More secrets are revealed- and more murders have the populace afraid that the Strangler has returned!

It's interesting to see Karloff, even later in his career as a senior citizen, still proving his great skills, not just as a horror star, but as an actor. It’s amazing that his transformation into the killer was pulled off with NO horror make-up whatsoever! We’ll talk about that, about the actors in this film, and more- plus, provide a new twist on a famous character who talked to the animals, do a song that plays off some of the dancing at the Judas Hole, and present a special interview with an actress who has dealt with more modern killers in movies- but is also a fine comic actress.

We do want to caution more sensitive viewers that there are moments of violence in this film that may be upsetting to some- and we once again ask our commenters to refrain from any spoilers- so as not to ruin anyone’s enjoyment of this movie- and that includes showing respect to those who watch the show in the pacific time zone.

“Haunted Strangler” starts to prowl the airwaves tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. We continue to be among the higher trending topics on Twitter during the show, thanks to the live Tweets by our viewers, using the hashtag #svengoolie -and MeTV invites you to join in. Our Chicago area audience will get another chance to marvel at Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion artistry in “Earth VS the Flying Saucers” at 11 am on our main local station, CW26.

Be watching for some seasonal Sven merchandise in our store!

Join us tonight for Karloff- still monstrous after all those years!