Der Schrecken der London Bridge

'Bridge Across Time' aka 'Terror at London Bridge' is a pretty good 1985 made for TV film. It's a different twist on Jack the Ripper.

Basically, when The Ripper was shot and toppled over the London Bridge in 1888 he knocked over a stone with him into the Thames River. The original London Bridge was relocated to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and completed there in 1971. The film shows there was a missing stone, found and brought to Arizona in 1985 - this stone must have housed The Ripper's soul(?) or similar idea. Anyway, Jack is back in 1985 and he's killing the same way he did in 1888.

In away, The Ripper is resurrected via this stone and fresh blood (similar to the way a vampire is resurrected - ya know the dust of a vampire, fresh blood hits it and ta-dah we have a vampire - same with The Ripper and the stone in this film).

I quite liked this film - I can suspend my beliefs to see a vampire resurrected in a similar manner so it is easy for me to do that for Jack The Ripper as well.

The movie started out good, it hit a bit of a lull then picked back up into an exciting thriller.

Yes this is a good rainy day film.

7/10

The opening shot of the movie was made outside-at night when the desert temperature was over 105 degrees F. The opening shot for the movie depicted Jack The Ripper in a long black cloak running stealthfully down a fog ladden street in London. The scene skillfully suggested a clold damp evening in London. The actual special effects produced by the crew were classic Hollywood. It seemed very surreal to watch this scene being shot over and over between 12:30 and 1:30 in the morning. The final cut depicted cold when the entire crew was literally crumbling from the heat. It was truly a treat to watch the skill and professionalism displayed just to get a take on approximately five seconds of movie film.

I bought this little sleep-fest on VHS years ago in a cutout bin and could barely finish watching it. It moves like Molasses in the dead of winter and telegraphs the story line like Marconi on Meth. But, that legendary old bridge still photographs with atmospherics that rival any Hammer horror flick from 20 years earlier! I've walked that bridge and as you lean over those massive stones you can literally sense the history under your feet. Chainsaw mogul Robert McCulloch developed Lake Havasu City AZ after buying 26 square miles of desert for about $75/acre, intending on turning it into an upscale resort and site for a new chainsaw factory. But, to draw people to the middle of nowhere he needed a hook.

When the City Of London announced they were going to auction off the 1831 historic span because it was sinking into the Thames River, McCulloch negotiated long and hard to buy it in 1968 for a stunning $2.4 million and then spent three years dismantling it stone-by-stone for the long journey to his desert oasis. It was carried by ship down through the Panama Canal then carried by trucks to it's final destination. And that bridge is BIG! 928 feet long and 62 feet wide, but each stone was numbered so the span could be reassembled like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle -the bridge is now listed as the world's largest antique. And they did an amazing job! There was even a smallish English "village" complete with costumed employees who hawked Americanized Fish and Chips from quaint little shops. Iconic -and authentic- red cast-iron phone booths and heraldic banners complete the look. I visited it in 1979, and even though most of the current resort wasn't even built yet, it was still a memorable experience.

So: even today that bridge is really something to see -especially in it's present incongruous location. And, YEAH: it's entirely possible that Jack the Ripper himself scuttled across those historic stones!

Certainly not the level of a Hitchcock thriller, this movie was still kind of fun if you don't expect too much. Typical 80s style and fashion and a silly plot make this the kind of movie I remember seeing at an 8th-grade sleepover. If you are a

Randolph Mantooth fan like me, you'll appreciate seeing him in anything full

length. Unfortunately, his character is a bit goofy, but I'll take it. Don't bother if you want something that is scary or asks you to figure anything out. I would

recommend it only for a young group (contains nothing as gruesome as some of

today's treasures) or as background while you clean the house on a rainy

Sunday afternoon.

Another in a long line of Jack the Ripper returns movies. Every cornball cliche in the book was in this dull, routine, totally predictable yawner. A big city cop moves to Arizona as a way to avoid stress after a bad incident in Chicago. However, he runs into even more pressure when he gets on the trail of a serial murderer who slays in exactly the same fashion as the notorious 19th century London killer. Gad, what a stupid film.