Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > The Deliberate Stranger (1986) (TV)

The Deliberate Stranger (1986) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 4 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   647 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Marvin J. Chomsky
Writers:
Hesper Anderson (writer)
Richard W. Larsen (book)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Deliberate Stranger on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 May 1986 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Thriller more
Plot:
Based on a true story, this film depicts the life of Theodore Robert Bundy, the serial killer. In 1974... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations more
User Comments:
The smiler with a knife more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mark Harmon ... Ted Bundy

Frederic Forrest ... Det. Bob Keppel
George Grizzard ... Richard Larsen
Ben Masters ... Det. Mike Fisher

Glynnis O'Connor ... Cas Richter

M. Emmet Walsh ... Det. Sam Davies

John Ashton ... Det. Roger Dunn
Bonnie Bartlett ... Louise Bundy
Billy Green Bush ... Officer Bradley (Provo detective)
Frederick Coffin ... Jerry Thompson
Deborah Goodrich ... Martha Chambers
Lawrence Pressman ... Ken Wolverton

Macon McCalman ... Larsen's editor
Jeanetta Arnette ... Mrs. Richter
William Boyett ... Aspen detective
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
185 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Continuity: One of the guys in the line-up (which takes place in Colorado) is played by the same guy who also played one of the anonymous "Teds" being interrogated by the Seattle police. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Turbulence (1997) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
The smiler with a knife, 9 August 2002
Author: Robert J. Maxwell (rmax304823@yahoo.com) from Deming, New Mexico

Considerably above average for a TV made-for. There may be factual changes in the story as shown here but, to someone not familiar with the details of Bundy's career, they can't be too damaging. And the film sort of stands by itself as a craftsmanlike piece of work on the part of just about everyone concerned with it. Marvin Chomsky directed with economy and efficiency, except perhaps for a bit too much complaining and self-pity on the part of police officers. He was faced with a problem, namely that viewers already knew how the story "came out," and has at least made an attempt at heightening the suspense by showing only Bundy's shoes plodding along the dark streets before each murder, until his last awful blood feast, when we see his face twisted with passion. Mark Harmon, who elsewhere gives performances that an especially handsome mannequin could turn in, is surprisingly good. He has that phony self-revealing charm, that fleeting smile, that serves as a mask of sanity. He also gives a bang-on definition of "sociopath" to Dick Larson on the other side of the prison bars. There is some disagreement among knowledgeable visitors to the courtroom when in the course of defending himself Bundy begins to choke up with emotion. "What a performance," mutters one of the cops. "Or maybe," says Larson, "he really is feeling the suffering himself." Well, Dick -- sorry, but the cop was right. It isn't that sociopaths (or anti-social personality disorder, unsocialized type, as they're now called) don't feel their own suffering; it's just that it's fleeting. (There is a pattern that appears in responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory that is known to clinicians as "the caught psychopath" pattern.) There's a lot of depression, yes, but it disappears quickly because sociopaths are so adaptable, so good at exploiting their environments. Bundy is shown constantly cadging butts from friendly visitors. A good sociopath would care much more about the cigarettes than the affection they're getting. Serial killers (the term didn't really exist until about the time Bundy appeared on the scene) are intrinsically fascinating because there is no part of most of us that can begin to understand their motives. Most homicides take place between friends and relatives. We murder them because they are in a position to hurt us. We value their opinions of us. But the ghastly murder of one stranger after another leaves us stunned. We can't identify ourselves with the killer and we are in awe of someone who has so abused the ritual codes of the communities we draw our shared identities from. It's like mother-son incest. The pop stuff about Bundy going to Florida because he wanted to be caught and punished is a lot of bunkum. And I always wonder, when I read books or see movies about guys like this, how they get around the way they do? Let's see. Bundy squeezes out of his cell somewhere in the mountains of Colorado. There is a glimpse of him striding through O'Hare in Chicago. Then he turns up in Talahassee, Florida. He escaped with nothing more than the clothes on his back. How did he get from Colorado to Florida in the total absence of material resources? How could he buy a new wardrobe? How could he plunk down a month's rent on a room, plus one month's deposit? A footnote: When Lisa Birnbach was doing interviews for her College Book in the early 1980s, virtually none of the students at FSU, including members of the sorority that the victims had belonged to, knew who Ted Bundy was. Sic transit gloria Bundi.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Deliberate Stranger (1986) (TV)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
DVD release Honeymud
Fine depiction of Bundy's criminal career, but with one problem... GIRobotII
I'm desperate DVD release simplement76
The Deliberate Stranger on MonsterVision mrwhitethc
reply to rmax304823 howdymax
the deliberate stranger bweiler624
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Ted Bundy Tightrope Black Christmas Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh Sleepaway Camp
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits IMDb Crime section
IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.