It's time to unpack what "Woman of the Hour" got factually right and wrong. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at what’s fact and what’s fiction in “Woman of the Hour.” There will be several spoilers.
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00:00I saw your bachelors backstage. You got a good batch.
00:02Oh really? What are they like?
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we're looking at what's fact and what's fiction in Woman of the
00:10Hour. There will be several spoilers. The whole thing was crazy.
00:15They showed me on stage, the lights went on and here we go.
00:19Yeah.
00:22Number 10. Sally Field was on the dating game.
00:25Right. Desperate for work, Cheryl Bradshaw, portrayed here by Anna Kendrick, books a gig
00:30on the dating game. Although Bradshaw has reservations, her agent insists it'll be
00:35good exposure, citing Sally Field as a former contestant who went on to bigger things.
00:40She's not totally wrong. It still just feels...
00:46Beneath you?
00:47Between starring in the short-lived sitcom Gidget and the more successful The Flying
00:51Nun, Field did appear on the dating game in 1966. Although she initially didn't realize it,
00:57one of the bachelors was a surf instructor on Gidget and another dated Field in high school.
01:02Two gentlemen out of your past.
01:04Who can you have? There's no one else left.
01:07Oh yes, there's number three back there with his cream of wheat.
01:10Ironically, Field wound up selecting the bachelor she hadn't met before.
01:13Field is far from the only person who found fame after the dating game,
01:17which featured the likes of Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
01:22Well let's see if you understand this, playing around.
01:25Playing around with what?
01:29We might have to take a little time with you.
01:32Number nine. Host Ed Burke. Wrong.
01:35You're an intelligent girl, anyone can see that. When you get on that stage though,
01:38I don't want you to play so smart, all right? The guys are getting intimidated, you know,
01:43boys are babies. Right. So I just, that's right, I just need you to laugh and smile just over and
01:48over. Arriving on set, Bradshaw immediately finds herself at odds with the host of the dating game,
01:53Ed Burke. More concerned with what she's wearing rather than what's on her mind,
01:57Burke instructs Bradshaw to smile and ask simple questions. When she goes rogue,
02:02Burke has some vulgar words for her. Do you think I went too far?
02:07I think he thinks you went too far. Burke is a fictional character,
02:10standing in for Jim Lang, who hosted the show throughout its original run. While they may have
02:15glasses and hairdos in common, Lang wasn't mean-spirited or condescending toward female
02:20guests like Burke. When Lang started his career in local radio, he recalled the higher-ups wanting
02:25a man to cover sports and a woman to cover dance. Lang described this as, quote, very sexist,
02:30sounding like the opposite of Ed Burke. Well, Gloria Steinem would be proud.
02:34You're being a little hard on the boys, aren't you, Cheryl? Oh, I think we're all having fun.
02:38Number 8. Another Bachelor was suspicious of Alcala. Right.
02:44All right, thank you, gentlemen. We have some very fine parting gifts for you right out this way.
02:48The film depicts Rodney Alcala clashing behind the scenes with fellow contestant Arnie Aslan.
02:53Bachelor number two was actually named Jed Mills, an actor who went on to appear in movies like
02:58Casino and shows like Twin Peaks. Meanwhile, the crude Arnie is said to be a furniture designer.
03:04While Arnie Aslan isn't meant to resemble Jed Mills,
03:07neither would want to be left alone with Alcala. Mills found Alcala to be, quote,
03:11creepy, especially when they were in the green room and he said, quote,
03:15I always get my girl. He might not have warned Bradshaw, as Arnie does in the film, but Mills
03:21was right to be skeptical of Alcala. Of course, Mills couldn't have realized that he was sitting
03:25next to a serial killer. When I think about what he said, I always get my girl, he kills him.
03:32That's what he's talking about. Number seven, Bradshaw wrote challenging questions. Wrong.
03:37At first, Bradshaw complies with Burke's request to play nice and stick to the script.
