On Screen: “Woman of the Hour”
Woman of the Hour
Anna Kendrick makes her impressive directorial debut with “Woman of the Hour,” a dark comedic drama, loosely based on a bizarre true-life pop culture incident that occurred on daytime television on September 13, 1978.
That’s when a serial killer named Rodney Alcala was not only one of the three competing bachelors on “The Dating Game,” he confidently won a date with the featured bachelorette.
Working from a terse script by Ian MacAllister McDonald, Kendrick skillfully elevates this cautionary tale into a tense thriller by weaving non-chronological fragments from several of Alcala’s previous predatory homicidal encounters — from 1971 to 1979 — into a cohesive story.
Spunky Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) is an ambitious young actress struggling to carve a career in Hollywood. Problem is: she won’t do nudity and she’s far too savvy for most of the low-budget auditions that her agent arranges.
Then she’s cast as a bachelorette on TV’s “The Dating Game.” Of course, frustrated Sheryl realizes the misogynistic show is trashy and the host (Tony Hale) is smarmy, but, at least, it affords her the opportunity to be seen.
Compared with the other clueless bachelor contestants, slick Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), who presents himself as a photographer, knows how to twist a conversation to his favor as he answers Sheryl’s questions.
There’s some behind-the-scenes insight when Sheryl’s makeup artist notes that her real query should be “Which one of you will hurt me?”
What turns out to be most terrifying is what comes later, particularly when Laura (Nicolette Robinson), an audience member, recognizes Alcala as the man who murdered her friend in Malibu and tries to report him to the police. It’s too bad that Kendrick never delved more into the obvious ineptitude of law enforcement.
In 1980, Alcala was finally convicted of seven grisly rapes and murders, although it’s believed that he may have committed as many as 130. He died on death row in 2021.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Woman of the Hour” is a sleazy, sinister 7, streaming on Netflix.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.
During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie and drama critic, syndicating her reviews and articles around the world, including Video Librarian. She has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. In 2017, her book 150 Timeless Movies was published by Hannacroix Creek Books. Her website is www.susangranger.com.