Warning: This article contains spoilers forWoman of the Hour.
One of the tensest scenes inWoman of the Hoursees police officers questioning Rodney Alcala at the L.A. Times — but why were the cops questioning him in the first place? Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut tells the shocking true story of a notorious serial killer who appeared as a bachelor on the TV showThe Dating Gamein 1978. It’s framed through the perspective ofcontestant Cheryl Bradshaw, played by Kendrick, who unwittingly agrees to go on a date with Alcala (and wisely calls it off when she picks up on his sinister vibes).
The movie primarily focuses on Cheryl and Alcala’s appearance onThe Dating Game, but that storyline is intercut with various flashbacks and flashforwards to key events in Alcala’s murder spree. It shows his M.O. — luring unsuspecting women out to an isolated location by promising to kickstart their modeling career — and atthe end ofWoman of the Hour, it shows how he was eventually caught. Throughout his years as a serial killer, Alcala mostly avoids any trouble with the law, but one unexplained scene shows him being questioned by the police.
The Police Were Actually Questioning Rodney Alcala About The Hillside Strangler Case
Alcala Was A Suspect Because He Was A Known Sex Offender
One of the film’s most suspenseful sequences sees Alcala bragging about his adventures to anyone who will listen at the offices of the L.A. Times. One of his colleagues comes over and tells him there are some people there who would like to see him. He assumes it’s more admirers, but it turns out it’s the police. While the movie shows Alcala being questioned by the police (and looking pretty nervous that they’ll figure out who he is),it never reveals what the questioning was actually about.
Woman Of The Hour Fact Check: Did Rodney Alcala Really Have 130 Victims?
Woman of the Hour’s epilogue reveals Rodney Alcala had close to 130 victims, making it hard not to wonder if the real number was actually that high.
In real life,Alcala was questioned at the Times by members of the Hillside Strangler task force, due to his status as a known sex offender. The Hillside Strangler murders had begun with the deaths of two sex workers, so authorities were looking into locals who had previously been found guilty of sexual violence, and that included Alcala. Although the Hillside Strangler was initially believed to be one killer, it later turned out to be two killers — Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono — working together.
Woman Of The Hour Leaves Out Rodney Alcala’s Larger Connection To The Hillside Strangler
Some Of Alcala’s Victims Were Wrongly Attributed To The Hillside Strangler
Alcala was ruled out as the Hillside Strangler, as is suggested by the fact that the movie never follows up on the police questioning scene, but there is a connection between Alcala and the Hillside Strangler(s) thatWoman of the Hourleaves out.Some of Alcala’s victims were thought to be victims of the Hillside Stranglerbefore Alcala was finally caught and his murders came to light. As revealed at the end ofWoman of the Hour, Alcala was arrested in the summer of 1979, sometime between the arrest of the first Hillside Strangler and the arrest of his partner.
Woman of the Hour
Cast
Woman of the Hour is a biographical thriller directed by Anna Kendrick, who also stars in the film. The movie chronicles the infamous real-life story of Cheryl Bradshaw’s appearance on the 1978 edition of The Dating Game, where one of the contestants, Rodney Alcala, would later be revealed as a notorious serial killer. The film delves into the chilling intersection of entertainment and true crime.
