Warning: this article discusses murder and sexual violence.
Contains SPOILERS for Woman of the Hour.Netflix’sWoman of the Hourmarks Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut and explores the astonishing story of serial killer Rodney Alcala.Kendrick additionally stars as Cheryl Bradshaw inWoman of the Hour, a struggling actress in 1977 Los Angeles who is booked for an appearance onThe Dating Game,a show made popular by actress Sally Field. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) is one of her potential bachelors, and he is looking for his next victim. While Rodney is not caught during this television appearance, he is apprehended by the police two years later, in 1979.
Woman of the Houris based on a true story. In the end,Rodney lures a young teenage runaway named Amy (Autumn Best) into the desert with promises of launching her modeling career in 1979, only to instead assault and rape her. Instead of immediately fighting back, she assures him that everything is fine, and asks that he keep their encounter a secret to save her from embarrassment. She then gets back in his car, and makes her escape when he parks at a gas station, running to a diner and calling the police, resulting in his arrest. However,Alcala’s story does not end where the movie ends.
Rodney Alcala Was Arrested Multiple Times Before Police Figured Out He Was A Serial Killer
Alcala Was Not Apprehended As The Killer In His First Arrest
In reality, Rodney Alcala was arrested a number of timesbefore he was ultimately convicted of the serial killings. The film includes several real details fromRodney Alcala’s life, including his time spent studying under Roman Polanskiat New York University following his graduation from UCLA’s School of the Arts. While the film depicts Alcala’s brief interaction with police while he works atThe Los Angeles Times,the film does not depict the number of arrests leading up to Alacala’s ultimate apprehension.
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.
The real Alcala narrowly escaped arrest in the 1968beating and sexual assault of 8-year-old Tali Shapiro. Shapiro only survived because a neighbor called the police to the scene upon seeing Alcala luring the child into his home (viaABC 2020). After fleeing the scene for New York City, where he enrolled in New York University to study film, he committed several murders, notably that of 23-year-old flight attendant Cornelia Crilley. AsWoman of the Hourmentions, Alcala moved on to New Hampshire, where he obtained a job at a girl’s arts camp as a counselor under the name John Berger.
Two campers recognized his face from a poster, and called the authorities. Here, Alcala was arrested, and ultimatelypleaded guilty to child molestation, agreeing to register as a sex offender in 1971. As Shaprio’s family relocated to Mexico following her attack, they refused to permit their daughter to testify. Without her testimony, Alcala was unable to be charged with attempted murder (viaPEOPLE). Alcala served three years in prison for child molestation, and was released on parole in 1974. He then assaulted another 13-year-old girl and was arrested and imprisoned for another two years until 1976 (viaOC Weekly).
How Robin Samsoe’s Murder Led To Rodney Alcala Finally Getting Caught
Alcala Committed A Series Of Murders After Serving Time In Prison On Molestation Charges
Following his consecutive prison sentences in the 1970s, Alcala moved back to New York City, where he committed a string of murders ahead of his return to Los Angeles. He then worked as a typesetter atThe Los Angeles Times,and made his now notorious appearance onThe Dating Game. In reality, Amy’s story inWoman of the Hourwas not the final time that Alcala was arrested. The killer picked up 15-year-old hitchhiker Monique Hoyt in California, where he photographed and raped her. When Hoyt did escape to a diner and call the authorities, Alcala’s mother later posted his bail (viaKABC).
The murder that actually resulted in Alcala’s final arrest was the 1979 killing of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.Samsoe was kidnapped, beaten, raped, and stabbed, and discarded on the side of Santa Anita Canyon Road in Huntington Beach, California. After Samsoe’s friends identified a sketch of Alcala as the man who asked to take their photograph, Alcala’s parole officer put two and two together, and Alcala was arrested for the final time. He was tried and convicted of her murder in 1980 (viaThe Los Angeles Times).
Rodney Alcala’s Appeals & Convictions Explained
Alcala Ultimately Died In Prison in 2021
Following Alcala’s first conviction, he was initially sentenced to death.In 1984, his conviction was overturned after jurors revealed they were not informed of his prior sex crimes. The second trial yielded a guilty verdict and death sentence yet again, but was later overturned after Alcala filed a habeas corpus petition. In preparing for a third prosecution in2003, with updated technology, authorities placed Alcala at the scene of more crimes than initially anticipated. He was indicted in five further California murders, and attempted to defend himself in court in 2010, resulting in a third death sentence (viaCBS News).
The killer later filed two lawsuits regarding a prison injury and the lack of low-fat food in prison (viaThe New York Times). In 2012, Alcala was extradited to New York to answer for his crimes, a state that outlawed the death penalty in 2007. As a result, he was instead sentenced to 25 years to life in prison when he returned to imprisonment in California. Alcala died of natural causes at a hospital in Kings County in 2021.
…the film focuses primarily on his appearance onThe Dating Gameand surrounding murder sprees, but the brief epilogue outlines Alcala’s death and conviction.
Despite the eight convictions, authorities are still working to identify countless unidentified photographs of Alcala’s victims, with thepotential number of victims standing at around 130(viaAP). The trials and convictions are not seen inWoman of the Hour,as the film focuses primarily on his appearance onThe Dating Gameand surrounding murder sprees, but the brief epilogue outlines Alcala’s death and conviction. The crimes depicted inWoman of the Hourare based on Alcala’s real murders, but the film instead opted to showcase how one woman’s intuition allowed her to narrowly escape a gruesome fate.
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.
