I have a love/hate with Harold Schechter. I'm a huge true crime fan, along with the majority of America, but I've found that Schechter, who obviously was an incredibly important figure in the behavioral analysis of criminals and creating the idea of a "profile," likes to really pat himself on the back over and over in his books and it starts to grate on you.

However, I recently read one of the novellas he wrote for Amazon, The Pied Piper, and enjoyed it. It was very cut and dried, and not as editorialized as many of his other books, and it was about someone I had never heard about, so I wanted to try this book (shoutout to Netgalley for the ARC).

I am torn on this book. My previous annoyances with the author are not present in this book, which is great. He does give his opinion on many of the movies and actors/actresses, which is fine. But I still wasn't overly impressed with it.

The premise of the book is that there are a lot of movies out there, and many are based on actual crimes people don't know about. I found this surprising, because so many movies (like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) love to say they are "based on real events" even if the connection is tenuous, because it impresses viewers and ups the scare factor. I enjoyed learning about these crimes because I had not heard of many of them. Some are more famous, such as the crimes behind Chicago, Child 44, etc., but others are relatively unknown.

The format seemed off. In some cases, Schechter talked about the movie first, and then the crime. In others, he wrote about the crime first, and then the movie. In the case of Andrei Chikatilo, Schechter wrote about Child 44, in which a serial killer is not recognized by the police because serial killers were considered a "capitalist problem," and in Communist Russia, they would not admit that it could happen; to the Chikatilo murders; to Citizen X, an HBO movie that is based on Chikatilo. The problem is that he describes Child 44, and then says it's a complete work of fiction, discusses Chikatilo, and then discusses Citizen X, which is actually based on the real events. So why was Child 44 in there? Maybe he just liked the movie?

Another thing I had a problem with surprised me - it is INCREDIBLY graphic. Now if you've read about Dahmer, Kemper, Gein, you know people are MESSED UP and capable of things you'd never consider. It's part of what fascinates us about true crime - trying to figure out how a human being can do this to other humans; it's this need to understand why some people do this, but others don't. It's why nature vs. nurture has been a debate in psychology for so long.

However, it's one thing to read a book about Andrei Chikatilo, and to learn about his backstory, and how the first profile written in Russia was written to catch this man, and the methods used to catch him, and how the politics of the country and the time allowed this killer to continue his murders for so long, but it's quite another to just have all of this put into a couple of pages and to have a paragraph detailing EXACTLY everything he did to the children, in a list format. It seemed almost disrespectful, in a way. I mean, I'm reading about Arsenic and Old Lace, this comedy, and the murders that were behind it, and then boom - learning about the most horrific things I've ever read in my life being done to children. It is incredibly jarring and upsetting. If you think I'm being too sensitive, check the spoilers for a brief description so you know if you can handle this or not (spoiler).

I don't think that everyone who picks up this book is going to expect these gory details. They want to know what crimes are behind these movies, sure, but I'm not sure they want to know that Charles Starkweather (spoiler).

Also, I read this on my phone through the kindle app, and there were photos, but they were so small I couldn't see anything at all.

So we have pros: stories I hadn't heard, learning about these movies and actors and actresses, true crime
Cons: photos are too small, writing is too graphic, format seems off

4-5 stars! I thought this was a very intriguing and fantasizing book. It was full of wow stories about movies, I would’ve never guessed were based on reality! I do think a bit too many opinions were added, but I didn’t mind, as I do think sometimes it’s a bit different when it’s in true stories, so I can’t rate it too badly! Overall, if you’re a true crime buff I think you will enjoy the thrills and shocks you will get from this book! Schecter definitely knows what he’s doing when he writes true crime and keeps your interest throughout!
Will make sure to buzz it up on the different platforms and use my low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

I never knew some of the movies listed were real stories!!!! Interesting to read what the movie was about and facts about the true story. Nice read. The chapters are arranged you can read one while on lunch, etc. or, you can read straight through. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review.

I was given a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

I am really disappointed in this book. The bare bones could have made for a 4 or 5 star read. The movie choices are interesting. The cases are interesting. This issue is that the author doesn't know how to be objective. The movie summaries are filled with his opinions of what the movie are about and not the facts. Also over an over I kept being bothered by how he described women. Their bodies, their sexual behavior and more. I found that the author could not but help to constantly describe women's bodies when he didn't need to. Also the fatphobia in the Honeymoon Killers was just too much. When writing nonfiction you're supposed to be objective. This book fails at that. Also I noticed a couple factual errors in the crimes he covered. So in the end this was just not for me at all.

I received a copy of this book in from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating look at films that have been based on actual crimes. I had no idea that "Alpha Dogs" was based on a true story!

It gives a synopsis of the movie and the crimes.

I quite enjoyed it!

This was an entertaining, interesting, and DARK trip behind the scenes of some of the most popular movies of all time. Schechter offers a synopsis of each movie and then of the crime underpinning its story. Schechter's writing is pretty straightforward; he pulls no punches but also doesn't unnecessarily go for the gross factor (unfortunately, there are still plenty of gross-out details - after all, you can't cover the activities of someone like Ed Gein without them). I found the level of detail of each description to be appropriate for what this book was: namely, a reference guide that links reality and fiction.

