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{{Short description|Fictional serial killer}}
{| class="infobox" style="width: 21em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left"
{{more citations needed|date=July 2016}}
|-
{{Infobox character
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | '']'' character
| name = Francis Dolarhyde
|-
| series = ]
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | ]
| image = Francis Dolarhyde -- screenshot.jpg
|-
| image_size = 250px
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: larger; background-color: #001; color: #ffa;" |Francis Dolarhyde
| caption = Ralph Fiennes as Francis Dolarhyde in ''Red Dragon''
|-
| creator = ]
! Aliases
| portrayer = ] ('']'')<br />] ('']'')<br />] (young; ''Red Dragon'')<br>] ('']'')
| The Great Red Dragon
| voice = ] (''Red Dragon'', deleted scenes)
|-
| nickname = The Tooth Fairy<br />Mr. D<br />D.
! Nicknames
| alias = The Great Red Dragon
| Mr D.<br>"D."<br>The Tooth Fairy
| gender = Male
|-
| occupation = ] <br> ] at Gateway Film Laboratory, ] (1961 - 1980) <br> Army Veteran with Hardship Discharge (1955 - 1961)
! Gender
| family = Michael Trevane (father)<br>Marian Trevane-Vogt née Dolarhyde (mother)
| ]
| significant_other = Reba McClane
|-
| nationality = ]
! Race
}}
| ]
|-
! Weight
| 217 lbs
|-
! Birth
| ]
|-
! Relationships
| ] (Father)<br>] (Mother)<br> ] (Girlfriend)
|-
!]
|]<br>]
|-
!Weapon of Choice:
|]<br>]
|-
!Current status:
| Deceased
|-
! Portrayed by:
| '''''Manhunter'''''<br>]<br>'''''Red Dragon'''''<br>]
|}


'''Francis Dolarhyde''' is a ] featured in ]' ] '']''. '''Francis Dolarhyde''' is a fictional character and the main ] of ]' 1981 novel '']'',<ref name=NYT/> as well as its film adaptations, '']'' (1986), '']'' (2002) and the third season of '']'' (2013-15)


Dolarhyde is a ] who ] every full moon. He is nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" due to the nocturnal nature of his crimes, his tendency to bite his victims' bodies, the uncommon size and sharpness of his teeth and other apparent ]s. Dolarhyde kills at the behest of an ]; he refers to ] as "The Great Red Dragon" after ]'s painting '']''. He believes that killing people—or "changing" them, as he calls it—allows him to more fully "become" the Dragon.
==Character overview==
He is a ] nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" due to his tendency to bite his victims' bodies, the uncommon size and sharpness of his teeth and other apparent ]s.


==Character history== ==Character history==
]
Francis Dolarhyde's backstory is supplied in the novel in detail and alluded to in the film adaptations. Born in ], on June 14, 1938, with a ], Dolarhyde is abandoned by his mother and cared for in an orphanage until the age of five. He is then taken in by his grandmother, who subjects him to severe emotional and physical ], at one point threatening to castrate him after he wets his bed. Shortly afterwards, he begins ].


Born in ], on ], ] with a ], Dolarhyde suffered severe emotional and physical ] in a series of ]s and from his ] grandmother. After her death, he was turned over to the care of his estranged mother and her husband in ]; he was also abused by this family. He began ] at a young age; after being caught breaking into a house at age 17, he was enlisted in the army. He developed ], his other, violent personality manifesting itself as a monstrous being who Dolarhyde ultimately came to call the "Great Red Dragon", from the series of paintings by ] including '']''. After his grandmother becomes afflicted with ], Dolarhyde is turned over to the care of his estranged mother and her husband in ]; he is further abused by this family. After his stepsiblings smash his face into a bathroom mirror, Dolarhyde hangs his stepsister's cat and is sent back to the orphanage. After being caught breaking into a house at age 17, he enlists in the ] rather than serve prison time. While on his tour in Japan and neighboring countries, he learns how to develop film and receives ] for his cleft palate.


