Is ‘Woman of the Hour’ a true story? We fact checked the movie

Spoiler alert! We’re discussing plot points in the new Netflix movie “Woman of the Hour” (streaming now), so beware if you haven’t watched it yet.

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, “Woman of the Hour,” has an implausible plot that, sadly, is ripped right from the headlines.

The movie stars Kendrick as Sheryl, a very close stand-in for Cheryl Bradshaw, a 28-year-old woman who in 1978 went on a popular TV show called “The Dating Game.”

The show’s premise was simple: The bachelorette would ask a few scripted questions of three bachelors hidden behind a large wall, and she would eventually select one for a paid mini-vacation together. Bradshaw chose Rodney Alcala, unaware that he was not only a convicted sex offender who had already served time in prison but also a serial killer.

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“I can understand why it might be surprising to people that this would be something I would choose to do as my first time being a director,” Kendrick says. But what intrigued her about the grim tale was the opportunity to twist a well-worn police procedural drama that focused on men.

“On paper, this story was ready for Hollywood, with an emphasis on maybe a young detective who finally takes on this case, and a determined prosecutor who keeps the criminal behind bars,” she says. “But while those things are facts in this case, it felt emotionally dishonest if I had included that in my film.”

Kendrick chose instead to center “Woman of the Hour” on the countless women who fell victim to Alcala.

We review the facts of this true-crime drama:

Was Rodney Alcala in ‘Woman of the Hour’ really a serial killer?

Yes, Rodney Alcala, who was born in Texas, was finally caught in 1979 and subsequently convicted of murder. Over his 10-year spree, Alcala is believed to have assaulted hundreds and possibly killed more than 100 people.

Alcala was arrested in July 1979 after police found earrings belonging to one of his victims in a Seattle storage locker he had rented. He was sentenced to death but died of natural causes at age 77 in 2021.

Did Rodney Alcala attend NYU and study with Roman Polanski?

In “Woman of the Hour,” Alcala impresses women by telling them he’s a professional photographer who sees something promising in their beauty, and he name-drops that he studied at New York University with Roman Polanski. The real Alcala enrolled at NYU but did not complete his studies. There is no indication he encountered Polanski, by then the celebrated director behind films such as “Rosemary’s Baby,” at the school.

This was a period in the late ’60s and early ’70s when Alcala was a fugitive from crimes in California and had moved to New York to live under an assumed name, John Berger. In “Woman of the Hour,” while in New York, Alcala seduces and kills a flight attendant, played by Kathryn Gallagher, an allusion to various crimes he committed in the area.

How did Rodney Alcala get on ‘The Dating Game’ in 1978?

Alcala made it on the air with “The Dating Game,” a Los Angeles-based TV show, simply by applying to be one of the three bachelors who were featured each episode. There were no rigorous background checks conducted; otherwise, show producers likely would have discovered his criminal record.

On the show as in “Woman of the Hour,” Alcala, sporting long hair and a gap-toothed grin, was introduced by the show’s host (played by Tony Hale in the film) as a photographer “who between takes is skydiving and motorcycling.” Although Bradshaw selected Alcala, she sensed something was off and ultimately did not go on a date with him, a decision that likely saved her life. Alcala was thought to have killed a few other women after her rejection.

Did the real Cheryl Bradshaw choose her own questions to ask the bachelors on ‘The Dating Game’?

No. Kendrick decided to have her character, Sheryl, buck “Dating Game” protocol and ignore the silly and often sexist and suggestive questions the bachelorettes are supposed to ask the three bachelors. Her savvy queries highlight the men’s lack of smarts, with the exception of Alcala.

Says Hale: “That was a great device Anna used to show how this was her character’s opportunity to turn the tables on that sexist culture, even if in the end it does bring her closer to that dangerous place because it leads her to pick Rodney.”