Strangulation has to be a tough way to die, as Alfred Hitchcock portrayed in more than one of his films. See Frenzy, Dial M for Murder or Rope for confirmation that strangulation is not a pretty sight.
The 1968 film The Boston Strangler reportedly presents more fiction than fact, with Tony Curtis as alleged thirteen-time strangler Albert DeSalvo. Not that DeSalvo was a mere "innocent," since he was a career criminal convicted of a number of violent crimes. He may have found what a weak defense it was to say, "Hey, I didn't kill all of them."
Fifty years after the last of the 13 killings, DNA evidence proved that DeSalvo was the guy who committed at least that one. By then he was long dead, after being stabbed in prison in 1973. True or not, the story makes a taut movie. Personally, I don't think violent criminals should be glorified in films. I also don't think a police pursuit should pre-empt our afternoon TV viewing, but nobody is asking for my opinion.
One of the thirteen victims credited to the Boston Strangler, Nina Nichols, was sexually assaulted with a wine bottle during her ordeal, so this particular wine pairing experience has become Not. So. Fun. Let's just say you can have whatever wine you want, and drink a toast to Ms. Nichols, may she rest in peace.
Hammer Films is up next. Their 1959 British horror picture, The Stranglers of Bombay, will serve as a palate cleanser. Any topic involving the British colonial days in India could be considered a horror film, for one side or the other. Considering the time frame, there is no need to refer to this movie as The Stranglers of Mumbai.
In this story, officers of the British East India Company try to eradicate a centuries-old gang of thugs who act as highwaymen, insinuating themselves into traveling groups before robbing them and strangling them to death. I figure the bad guys should have needed a quicker way to take over a caravan - I mean, how many strangulations can you do before somebody notices what is going on? In real life, the Brits took credit for wiping out the scourge, even though there are those who say it was the Brits who created it.
An Indian wine for The Stranglers of Bombay? Could be, if you can find one. Exports of wine from India are taxed out the proverbial ass, making them rather scarce in the U.S. Try an Indian restaurant - that's where I found a fairly nice Viognier from the subcontinent.
Here comes Hitchcock! 1972's Frenzy is about a London serial killer who strangles his victims with his own tie. Before you jump to the conclusion that such an idiot move means he was drunk at the time, consider that he wore a tie pin which had his name on it. "Oh, so he was high, too?"
Tying - ahem - himself to the crimes even tighter, the criminal uses a trunkful of circumstantial evidence to try and frame his friend for the killings. Well, what are friends for, anyway? The television series The Fugitive was only a five-year-old memory at the time of this movie. So, Frenzy's framee becomes a fugitive trying to prove his innocence, while the framer is left making sure he still has both arms.
Look to New Zealand for this wine pairing - Marlborough's Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc. The Kiwi acidity is refreshing enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, even if the film fails to do so.
Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment