''Hands of the Ripper'' is a 1971 British

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

, directed by Peter Sasdy for

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

. It was written by L. W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew, and produced by

Aida Young Aida Young (née Cohen; 11 August 1920 – 12 August 2007) was a British film producer. Her credits include ''She''. Life Young was born in 1920 to an Orthodox Jewish family in Stepney where her family ran a pawnbroker shop. She wanted to be an ...

. The film was released in the U.S. as a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera h ...

with ''

Twins of Evil ''Twins of Evil'' (also known as ''Twins of Dracula'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former ''Playboy'' Playmates Mary and Madeleine ...

''.

Plot

The young daughter of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

is witness to the brutal murder of her mother by her father. Fifteen years later, she is a troubled young woman who is seemingly possessed by the spirit of her late father. While in a psychotic trance she continues his murderous killing spree, but has no recollection of the events afterwards. A sympathetic psychiatrist takes her in and is convinced he can cure her condition. However, he soon regrets his decision...

Cast

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...

as Dr. John Pritchard *

Angharad Rees Angharad Mary Rees, The Hon. Mrs David McAlpine, CBE (16 July 1944 – 21 July 2012) was a British actress, best known for her British television roles during the 1970s and in particular her leading role as Demelza in the 1970s BBC TV costume d ...

as Anna * Jane Merrow as Laura *Keith Bell as Michael Pritchard * Derek Godfrey as Mr. Dysart *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Bryant *

Lynda Baron Lilian Ridgway (24 March 1939 – 5 March 2022), known professionally as Lynda Baron, was an English actress and singer. She is best known for having played Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the BBC sitcom ''Open All Hours'' (1976–1985) and its sequel ...

as Long Liz *

Marjie Lawrence Marjie Lawrence (21 January 1932 – 16 June 2010) was an English theatre, film and television actress. She spoke the first words uttered on ITV. Early life Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Marjie undertook weekend acting classes from a ...

as Dolly, the maid *

Margaret Rawlings Margaret Rawlings, Lady Barlow (5 June 1906 – 19 May 1996) was an English stage actress, born in Osaka, Japan, daughter of the Rev. George William Rawlings and his wife Lilian (née Boddington) Rawlings. Personal life/affiliations She was e ...

as Madame Bullard *

Elizabeth MacLennan Elizabeth Margaret Ross MacLennan (16 March 1938 – 23 June 2015) was a Scottish actress, writer and radical popular theatre practitioner. Early life Elizabeth MacLennan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, daughter of Sir Hector MacLennan and Is ...

as Mrs. Wilson *Barry Lowe as Mr. Wilson *April Wilding as Catherine *Douglas Chippendale as Jack the Ripper

Production

The film features British actor

as the doctor, and also stars Jane Merrow, Keith Bell and Derek Godfrey. It has an early starring role for

. It was filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, with some location work at

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gra ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Critical reception

Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

gave the film 2 1/2 out of a possible 4 stars. In his review he stated that the film had " good atmosphere and solid performances, but after a good start, dissolves into a series of bloody murders." ''The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films'' wrote that the film "expertly mixes the sophistication expected of Hammer's films with the gore its new audiences demanded." Andy Boot considers the film "flawed, and so close to the fag end of Gothic that it could almost be a parody", but that it is "nonetheless a film well worth watching". He opines that Peter Sasdy "atoned for his appalling ''

Countess Dracula ''Countess Dracula'' is a 1971 British Hammer horror film based on some of the legends surrounding the Countess Elizabeth Báthory. The film was produced by Alexander Paal and directed by Peter Sasdy, both Hungarian émigrés working in Englan ...

'' with a much pacier handling of this story."Andy Boot. ''Fragments of Fear: An Illustrated History of British Horror Films''. London: Creation Books, 1996, pp 117-19. Film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported an approval rating of 86%, based on seven reviews, with a rating average of 7.1/10.

References

Sources

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hands Of The Ripper 1971 films 1970s historical horror films 1971 horror films British historical horror films Films about Jack the Ripper Films about psychiatry Films set in 1888 Films set in 1903 Films set in London Films shot at Pinewood Studios Hammer Film Productions horror films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Peter Sasdy Films scored by Christopher Gunning British exploitation films British serial killer films British psychological horror films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films