Ripped from the Headlines!: The Shocking True Stories Behind the Movies’ Most Memorable Crimes

Written by Harold Schechter

Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

Bestselling true-crime master Harold Schechter explores the real-life headline-making psychos, serial murderers, thrill-hungry couples, and lady-killers who inspired a century of classic films.

The necktie murders in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy; Chicago’s Jazz Age crime of passion; the fatal hookup in Looking for Mr. Goodbar; the high school horrors committed by the costumed slasher in Scream. These and other cinematic crimes have become part of pop-culture history. And each found inspiration in true events that provided the raw material for our greatest blockbusters, indie art films, black comedies, Hollywood classics, and grindhouse horrors.

So what’s the reality behind Psycho, Badlands, The Hills Have Eyes, A Place in the Sun, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Dirty Harry? How did such tabloid-ready killers as Bonnie and Clyde, body snatchers Burke and Hare, Texas sniper Charles Whitman Jr., nurse-slayer Richard Speck, and Leopold and Loeb exert their power on the public imagination and become the stuff of movie lore?

In this collection of revelatory essays, true-crime historian Harold Schechter takes a fascinating trip down the crossroads of fact and fiction to reveal the sensational real-life stories that are more shocking, taboo, and fantastic than even the most imaginative screenwriter can dream up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799750697

Harold Schechter

Harold Schechter is a professor of American literature. He is the co-author of THE A TO Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS. He is also the author of a series of acclaimed historical novels featuring Edgar Allan Poe.

Reviews for Ripped from the Headlines!

[Monica Adriano · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. Only downside was the movie spoilers. Otherwise, it was a great book and I was captivated by the crimes and the old movies they inspired. I recommend it!

[Nathaniel Hudson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book and case studies and information about some of the best horror movies of all time

[loraineo_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting selection of the true crimes that inspired over 40 movies,mostly old ones .Appears the author did a lot of research into the criimes, so much detail..Some of the movies I've not seen and plan watch to now.. the kind of book I could read a few chapters at a time.

[pardamustang · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ripped from the Headlines by Harald Schecter looks at a slew of movies inspired by actual crimes. As someone who has an abiding interest in true crime, I thought this would be right up my alley. I did find the true crime parts fascinating.

They were all much older cases though, as were the movies. Some of these crimes have more modern adaptations. Reading about movies I've never seen, and am unlikely to watch got rather boring after a while. There were a few modern ones, such as The Fugitive. The inclusion of a few more recent cases would have been nice. It's not as if there aren't plenty of options! It was interesting to revisit earlier cases though, such as that of Leopold and Loeb, and of course, Dr Sam Shepard, whose case inspired The Fugitive.

The writing and format become repetitive quite quickly. I had to stop and start due to this, so it took me much longer to finish. This is also a nonfiction book, given the true crime aspects. It's listed as fiction, which might be a turn-off to people who might otherwise read it for the true crime aspects.