The true crime movie of the hour. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re unpacking the true story behind the shocking serial-killer flick, “Woman of the Hour.”
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're unpacking the true story
00:04behind the shocking serial killer flick,
00:06Woman of the Hour.
00:08I don't date much. I don't date at all, actually.
00:12But you decided to go to the dating game.
00:14In a 1978 episode of The Dating Game,
00:17in which a bachelorette questions three bachelors hidden behind a wall,
00:21Cheryl Bradshaw took the stage to find her perfect match.
00:25Seated on the other side was Rodney Alcala,
00:28intent on proving he was the one for her.
00:30However, Alcala had far more sinister intentions than just scoring a date,
00:36which would all come to light soon after.
00:38So what really took place during that infamous taping?
00:42What was behind Alcala's eerie smile?
00:44And how close to reality is Woman of the Hour?
00:47Whether it's for a minute or for an hour,
00:51I'd like to sit relatively close to a special girl.
00:55Here's everything you need to know about the dating game killer
00:58and the woman who strayed into his path.
01:02Woman of the Hour
01:04The film Woman of the Hour serves as Anna Kendrick's directorial debut
01:08and covers the crimes of serial killer Rodney Alcala.
01:12Though authorities believe he may have claimed upwards of 130 victims,
01:17the story focuses on one who got away.
01:20Kendrick stars as Cheryl Bradshaw.
01:23So this is Cheryl.
01:24Yeah, hi.
01:25While the main draw is certainly the terror of Alcala's acts,
01:29the story largely takes place from Cheryl's perspective.
01:33There's so much light on her, and very little light on you.
01:36You can't really read his intentions.
01:38Though Kendrick acknowledges that many aspects of the narrative
01:42are fictionalized, the details of the real case
01:44are as harrowing as they are inconceivable.
01:47If you have this narcissistic character,
01:49and suddenly someone turns him down,
01:51I think he takes his revenge on women in general.
01:54Women as a group.
01:55Anyone becomes fair play.
01:58Rodney Alcala's Backstory
02:01Alcala had a fairly transient childhood,
02:03being moved from place to place after his father abandoned their family.
02:08He was discharged from the army as a young man
02:10when he was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder,
02:14a characteristic ascribed to many other notorious serial killers.
02:18What it refers to, behaviorally,
02:21is someone who does not have a conscience,
02:23does not have remorse,
02:25does not feel a sense of guilt about most of the bad things they do,
02:29is impulsive and violent.
02:31As early as the 60s, Rodney began to get in trouble with the law.
02:35He was even added to the FBI's Most Wanted list
02:38after evading capture in a violent crime involving a young girl.
02:42After eventually being caught and serving 34 months,
02:46he was forced to register as an offender.
02:49Interestingly, he was even considered a person of interest
02:52in the case of the Hillside Strangler murders.
02:55Though he was cleared of those crimes,
02:57he had already been racking up his own body count.
03:00He was re-arrested for another lesser assault after his release.
03:04When he was let out again,
03:05he would resume his cross-state killing spree.
03:09He knows how to sound genuine,
03:11so he's a very accomplished predator.
03:13He sniffs out his prey, identifies their vulnerabilities,
03:16and moves in for the kill.
03:18Bachelor Number One
03:20Shockingly, background checks were simply not a major part
03:22of the casting process in the 70s,
03:25meaning Alcala's dirt stayed buried.
03:27While most serial killers attempt to blend in or keep a low profile,
03:32Alcala boldly projected himself into the spotlight
03:34by both auditioning for and then participating
03:38in an episode of The Dating Game.
03:40He's introduced as a photographer,
03:42a key detail that would come up much later
03:44when police found photos of women believed
03:47to be his victims in his possession.
03:49There are dozens upon dozens of these young women
03:52that in the pictures clearly are in positions
03:54of supreme vulnerability with Rodney Alcala.
03:58Throughout the episode,
03:59Alcala drones on about how much he enjoys the nighttime.
04:02Nighttime's when it really gets good.
04:04Does an impression of a dirty old man.
04:06Come on over here.
04:10And compares himself to a banana waiting to be peeled.
04:13Peel me.
04:15In the end, Cheryl actually chooses Alcala to be her date.
04:19Of course, no one knew that he had already taken several lives
04:23before taking that coveted seat.
04:25Fortunately for Cheryl,
04:27she picked up on his unnerving energy
04:29and backed out of the Magic Mountain theme park date
04:32they'd won together.
04:33This decision could have very well saved her life,
04:36but many others weren't as lucky.
04:38Getting Away With Murder
04:40Between the 60s and 80s,
04:42targets, mostly women and children,
04:45were incredibly vulnerable.
04:47Stranger danger was not as prevalent,
04:49and it was common for young people to roam the world
04:51with fewer precautions.