After his honorable discharge, Dolarhyde returns to St. Louis and gets a job with the Gateway Corporation as the production chief of their home movies division. He also takes up ] and becomes exceptionally strong; it is mentioned in the novel that even in middle age, Dolarhyde could have successfully competed in regional bodybuilding competitions, and at one point successfully ] 300 pounds (which approaches record-setting status for the late 1970s).
Dolarhyde began his killing spree in ] by ]ing two families within a month, both crimes being committed on or near a ]; It is hinted in the book that he had killed before that, however. He chose his victims through the ] he edited as a ] technician. He believed that by killing people (or "transforming" them, as he called it) he could fully become the Dragon. He had a large tattoo of a dragon emblazoned on his back, and two sets of ]; one of them normal for his personal life, the other distorted and sharp for his killings, based off a mould of his grandmothers snaggle toothed grimace. (There was also a sexual component to his crimes; he ] the ] of one adult female victim, and he would often ] to the films he himself made while committing murder.)


In his early forties, Dolarhyde sees the ] painting '']'', which gives voice to his alternate personality. Under the influence of "The Red Dragon", Dolarhyde murders two families in two months, on or near a ]. Dolarhyde chooses his victims through the home movies that he edits. In the days leading up to a full moon, Dolarhyde kills or injures the family pet and then spends nights in their backyard, watching the moon. On the night of the full moon, Dolarhyde breaks into the homes and shoots his victims or slits their throats in their beds before ritualistically posing them around the master bed and engaging in ] acts with the mothers' corpses. He also implants shards of mirror glass into his victims' eyes so he can see his own "transformation" into the Dragon.
] ] ] came out of early ] to aid in his capture. Graham had previously captured Garrett Jacob Hobbs and Dr. ], a ] ] and serial killer, whom Dolarhyde idolized. Graham visited Lecter in the Chesapeake Mental Institute, hoping that the doctor would be able to help identify the Dragon, or at least assist in creating a psychological profile. Following this meeting, Lecter "helped" by sending Dolarhyde Graham's address in ]. Dolarhyde was only foiled when FBI director ] intercepted the message in time to warn off Graham's family.


To facilitate the process of "becoming", Dolarhyde previously traveled to ] in order to have a rendering of the Blake dragon tattooed across his back and has two sets of ] made. One set is normal for his day-to-day life, while the other – based on a mold of his grandmother's deformed teeth – is ritualistically incorporated into the dragon persona he assumes during his killings. Due to the nocturnal nature of the murders and Dolarhyde's tendency to bite the corpses of his victims with the malformed dentures, the ] ''The National Tattler'' nicknames him "The Tooth Fairy", a monicker he hates.
Dolarhyde was an avid reader of ''The National Tattler'', a ] which ran sensationalistic stories about serial killers, and he obsessively collected clippings about Lecter and Graham, as well as his own murders. To provoke Dolarhyde out of hiding, Graham gave an interview to ''Tattler'' reporter ] in which he said the "Tooth Fairy" was an ] ], and that Lecter considered him a "bottom-feeder." This enraged Dolarhyde, who ] Lounds, forced him to recant his article on tape, and then leaned down to kiss him, but instead bit his lips off, set him on fire and rolled him down an incline going by the ''Tattler'''s parking garage and then slamming into a car. Lounds survived his wounds, but would later have a seizure and die. </p>


] ] ] is asked to return from early retirement to aid in capturing the "Tooth Fairy". Graham had caught Dr. ], a psychiatrist and ] serial killer whom Dolarhyde idolizes, and to whom he sends a "fan letter" describing his murders. Graham visits Lecter in the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital for the Criminally Insane, hoping that the doctor would be able to help identify the killer or at least assist in creating a psychological profile. Following this meeting, Lecter "helps" by sending Dolarhyde Graham's address in code with the note, "Save yourself – kill them all." FBI Agent-in-Charge ] intercepts the message in time to warn Graham's family and the local sheriff.
Over the course of the novel, Dolarhyde fell in love with a ] woman named ]. While at first her intimacy with Dolarhyde quelled his murderous impulses, her presence only infuriated the other part of Dolarhyde's ]. Desperate now to retain control of himself and deny his violent urges, Dolarhyde flew to ], where he devoured the original Blake ], believing it would destroy the Dragon.