03:41Receiving encouragement from her makeup artist, Bradshaw comes up with wittier questions that'll
03:46put the three bachelors to the test. Sorry, I'm on a diet. Bachelor number one,
03:50how's that theory of special relativity coming along? Groovy, keep at it. Bachelor number three,
03:55what's the difference between a boy and a man? Alcala is the only one who isn't caught off
04:00guard, knowing what Bradshaw and the audience want to hear. The real Cheryl Bradshaw didn't
04:05conceive her own questions on the spot. Rather, she asked more traditional dating game questions,
04:10keeping things upbeat and lighthearted, at least on the surface. Bachelor number one,
04:16I am serving you for dinner. What are you called and what do you look like? For the film,
04:26Anna Kendrick suggested that Bradshaw take control of her surroundings and have some fun.
04:31While Bradshaw rebels against the sexism on set,
04:34her actions ironically bring her closer to a date with Alcala.
04:37What are girls for? Yeah, that's right.
04:42I guess I'd have to say that that's up to the girl.
04:47That's a very good answer. Oh yeah, we love that.
04:50Number six, Bradshaw had acting experience. Right. Woman of the Hour establishes Bradshaw
04:56as a young actress struggling to make it in Hollywood. Following her dating game guest spot,
05:00she leaves L.A. in the rearview mirror. Right now, MGM is looking for an unknown
05:05brunette for this big thriller they've got, and they do want to see a swimsuit photo before you
05:09can audition. Yeah, I'm not going to do that. Well, they think you make an exception. No,
05:12not just this audition, all of it. Although based on a real person, Kendrick has acknowledged that
05:18Bradshaw is, quote, the most fictionalized piece of the movie, as there isn't much public
05:23information about her. To reflect this, the film changes the spelling of her first name from
05:27Cheryl with a C to Cheryl with an S. I always knew that I wasn't really interested in, like,
05:33hyper-detailed accuracy. You know, the dress I'm wearing is nothing like the dress that Cheryl was
05:39wearing, and those things really didn't matter to me. For all the liberties taken, Bradshaw did come
05:44from an acting background. During her dating game appearance, Bradshaw was said to be a drama
05:49teacher originally from Phoenix, Arizona. Bradshaw eventually moved on from California,
05:54the dating game being her most notable screen credit. Right now. Right now, anytime. Right here
06:00in front of everybody, huh? Now's the best time. Anytime, huh? Number five, Alcala was Bachelor
06:07Number Three. Wrong. While Alcala did indeed appear on The Dating Game, Woman of the Hour
06:12restructures several elements regarding his episode. Namely, the film implies that Alcala
06:17was Bachelor Number Three, when in reality, he was Bachelor Number One. Number one, would you say
06:22hello to Cheryl, please? We're gonna have a great time together, Cheryl. From a dramatic standpoint,
06:27it makes sense for the film to introduce the other two bachelors before revealing Number Three,
06:32who we already know is a cold-blooded killer. The film also leaves out some of Alcala's more
06:37unsettling moments from the actual episode. Come on, over here.
06:41Answering Bradshaw's questions, Alcala said that his favorite time was night, since that's when,
06:46quote, it really gets good. He also compared himself to a banana, asking Bradshaw to peel him.
06:54Later, Bachelor One, later. It sounded playful at the time, but Alcala's answers carry a more
06:59sinister sentiment now. Number four, Alcala took photos of victims. Right, Woman of the Hour
07:06doesn't cover everything, but its depiction of Rodney Alcala is mostly accurate. Alcala attended
07:11New York University, taking Roman Polanski's class. He's the short guy who directed Repulsion
07:17and Rosemary's Baby. Are those movies, or? What do you mean? You're killing me. I'm trying to
07:22name drop here. Drop away now. No, because you don't know who I'm talking about, so it's not
07:26as impressive. Moving to the West Coast, Alcala had a short stint at the Los Angeles Times,
07:32although he worked as a typesetter and not a photographer. However, Alcala did convince many
07:36people that he took photos professionally. He even showed his co-workers photos of young girls,
07:41claiming their moms asked him to take them. Now look right into the lens, right here,
07:46and give me that look you just gave me. Come on, there she is. Look at you, one more. You know,
07:54Farrah Fawcett, she's got nothing on you. While some found this odd, the pictures told a desperate
07:59While some found this odd, the pictures told a deadlier story than anticipated. After the authorities caught up to Alcala,
08:05they released 120 of his photos, hoping to identify victims. As the film portrays, Alcala
08:12would often strangle and revive victims before killing them. Whether it's for a minute, or for an
08:18hour, I'd like to sit relatively close to a special girl, whenever I get the chance.