It was tough for me to read it sequentially - it got heavy to read the gruesome descriptions of the parade of horribles that (wo)man has perpetrated against his fellow (wo)man, but the descriptions also necessarily involved spoilers and I hadn't seen all of the movies described. I found it more of a "read a few, take a break" book, and the length of the pieces on each film worked well with that type of read. I especially enjoyed reading the true crime backstories on the movies I have seen. I was familiar with a few of them, but was surprised at how many "classic" horror or detective stories have reality at their core. It was enlightening and horrifying at the same time...

I liked this as a reference book. I'm not a film buff, but found the connections between life and screen fascinating. I'd be curious to see a similar book that focused on dramatic pieces or legal cases. It's a great format for tying fact and fiction together in an accessible way.

I spent every spare moment trying, again and again, to fall into this book. I love true crime, and hoped to love the correlation between those crimes and films I may have seen. However, this just didn’t grab me the way I wanted it to. I will say though, that I learned several things I did not know prior to reading this book! The author is very knowledgeable, and I found the facts intriguing despite not feeling as though I could not put the book down.

True Stories make literature so very interesting don’t you think? I do and I think honestly that is why I am reading so many biographies of late. I picked this book because I spent my fair amount of time watching films and wondering... "what if this really happened". Well Harold Schechter brings you the stories and the films that were inspired by them in this book. It's really a fun read.

I read Ripped from the Headlines! and was pulled in. Some of the stories were who dun it's, some were crimes against others... and some were just court dramas but all were interesting stories.

The theme of the book it to present a film, discuss the plot points and how the movie stays true to or veers from the real tale. Mr. Schechter is a crime novelist so it was interesting to read his synopsis of the tales from that perspective and not a filmmaker perspective as well.

I think this book would make an amazing film theory course book. It so very much reminded me of film school. And it was a nice journey back to when I was in film school. I know that sounds dismissive, it isn’t I loved film school by the way.

The one thing that I think was sorely missing is more current films sprinkled in. Most of the films were from the more recent past the most recent movie revealed was 2015. But I will say perhaps that is when his research was taking place.

The author indicates that the brevity of the discussion is meant to inspire future viewing of the films and indicates that all the movies are available to see via the various streaming platforms that we have available to us, which is really terrific.

Some of the movies I had never heard of and plan to look into with the book as a refence tool for the story behind the story.

It was a quick read and an interesting one if you are a film, history or film history buff. I really enjoyed it and look forward to having this book available as a reference tool to spark discussions about them when we watch them... which we will!


Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Little A for providing me a review copy... this was a great book that I will use and reread I am sure.

I really enjoyed it even as a person who doesn't necessarily review movies or compare books and movies in reviews.
I think there's a nice balance between the two worlds of people who may be interested in these two topics separately.

The untold inspirations behind some of the classic films of the last century are told in terrifying detail by the true crime master, Harold Schechter. Each chapter is reference by the movie, cast, writers and director and then the details of the actual crimes are relayed in quick and concise language. Despite its graphic subject matter, I enjoyed the latest installment from one of my favorite authors and would would highly recommend it to true crime aficionados and fans of Harold Schechter. I would not, however, recommend this book to the faint-hearted.

Ripped from the Headlines is a vastly entertaining, meticulously researched look at true crime and the corresponding Hollywood shows that tell their often fictionalized versions. Some of the stories were somewhat obscure, but most were famous cases and there's a little bit of everything for true crime buffs and cinema lovers alike. Great read!

Being a fan of both movies and true crime, I went into this book excited to gain insight into both. However, I was treated to summaries of movies, as well as, the crimes that these movies were based on. While, I could tell that the author did quite a bit of research, a lot of the movie summaries had the author’s opinion attached. While I don’t mind reading reviews, a lot of times, the reviews took me out of the story itself. I appreciate the author’s insight into this subject matter, but there needed to be more focus on the link between the crime and movie.

This book certainly has some great elements. It covers an incredible range of films and gives the intricate backstory of a lot of the stories they were gleaned from, whilst also describing in short synopsises what the movie derived from them. The criticism I have of the book is that it felt somewhat undulating, and a lot of the movies included were not ones that you would have heard of, nor would you anticipate to be included. I just wish that this had gone beyond the scope of true crime and into other true stories that had been ripped from the headlines too- it would have broken the monotony up a bit and been more cohesive. It is certainly well-written, and it covers an amazing breadth of knowledge, but I just wanted a little more from it.

Man, I really wanted to like this more.

I have read another book from Mr Schecter and really enjoyed it (Hell's Princess). So I was hopeful that I would enjoy this too as I am an avid movie viewer and a true crime JUNKIE...alas this was not the case.

I found the tone of the book overall mildly unenjoyable and the movies skewed to the older side as a whole. I think the introduction starts off strong but the movies that start the book don't grab the reader; at least they didn't grab me. It took all the way to covering "The Fugitive to find a movie/true crime story that I enjoyed reading about. The concept was good but the execution left something to be desired overall. I would encourage any potential reader to pick this book up in a store if they are on the fence about it and flip through it. I think it would let the person fairly quickly know if this is a book they would be interested.

This was a whole bunch of nope. I loved the real stories, and the rest was still just a boatload of nope! I was bored to death! Truly. Look up my obituaries! Death to Lisa Noell! Some stupid book made her go haywire!
Harold Schechter is someone I've heard of before. Doesn't mean I've heard great things, just that I've heard of him before.
Maybe this dude makes a living putting out crap!?
Whatever, don't waste your time or money on this.
I got this for free on Netgalley. For the price of a review. You just read it!

Dispassionate, glossed over, and boring. I felt like I could have learned more about each crime and its connection to cinema from Wikipedia or google.