Dolarhyde becomes obsessed with coverage of his murders in ''The National Tattler'' and collects clippings about Lecter's arrest and trial, about Graham, and about his murders. In an attempt to provoke Dolarhyde out of hiding, Graham gives an interview to ] of ''The Tattler'', in which he says that "The Tooth Fairy" is ], ], and possibly the product of ]; he also implies that Lecter is offended that the killer considers himself Lecter's equal. The interview enrages Dolarhyde, who kidnaps Lounds, glues him to an antique wheelchair, intimidates him into recanting his article on tape, and then bites his lips off. Dolarhyde then sets Lounds on fire and rolls him down an incline into ''The Tattler''{{'}}s parking garage.
The plan failed, however; if anything, Dolarhyde's ingestion of the painting only made the Dragon angrier. Dolarhyde killed McClane's former lover after seeing them together at her house, and apparently had planned to kill her and himself by setting his house on fire with her in it. Dolarhyde relented at the last minute, however, and apparently shot himself. Fans have debated why Dolarhyde did this; some believe that it was all part of the Dragon's plan to escape capture, while others think this was the only way Dolarhyde could save McClane from his sinister ].


Dolarhyde falls in love with a ] co-worker named Reba McClane. The relationship initially quells his murderous impulses, but they soon come back, stronger than ever. Desperate to stop killing and keep Reba safe from the Dragon, Dolarhyde flies to New York, where he goes to see the original Blake watercolor at the ] and devours it, believing that doing so would destroy his alter ego. This plan fails, however; his ingestion of the painting only makes the Dragon angrier. In a final effort to save Reba, Dolarhyde attempts to kill himself in a motel bathroom by hanging himself from the shower rod, but the noose breaks before he can suffocate.
In a later conversation with McClane, Graham told her, "There was plenty wrong with Dolarhyde, but there's nothing wrong with you. You said he was kind and thoughtful to you. I believe it. That's what you brought out in him. At the end, he couldn't kill you and he couldn't watch you die. People who study this kind of thing say he was trying to stop. Why? Because you helped him. That probably saved some lives. You didn't draw a freak. You drew a man with a freak on his back."


The FBI and police investigations have so far found little result as the next full moon, and murders, are approaching. ] has led to dead ends, the killer's partial fingerprint has no match on file, and authorities can find no connection between the targeted families. Eventually Graham realizes that the killer must have had access to the families' home movies, using details from the film to plan entry to the family homes. Both families' film was processed at the same facility. From this fact, police eventually narrow down on Dolarhyde as the suspect.
It turned out, however, that Dolarhyde was alive, having merely shot the corpse of one of his previous victims. Being blind, McClane was fooled. Dolarhyde later attacked Graham and stabbed him in the face, only for Graham's wife Molly to attack him with an aluminium fishing rod, precipitating a struggle which ultimately resulted in Dolarhyde's death.


Now completely in thrall to the Dragon and aware of the investigation closing in on him, Dolarhyde plans to kill Reba and himself by setting his house on fire with her in it. He relents at the last minute, however, and frees her. Hearing a shotgun blast, McClane feels around Dolarhyde's burning living room and discovers what appears to be his dead body, which is incinerated in the subsequent blaze. However, Dolarhyde actually shot the corpse of a gas station attendant who had earlier offended him by leering at McClane, and whom he had kidnapped to stage his own disappearance. Police rescue McClane from the burning house. She is traumatized by her experience, but Graham reassures her that her influence helped restrain Dolarhyde's murderous impulses and probably saved lives.
==Appearance==
As well as his poorly reconstructed cleft lip, Dolarhyde is recognizable by several features. He is very muscular, and bears a massive tattoo of the Red Dragon on his back, continuing down so its tail wraps around one leg (this was not present in ''Manhunter'', although scenes with the tattoo were filmed but never used). Finally, he wears ], alternating between two different sets; he wears standard ]s at work, and his "]," created in imitation of his grandmother's sharp, snaggle-toothed grin, when committing murder. With these teeth and his powerful jaw muscles, he can bite through fingers easily.


