Jack l'Éventreur

Considering an obviously small budget this film is well written and has an authentic "foggy Victorian look" about it,aided by a complimentary Stanley Black score.It's real merit is the fine character performances especially Euan Solon as a very autocratic hospital surgeon and it is also interesting to see John Le Mesurier far removed from his mild mannered Sargeant Wilson of Dad's Army.The East End/Whitechapel appears to be inhabited by an array of unsavoury characters from music hall impresarios,run of the mill pickpockets and aggressive vigilante thugs.

Still,the plot unwinds at a reasonable pace and the Lee Patterson/Betty McDowell romance doesn't interfere too much with the grizzly goings on in the streets.The final unmasking of Jack is quite unsettling in its brutality,but all the loose ends are nicely tied up with the realisation that due to circumstance(i.e. Jack the Ripper is killed) the true identity of the killer will always be known to the police but not the public.

Well worth a look if you like this genre of film.

There appear to be two versions of this film so beware. The colourised ending with the blood seeping out seems to have been done especially as a gimmick for the USA market.

In the UK version there is no colorised ending (it's all in black and white) and it also looks as if the ending has suffered from censor cuts.

Hopefully, one day we will see a DVD release with both endings included. All screenings in the UK (on TV) have been of the UK version with the black and white ending.

Those interested in this film may also care to check out A Study In Terror in which Sherlock Holmes tackles Jack the Ripper in a hammer forror-ish style.

The unsolved case of Jack the Ripper was largely exploited by movie industry, this British production sins a little bit when it offers a conclusion of the real killer, nonetheless brings to screen a decent version at Whitechapel's events with many authentic elements from those days, poorly enlightened narrow streets with dense fog from the chimneys, countless pubs, several burlesque theatre that was used as front to exploit prostitution and so on, here the picture expose a Doctor who asking revenge against Mary Clark who was the woman of an easy life and after discovered her past, Doctor's beloved son committed suicide, meanwhile he wandering for those streets looking for her, but ends up killing many women supposedly prostitutes, the Scotland Yard in charge of all enquires was under pressure to solve the case soon as can, the casting are almost unknown, although had a fine performance, anyway a fine movie restored from a copy found in France and insert another music score, on bonus material has many shoots cut off from the original with many nudes scenes, fantastic!!

Resume:

First watch: 2010 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

Jack the Ripper (1959)

** (out of 4)

Atmospheric and moody version of the infamous serial killer. This isn't quite as good as the version with Klaus Kinski but it remained entertaining throughout. The director does a great job building up the atmosphere of 1888 London but for some strange reason he never pushes the "mystery" surrounding the case. He throws a lot of suspects at us but for some reason he never tries to build up a mystery film as to who the killer is. There's a big twist at the end, which makes one think the film is going to do something with it but it never does. I'm not exactly sure what the filmmakers were going for but the movie still works.

The serial killer known as Jack the Ripper is loose in London, 1888. As the police frantically search for the maniac through the East End smog, a whole bunch of suspects hone into view...

Murder by person or persons unknown.

Surprisingly little known, this Jack the Ripper picture belies its obvious budget limitations to produce an atmospheric and suspenseful piece. This is not in any way an accurate account of the actual story, so interested newcomers should be aware of that fact. It is basically an interpretation of Jolly Jack, a serial killer mystery to be solved.

There's plenty of cobbled streets and smog, dim gas lamps, top hats, tails and medical bags et al. The more severe parts of the story come with tilted camera perception, and the narrative embraces ladies of the night workings and vigilante justice. Which all builds to an absolute beaut of a finale.

Well worth a look by fans of Ripper period fare. 7/10