08:26A victim's friend was in the audience. Wrong. Nicolette Robinson plays Laura, a dating game
08:31audience member who recognizes Alcala as the man who sexually assaulted and murdered her friend.
08:36Laura attempts to tell a security guard and the police, but nobody takes her seriously.
08:41George Elliott, he's an executive producer on the dating game. Do you know where I could find him?
08:47It's very important that I speak with him. I doubt that very much. Why?
08:56Because I'm George Elliott. Although many can relate to Laura's frustrating experience, the character
09:01is fictional. It's also worth noting that before moving to California, Alcala had already been
09:06arrested multiple times, made the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, and was incarcerated for over a year.
09:13He was hired by the Los Angeles Times to work as a typesetter. He took photos at weddings,
09:17and he was a registered sex offender during all of that, and nobody ever checked. This made it all
09:23the more shocking that Alcala not only landed a spot on the dating game, but his appearance did
09:28little to raise his criminal profile. Even if somebody had recognized Alcala from his episode,
09:33they might have hit the same roadblocks as Laura. I did. I did file a report in December of last year,
09:40and I don't know what else to tell you. This man, he was on national television. Look, I don't know who
09:46you spoke with. I don't know who I spoke with either. How many times? You forget.
09:52Number 2. The Teenage Hitchhiker. Right. It's been theorized that Alcala claimed as many as 130
09:58lives. The film highlights several victims, including a teenage runaway modeled after Monique
10:04Hoyt. Named Amy here, the character is seduced by Alcala, who proceeds to sexually assault her.
10:09Woman of the Hour switches around some of the locations and doesn't depict all of the atrocities
10:14that Alcala put Hoyt through. That said, Hoyt did suffer at Alcala's hands. I'm gonna take a leak.
10:20You want something? I'm okay. As shown in the film, Hoyt gave Alcala the slip at a gas station
10:26and alerted the authorities. Alcala would be arrested, although his mother bailed him out.
10:31This allowed Alcala to kill at least two more individuals before being apprehended again.
10:35This time, Alcala would be put away for good, dying behind bars in 2021. Alcala was sentenced
10:41to death in 2010 for five murders in California between 1977 and 1979.
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11:05Number 1. Bradshaw went on a date with Alcala. Wrong. Although Bradshaw ultimately chose Alcala,
11:11Woman of the Hour adds another chapter. I guess I'll see you in Carmel.
11:18I mean, do you want to go somewhere now? After the show's taping, Alcala asks Bradshaw out for
11:23drinks. Bradshaw is initially charmed by The Bachelor, but it doesn't take long for her to
11:28realize something is off. So I guess this means we're not really meeting up in Carmel anymore?
11:36Yeah, I'm not going anywhere with you. Alcala attempts to corner her in the parking lot.
11:40Once several witnesses arrive on the scene, Bradshaw manages to get away unharmed. While
11:45it makes for a more intense final act, the real Bradshaw immediately got, quote,
11:50weird vibes from Alcala after meeting him face-to-face. Despite winning tennis lessons,
11:55Bradshaw called contestant coordinator Ellen Metzger, saying she wasn't comfortable going
12:00on a date with this, quote, very strange man. Metzger sympathized with Bradshaw,
12:04whose instincts about Alcala likely saved her life.
12:07The question beneath the question remains the same.
12:13All right, what's the question? Which one of you will hurt me?
12:17Which true crime stories do you think would make interesting movies? Let us know in the comments.
12:22I felt looked at.
12:26How do you feel right now?
12:28Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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