Dolarhyde is initially believed to have killed himself, but ] of the crime scene eventually reveals that the corpse's fingerprints don't match his. Dolarhyde travels to Graham's home in Florida, attacks Graham, and stabs him in the face. Graham's wife Molly intercepts Dolarhyde and shoots him dead.
Dolarhyde maintains a massive ledger in which he keeps newspaper clippings describing his murders; besides the killings of Lounds and the two families, Harris implies that Dolarhyde was responsible for the murders of several elderly women (the ledger contains articles about their mysterious disappearances.) Dolarhyde also kept Lounds' lips in a baggie in the ledger.


==Film adaptations== ==Film adaptations==
]
In the 1986 adaptation of ''Red Dragon'', '']'', Dolarhyde (with his name changed to '''Dollarhyde''')<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9a0de3dd1538f936a2575bc0a960948260|title=SCREEN: 'MANHUNTER'|first=Walter|last=Goodman|date=August 15, 1986}}</ref> is portrayed by ]. None of Dolarhyde's backstory appears in the film aside from Will Graham's (]) assessment that Dolarhyde was abused as a child. Neither his Red Dragon personality nor his abusive grandmother are explored, although Dolarhyde does sport a red dragon tattoo on his chest and his writings mention at one point "the strength of the Red Dragon". He also does not steal and consume the painting, and his killing of the co-worker is portrayed as solely from a surge of jealousy, rather than a cunning escape plan. Rather than faking his death after being tracked down, Dolarhyde attempts to kill Reba McClane (]) because he believes she is cheating on him, only to be caught up by Graham, who rescues her. He engages in a standoff with the Missouri police and kills several officers before being shot and killed by Graham.


Dolarhyde is portrayed by ] in the 2002 film adaptation '']'', which follows the novel more closely.<ref name=NYT2>{{cite web|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9804E1D91F38F937A35753C1A9649C8B63|title=FILM REVIEW; Taking A Bite Out Of Crime|first=Elvis|last=Mitchell|author-link=Elvis Mitchell|date=October 4, 2002}}</ref> In deleted scenes, Dolarhyde's Great Red Dragon personality is voiced by ]. In this adaptation, Dolarhyde dies when he attempts to kill Will Graham's (]) family in ]; he and Graham severely wound each other during a gunfight, but Graham's wife Molly (]) shoots Dolarhyde in the face, killing him.
].]]Dolarhyde has been twice portrayed in ] adaptations of Harris' novel: By ] (in which he was called 'Dollarhyde' instead of Dolarhyde) in ]'s '']'', and by ] in ]'s '']''.


==Television adaptation==
In ''Manhunter'', Dollarhyde was filmed two different ways; shirtless with an elaborate tattoo covering his upper torso and back (as opposed to Dolarhyde's tattoos in the book, which only covered his back), and with a shirt on thus covering his tattoo. The latter was used in the finished film, partly because the tattoos were considered too distracting and similar to the ones that the ] wore. The look, however, appeared on promotional photos for the film.
Dolarhyde is portrayed by ] in season 3 of the television series '']'', beginning in episode 8, "The Great Red Dragon".<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Slezak|url=https://tvline.com/2015/01/13/hannibal-season-3-cast-richard-armitage-dolarhyde/|title=''Hannibal'' Recruits ''The Hobbit'' Star Richard Armitage For Killer Role|website=]|date=January 13, 2015|access-date=January 13, 2015|archive-date=January 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114202728/http://tvline.com/2015/01/13/hannibal-season-3-cast-richard-armitage-dolarhyde/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dolarhyde was referenced in the series premiere as the unseen murderer of the Marlowe family.<ref>{{cite tweet|first=Bryan|last=Fuller|user=BryanFuller|url=https://twitter.com/BryanFuller/status/322167756235632641|website=Bryan Fuller's verified Twitter|title=The Marlowe Murders that open the #HANNIBAL Premiere are actually the first murders committed by Francis Dolarhyde, aka, the #REDDRAGON|number=322167756235632641|date=April 10, 2013|access-date=August 16, 2015}}</ref> In this continuity, Dolarhyde and Lecter (]) communicate directly by telephone, and Dolarhyde's inner discussions with the Dragon are instead depicted as therapy sessions with Lecter. In the series finale, "]", Lecter and Graham (]) kill Dolarhyde together; Graham stabs him, while Lecter bites his throat out.


