A rather sordid and violent atmosphere prevents this B tale of real life murder and mayhem from becoming something that would have been acceptable for a late 1950's TV anthology show. It obviously doesn't ring any reality bells, but it's entertaining enough and fast paced to become a passable horror programmer.
The typical foggy atmosphere, slim gaslit cobblestone streets, and floozy streetwalkers are expected for the 1880's London atmosphere, and the actual attacks (unbloody fortunately) are appropriately horrifying. Typical public paranoia takes over for every stranger on the streets, including American detective Lee Patterson who is actually there by request to aide in the investigation.
The ripper is out to find someone named Mary Clark, heard whispering the name before he strikes. This script presumes to solve the cast, but 140 years later, there's no evidence of the real ripper's identity. My favorite ripper story is 1979's "Murder By Decree", with "Time After Time" a close second. 1944's "The Lodger" is also preferable to this which thanks to some good photography and a dramatic music score is just average.
The typical foggy atmosphere, slim gaslit cobblestone streets, and floozy streetwalkers are expected for the 1880's London atmosphere, and the actual attacks (unbloody fortunately) are appropriately horrifying. Typical public paranoia takes over for every stranger on the streets, including American detective Lee Patterson who is actually there by request to aide in the investigation.
The ripper is out to find someone named Mary Clark, heard whispering the name before he strikes. This script presumes to solve the cast, but 140 years later, there's no evidence of the real ripper's identity. My favorite ripper story is 1979's "Murder By Decree", with "Time After Time" a close second. 1944's "The Lodger" is also preferable to this which thanks to some good photography and a dramatic music score is just average.