04:53Police work and forensic science
04:55were not nearly as advanced as they are today,
04:58allowing perpetrators to carry out their slayings
05:00for greater periods of time.
05:02All of these elements worked in Alcala's favor
05:05as his murders occurred throughout the 70s.
05:08His M.O. involved luring unsuspecting victims
05:11to remote locations or to his home photography studio,
05:15where he would carry out unthinkable acts.
05:17She's bound, she's held.
05:20There's something stuffed in her mouth,
05:21obviously to keep her from screaming.
05:23He was largely motivated
05:24by a dominating sexual gratification
05:27and toyed with victims he viewed as prey.
05:30One of the biggest factors in Alcala's ability
05:32to carry out so many murders
05:34was the gender dynamics at play.
05:36At the time, women who pointed out red flags
05:39or even reported instances of abuse at his hands
05:42were effectively dismissed.
05:44Others were too scared to come forward.
05:46This is highlighted in the film, Woman of the Hour,
05:49as Alcala is portrayed as incessantly sleazy,
05:52yet somehow charming enough to manipulate women
05:54into defenseless positions.
05:56You're beautiful, okay?
05:58It's fine.
06:00This presentation lines up
06:02with how producers actually felt about him.
06:04He struck me as strange.
06:07There was an odd, creepy quality about the guy.
06:10He was just very attractive,
06:12and me and my assistants were like,
06:14yes, this guy has to be on.
06:16In the film, an audience member recognizes Alcala
06:19as someone last seen with a friend who'd vanished,
06:22but she isn't allowed to speak to anyone of authority.
06:25Look, I don't know who you spoke with, all right?
06:29I don't know who I spoke with either.
06:30How many times, you forget.
06:33In the real world,
06:34other women who escaped Alcala's clutches
06:36have come forward to express
06:38how they were attacked by him multiple times.
06:41Rod got into the driver's seat and just took off.
06:46He kept looking up in the rear view mirror
06:49and just with this weird look on his face.
06:51Alcala's undoing.
06:53Alcala's crimes would finally come to light
06:55when an officer recognized him from a police sketch.
06:59He was arrested in July of 1979,
07:02and his disturbing collection of victim photographs
07:04was uncovered.
07:05Police found physical evidence
07:07tying him to the murder scene of Robin Samso.
07:10He was tried and found guilty in 1980.
07:13Alcala was sentenced to death,
07:15and while he sat on death row,
07:17police tied his DNA to several more crimes
07:19around the country.
07:21He was placed at the scene of at least eight murders,
07:23though the true count is likely far higher.
07:26We realized that not only is Rodney Alcala
07:28a vicious murderer in our case,
07:30but in fact, he is the serial killer
07:32that we always suspected him to be.
07:34In July of 2021,
07:36Alcala died in prison of natural causes
07:38at the age of 77.
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07:56Kendrick's vision.
07:58This is not the first time
07:59the dating game killer's story
08:01is being told on screen.
08:03Although the sickening true story
08:04is now receiving a glossy Hollywood makeover,
08:07Kendrick has been clear
08:08that one of her primary goals
08:09was to spotlight the women's experiences,
08:12something that was accomplished
08:13not just with the writing,
08:15but with the cinematography.
08:16I knew I wanted to give that sense of
08:18no escape in the visuals.
08:21There's no one around.
08:22This person could basically close the distance
08:25before Cheryl could even get out of the frame.
08:27It's also telling that the film
08:28focuses on sexism within Hollywood,
08:31a real life issue that's picked apart
08:32in one scene where Kendrick
08:34is judged harshly by casting directors.
08:37That's it, she seems angry.
08:38What about her look?
08:40It's okay.
08:41Kendrick was initially set
08:42to just star in the film,
08:44but when the director had to back out,
08:45she felt strongly enough about the material
08:47that she decided to take the helm.
08:49The film received largely positive reviews,
08:52setting it apart from some of the
08:54smutty true crime entries
08:55that have flooded the market lately.
08:57Woman of the Hour pinpoints
08:59how women in this era
09:00had to effectively coach themselves
09:02to accept a man's point of view,
09:04even when it was unnerving.
09:05No matter what words they use,
09:07the question beneath the question
09:08remains the same.
09:10What's the question?
09:11Which one of you will hurt me?
09:12Today, a movement toward listening to
09:15and believing women,
09:16which has roots in Hollywood,
09:18has made the tragic stories
09:19behind Alcala's victims
09:20even more heartbreaking.
09:22If our modern zeitgeist is the answer
09:25to the historic culture
09:26of deprioritizing women's experiences,
09:28it's important to not only reflect
09:30on how far we've come,
09:32but to continue learning
09:33and remembering the dark places
09:35we came from.
09:37Check out this other recent clip
09:38from Ms. Mojo,
09:39and be sure to subscribe
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