==Inspiration==
In the first movie, Graham kills Dolarhyde, while in the second, both he and his wife have a hand in Dolarhyde's death, with Graham firing the majority of the shots in a crossfire with Dolarhyde, and his wife finishing him off as Dolarhyde rises back up, even with the bullet wounds.

Harris loosely based Francis Dolarhyde on the then-unidentified serial killer known as ], who at the time of the book's publication was terrorizing ] with a series of murders, beginning with the murder of a family in their home. Like Dolarhyde, BTK engaged in ]c acts with his victims' bodies; he also wrote letters to the police alluding to being under the control of an outside influence, which he referred to as "Factor X". Harris had consulted with FBI Agent ] prior to writing the book, and Douglas had served as a consultant on the BTK case for Kansas police. Harris was so impressed with Douglas that he borrowed aspects of his life story and personality for Will Graham and Jack Crawford.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Beattie|author-link=Robert Beattie (writer)|title=Nightmare in Wichita|publisher=]|location=London, England|date=2005|isbn=978-0-451-21738-7|title-link=Nightmare in Wichita}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}


In the book, Graham is attacked by Dolarhyde and stabbed in the face. He then runs leaving his wife and step son to deal with Dolarhyde. Grahams wife, Molly attacks Dolarhyde with an aluminum fishing rod then eventually shooting him in the head several times which leads to Dolarhyde's death.
{{Hannibal}} {{Hannibal}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolarhyde, Francis}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolarhyde, Francis}}
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Latest revision as of 23:28, 7 December 2024

Fictional serial killer
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Fictional character
Francis Dolarhyde
Hannibal Lecter character
Ralph Fiennes as Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon
Created byThomas Harris
Portrayed byTom Noonan (Manhunter)
Ralph Fiennes (Red Dragon)
Alex D. Linz (young; Red Dragon)
Richard Armitage (Hannibal)
Voiced byFrank Langella (Red Dragon, deleted scenes)
In-universe information
AliasThe Great Red Dragon
NicknameThe Tooth Fairy
Mr. D
D.
GenderMale
OccupationSerial killer
Technician at Gateway Film Laboratory, St. Louis (1961 - 1980)
Army Veteran with Hardship Discharge (1955 - 1961)
FamilyMichael Trevane (father)
Marian Trevane-Vogt née Dolarhyde (mother)
Significant otherReba McClane
NationalityAmerican

Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon, as well as its film adaptations, Manhunter (1986), Red Dragon (2002) and the third season of Hannibal (2013-15)

Dolarhyde is a serial killer who murders entire families every full moon. He is nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" due to the nocturnal nature of his crimes, his tendency to bite his victims' bodies, the uncommon size and sharpness of his teeth and other apparent oral fixations. Dolarhyde kills at the behest of an alternate personality; he refers to his other self as "The Great Red Dragon" after William Blake's painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun. He believes that killing people—or "changing" them, as he calls it—allows him to more fully "become" the Dragon.

Character history

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun – the painting with which Dolarhyde is obsessed.

Francis Dolarhyde's backstory is supplied in the novel in detail and alluded to in the film adaptations. Born in Springfield, Missouri, on June 14, 1938, with a cleft lip and palate, Dolarhyde is abandoned by his mother and cared for in an orphanage until the age of five. He is then taken in by his grandmother, who subjects him to severe emotional and physical abuse, at one point threatening to castrate him after he wets his bed. Shortly afterwards, he begins torturing animals.

After his grandmother becomes afflicted with dementia, Dolarhyde is turned over to the care of his estranged mother and her husband in St. Louis; he is further abused by this family. After his stepsiblings smash his face into a bathroom mirror, Dolarhyde hangs his stepsister's cat and is sent back to the orphanage. After being caught breaking into a house at age 17, he enlists in the United States Army rather than serve prison time. While on his tour in Japan and neighboring countries, he learns how to develop film and receives cosmetic surgery for his cleft palate.

