True crime as fiction: The real story behind Netflix film Woman of the Hour

True crime stories are regularly turned into scripted films and series these days. Ryan Murphy successfully turned the horrific story of Jeffrey Dahmer into a Netflix series, followed by his recently released version of the crimes of Erik and Lyle Menendez; heck, even The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was supposedly inspired by a true story.

Netflix will be presenting another film based on real events next month when Woman of the Hour makes its debut. Anna Kendrick makes her directorial debut in the Netflix film, while also starring in the lead role of Sheryl Bradshaw.

We have yet to see how the film version of the tale will pan out, but the real story is plenty bizarre, so let’s dig into the story of Rodney Alcala AKA “The Dating Game Killer.”

Alcala seemed like just a normal guy in his early years. He attended Montebello High School in LA, and has always been described as being intelligent, fairly popular, and having plenty of friends. He was on the yearbook staff and ran track…just a normal teen.

Fresh out of high school, Alcala joined the Army, and his commanding officer did not describe him as “normal.” Instead, he found him to be manipulative, disrespectful, and even violent towards young women. When he went AWOL in 1964, he was evaluated and diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.

Alcala’s first noted crime took place in 1968, when a passing driver noticed a man luring an 8-year-old girl into his apartment. Thankfully, the motorist called the police, who went into the apartment and found the girl still alive after having been beaten with a steel bar and sexually assaulted. By that time, Alcala was gone, and headed for New York, where he enrolled at NYU under the name John Berger.

Then came the rape and murder of 23-year-old Cornelia Crilley, who was strangled in her own apartment. Before he could be accused of that crime, he was arrested for the LA charges and sent back to California. Unfortunately, the child he had assaulted had moved to Mexico with her family, and Alcala could only be charged with child molestation, which he served 17 months for.

Two months after his release, he assaulted a 13-year-old girl. He served two more years in prison, then was paroled. Astoundingly, his parole officer allowed him to travel to New York City, where it is believed that he he killed Ellen Jane Hoover.

Between 1977 and 1979, Alcala abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered at least four young women. In February of 1979, he picked up a 15-year-old hitchhiker named Monique Hoyt, raped her and hit her over the head with a rock. She was able to escape.

It was in LA in 1978, where Alcala worked for the LA Times, often posing as a fashion photographer. He took photos (often nude) of dozens and dozens of young women and men, and law enforcement still believes that at least some of the photographed individuals may be the victims in cold cases.

It was also in 1978 when Alcala was a contestant on a game show called The Dating Game. He presented himself as a successful photographer who also enjoyed skydiving and riding his motorcycle, and he actually won. The young woman who chose him was Cheryl Bradshaw, but she ultimately did not follow through on their planned date, describing him as “creepy.”

Some criminal profilers think the rejection may have sent him into a murderous spiral, because he killed at least three women after his appearance on the show.

His crime spree ended in June of 1979, when he was finally captured after killing 12-year-old Robin Christine Samsoe. He ultimately received a death sentence, but died in prison at the age of 77.

Rodney Alcala’s crimes were vast, and he likely killed many more women than Law enforcement was able to prove. It will be interesting to see how much of his story Woman of the Hour will cover, especially since the game show piece of the story is relatively small in comparison to the rest of his history in crime.