H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

John Borowski

Writer:

John Borowski (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime | History

Tagline:

The Castle. The Murders. The Monster.

Plot:

Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.

Plot Keywords:

1890s | Murder | Murderer | Serial Killer | Chicago Illinois

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tony Jay	...	Narrator (voice)
Harold Schechter	...	Himself, Author "Depraved"
Thomas Cronin	...	Himself, Criminal Profiler
Marian Caporusso	...	Herself, Programs Section Chief, Illinois State Police Forensic Science Center
Ed Bertagnoli	...	Chicago Police Officer
Cary Callison	...	Chicago Detective
Willy Laszlo	...	H.H. Holmes
Rachelle Villarreal	...	Alice Pitezel
Audrey Welling	...	Castle Victim
Beka	...	Carrie Pitezel (voice)
Tom Ciappa	...	(voice)
Sarah Mills	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
H.H. Holmes	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
John Borowski

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Borowski		writer

Produced by
John Borowski	....	producer
Dimas Estrada	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Douglas Romayne

Cinematography by
John Borowski
Frey Hoffman

Art Department
Rick Geary	....	castle floorplans

Sound Department
James Cohen	....	boom operator
Darin Heinis	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Murray	....	sound designer
John Murray	....	sound effects editor (as John F. Murray)
Terry Schilling	....	sound mixer

Other crew
John Borowski	....	researcher
Andrew Cinquino	....	production assistant
Jennie Cisna	....	researcher
Roland Gibbs	....	special set constructor
Eric Richter	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Waterfront Productions

Distributors

• Blackhorse Entertainment (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Dream Entertainment (2005-????) (non-USA) (all media)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Hiltz Squared Entertainment (2006) (Canada) (TV)

Runtime:

USA:64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Waterfront Productions

Ghost Face Killer

If you are a fan of True Crime, H.H.HOLMES:America's First Serial Killer, is a short, but informative biography of one of America's lesser known, yet spectacular, mass murderers. The fact that Dr. Holmes was able to construct a 'Murder Mansion' in the center of Chicago, and then freely troll the 1893 Worlds Columbian Expositon for victims is nothing short of astonishing. This structure, which took up an entire city block, and included living quarters, shops, and rooms for rent, was honeycombed with numerous torture chambers, execution rooms, and secret passages. Many graves and burial sites were linked to H.H. Holmes, yet rarely was there enough evidence to positively connect him to the bodies. In the late 19th century The Bertillon Method was employed to identify victims. This was a system which used physical comparisons of body parts, and for the most part, was based on conjecture and guess work. The Bertillon Method was the cornerstone of forensic science at the time, and fingerprint technology was still several years in the future. This huge deficit in investigative procedure allowed Holmes to get away with many of his crimes, and it makes one wonder how many of his sinister and horrific killings remain undetected to this day. Everyone is familiar with Jack The Ripper, however H.H. Holmes is, by far, a more terrifying and baleful figure. The film employs a fairly effective use of 'voice over, and archival photos to examine this most gruesome individual. This entire documentary can be streamed at You Tube.