After his honorable discharge, Dolarhyde returns to St. Louis and gets a job with the Gateway Corporation as the production chief of their home movies division. He also takes up bodybuilding and becomes exceptionally strong; it is mentioned in the novel that even in middle age, Dolarhyde could have successfully competed in regional bodybuilding competitions, and at one point successfully cleans and presses 300 pounds (which approaches record-setting status for the late 1970s).

In his early forties, Dolarhyde sees the William Blake painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun, which gives voice to his alternate personality. Under the influence of "The Red Dragon", Dolarhyde murders two families in two months, on or near a full moon. Dolarhyde chooses his victims through the home movies that he edits. In the days leading up to a full moon, Dolarhyde kills or injures the family pet and then spends nights in their backyard, watching the moon. On the night of the full moon, Dolarhyde breaks into the homes and shoots his victims or slits their throats in their beds before ritualistically posing them around the master bed and engaging in necrophilic acts with the mothers' corpses. He also implants shards of mirror glass into his victims' eyes so he can see his own "transformation" into the Dragon.

To facilitate the process of "becoming", Dolarhyde previously traveled to Hong Kong in order to have a rendering of the Blake dragon tattooed across his back and has two sets of false teeth made. One set is normal for his day-to-day life, while the other – based on a mold of his grandmother's deformed teeth – is ritualistically incorporated into the dragon persona he assumes during his killings. Due to the nocturnal nature of the murders and Dolarhyde's tendency to bite the corpses of his victims with the malformed dentures, the tabloid The National Tattler nicknames him "The Tooth Fairy", a monicker he hates.

FBI profiler Will Graham is asked to return from early retirement to aid in capturing the "Tooth Fairy". Graham had caught Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer whom Dolarhyde idolizes, and to whom he sends a "fan letter" describing his murders. Graham visits Lecter in the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital for the Criminally Insane, hoping that the doctor would be able to help identify the killer or at least assist in creating a psychological profile. Following this meeting, Lecter "helps" by sending Dolarhyde Graham's address in code with the note, "Save yourself – kill them all." FBI Agent-in-Charge Jack Crawford intercepts the message in time to warn Graham's family and the local sheriff.

Dolarhyde becomes obsessed with coverage of his murders in The National Tattler and collects clippings about Lecter's arrest and trial, about Graham, and about his murders. In an attempt to provoke Dolarhyde out of hiding, Graham gives an interview to Freddy Lounds of The Tattler, in which he says that "The Tooth Fairy" is impotent, homosexual, and possibly the product of incest; he also implies that Lecter is offended that the killer considers himself Lecter's equal. The interview enrages Dolarhyde, who kidnaps Lounds, glues him to an antique wheelchair, intimidates him into recanting his article on tape, and then bites his lips off. Dolarhyde then sets Lounds on fire and rolls him down an incline into The Tattler's parking garage.

Dolarhyde falls in love with a blind co-worker named Reba McClane. The relationship initially quells his murderous impulses, but they soon come back, stronger than ever. Desperate to stop killing and keep Reba safe from the Dragon, Dolarhyde flies to New York, where he goes to see the original Blake watercolor at the Brooklyn Museum and devours it, believing that doing so would destroy his alter ego. This plan fails, however; his ingestion of the painting only makes the Dragon angrier. In a final effort to save Reba, Dolarhyde attempts to kill himself in a motel bathroom by hanging himself from the shower rod, but the noose breaks before he can suffocate.

The FBI and police investigations have so far found little result as the next full moon, and murders, are approaching. Trace evidence has led to dead ends, the killer's partial fingerprint has no match on file, and authorities can find no connection between the targeted families. Eventually Graham realizes that the killer must have had access to the families' home movies, using details from the film to plan entry to the family homes. Both families' film was processed at the same facility. From this fact, police eventually narrow down on Dolarhyde as the suspect.

Now completely in thrall to the Dragon and aware of the investigation closing in on him, Dolarhyde plans to kill Reba and himself by setting his house on fire with her in it. He relents at the last minute, however, and frees her. Hearing a shotgun blast, McClane feels around Dolarhyde's burning living room and discovers what appears to be his dead body, which is incinerated in the subsequent blaze. However, Dolarhyde actually shot the corpse of a gas station attendant who had earlier offended him by leering at McClane, and whom he had kidnapped to stage his own disappearance. Police rescue McClane from the burning house. She is traumatized by her experience, but Graham reassures her that her influence helped restrain Dolarhyde's murderous impulses and probably saved lives.

