After the success of their Hammeresque Gothic horror film BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE, Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman, and their Tampean Productions decided to tackle the story of Jack The Ripper. The story had been cinematically told a number of times before most notably in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 THE LODGER and John Brahm’s 1944 remake. However because of his notoriety and censorship issues, the name of Jack The Ripper could not be used. By 1958 that was no longer the case and so Baker & Berman went ahead with the first official Ripper movie and though the screenplay by Hammer’s Jimmy Sangster was completely fabricated, it remains one of the most imaginative film versions.
Although color was available as shown by their previous effort, B&B chose to shoot the movie in black & white. This was done for a number of reasons. 1) B&W reflected the time period (1888) in which the Whitechapel murders took place. 2) It made the film more strikingly visual with swirling fog and atmospheric lighting to go with the moody camerawork. 3) Last but not least, it was less expensive to shoot with the final cost being around 60,000 pounds. The movie was very successful with a worldwide box office of over $2,000,000. It was especially admired in France where it was shown in a racier Continental version that contained brief nudity and more violence. The French even wrote articles written about it.
Rather than take a documentary approach about the Ripper and his victims, B & B chose to fashion JTR as an old fashioned mystery inviting the audience to guess the identity of the Ripper before it is revealed at the movie’s conclusion. There are red herrings aplenty and for those of you who haven’t seen it, I won’t give it away but be careful about reading some of the other reviews posted here. The conclusion is a real shocker, not in the revelation of who the Ripper is but in his ultimate fate which, according to the screenplay, explains why the Ripper was never caught. Visually striking and packed with fine performances from a no-name cast, JACK THE RIPPER is still solid entertainment.
There are 2 existing versions of JACK THE RIPPER. The original 1959 British print with a score by Stanley Black and the 1960 American release made by Joseph E. Levine. His version runs a few minutes longer and features the “infamous” color insert at the end. It also contains a completely different jazz oriented score by Pete Rugolo & Jimmy McHugh. This was done to heighten the more lurid aspects of the movie and to garner additional revenue for Mr. Levine who had his score copyrighted. I prefer the filmmaker approved Stanley Black score. Both versions are available on this disc with the U.S. version taken from a fairly worn 16mm print. There is also bonus commentary provided by the filmmakers.
The Capsule Critic 