Dolarhyde is initially believed to have killed himself, but forensic analysis of the crime scene eventually reveals that the corpse's fingerprints don't match his. Dolarhyde travels to Graham's home in Florida, attacks Graham, and stabs him in the face. Graham's wife Molly intercepts Dolarhyde and shoots him dead.

Film adaptations

Tom Noonan as "Francis Dollarhyde" in Manhunter. The pictures of Noonan with the Red Dragon tattoo were not shown in the feature film, but were widely used in promotional material.

In the 1986 adaptation of Red Dragon, Manhunter, Dolarhyde (with his name changed to Dollarhyde) is portrayed by Tom Noonan. None of Dolarhyde's backstory appears in the film aside from Will Graham's (William Petersen) assessment that Dolarhyde was abused as a child. Neither his Red Dragon personality nor his abusive grandmother are explored, although Dolarhyde does sport a red dragon tattoo on his chest and his writings mention at one point "the strength of the Red Dragon". He also does not steal and consume the painting, and his killing of the co-worker is portrayed as solely from a surge of jealousy, rather than a cunning escape plan. Rather than faking his death after being tracked down, Dolarhyde attempts to kill Reba McClane (Joan Allen) because he believes she is cheating on him, only to be caught up by Graham, who rescues her. He engages in a standoff with the Missouri police and kills several officers before being shot and killed by Graham.

Dolarhyde is portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the 2002 film adaptation Red Dragon, which follows the novel more closely. In deleted scenes, Dolarhyde's Great Red Dragon personality is voiced by Frank Langella. In this adaptation, Dolarhyde dies when he attempts to kill Will Graham's (Edward Norton) family in Marathon, Florida; he and Graham severely wound each other during a gunfight, but Graham's wife Molly (Mary-Louise Parker) shoots Dolarhyde in the face, killing him.

Television adaptation

Dolarhyde is portrayed by Richard Armitage in season 3 of the television series Hannibal, beginning in episode 8, "The Great Red Dragon". Dolarhyde was referenced in the series premiere as the unseen murderer of the Marlowe family. In this continuity, Dolarhyde and Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) communicate directly by telephone, and Dolarhyde's inner discussions with the Dragon are instead depicted as therapy sessions with Lecter. In the series finale, "The Wrath of the Lamb", Lecter and Graham (Hugh Dancy) kill Dolarhyde together; Graham stabs him, while Lecter bites his throat out.

Inspiration

Harris loosely based Francis Dolarhyde on the then-unidentified serial killer known as "BTK" (Bind, Torture, Kill), who at the time of the book's publication was terrorizing Kansas with a series of murders, beginning with the murder of a family in their home. Like Dolarhyde, BTK engaged in necrophiliac acts with his victims' bodies; he also wrote letters to the police alluding to being under the control of an outside influence, which he referred to as "Factor X". Harris had consulted with FBI Agent John E. Douglas prior to writing the book, and Douglas had served as a consultant on the BTK case for Kansas police. Harris was so impressed with Douglas that he borrowed aspects of his life story and personality for Will Graham and Jack Crawford.

References

  1. ^ Goodman, Walter (August 15, 1986). "SCREEN: 'MANHUNTER'". The New York Times.
  2. Mitchell, Elvis (October 4, 2002). "FILM REVIEW; Taking A Bite Out Of Crime". The New York Times.
  3. Slezak, Michael (January 13, 2015). "Hannibal Recruits The Hobbit Star Richard Armitage For Killer Role". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  4. Fuller, Bryan (April 10, 2013). "The Marlowe Murders that open the #HANNIBAL Premiere are actually the first murders committed by Francis Dolarhyde, aka, the #REDDRAGON" (Tweet). Retrieved August 16, 2015 – via Twitter.
  5. Beattie, Robert (2005). Nightmare in Wichita. London, England: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-451-21738-7.
Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter
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Hannibal
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