By Richard Harland Smith
Hands of the Ripper
Brief Synopsis
The daughter of Jack the Ripper continues his grisly legacy.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Peter Sasdy
Director
Eric Porter
Dr Pritchard
Angharad Rees
Anna
Jane Merrow
Laura
Keith Bell
Michael
Derek Godfrey
Dysart
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Thriller
Release Date
1971
Production Company
Hammer Films
Distribution Company
Rank Film Distributors Ltd
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Synopsis
The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper 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 father. While in a 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. Soon, however, he regrets his decision.
Director
Peter Sasdy
Director
Cast
Eric Porter
Dr Pritchard
Angharad Rees
Anna
Jane Merrow
Laura
Keith Bell
Michael
Derek Godfrey
Dysart
Dora Bryan
Mrs Golding
Lynda Baron
Long Liz
Marjorie Lawrence
Dolly
Marjorie Rhodes
Mrs Bryant
Norman Bird
Police Inspector
Margaret Rawlins
Madame Bullard
Elizabeth Maclennan
Mrs Wilson
Barry Lowe
Mr Wilson
A. J. Brown
Reverend Anderson
April Wilding
Catherine
Anne Clune
1st Cell Whore
Vicki Woolf
2nd Cell Whore
Katya Wyeth
1st Publicist Whore
Beulah Hughes
2nd Publicist Whore
Tallulah Miller
3rd Publicist Whore
Peter Munt
Pleasants
Ann Way
Seamstress
Phillip Ryan
Policeman
Molly Weir
Maid
Charles Lamb
Guard
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Thriller
Release Date
1971
Production Company
Hammer Films
Distribution Company
Rank Film Distributors Ltd
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 25m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Articles
Hands of the Ripper
Always looking to add another monster to its repertory, Great Britain's Hammer Film Productions broached the subject of Jack the Ripper (though not for the first time) with Peter Sasdy's Hands of the Ripper (1971). This distinctly Freudian spin on the serial killer mythos focuses not on the Fiend of Whitechapel himself but on his orphaned daughter (Angharad Rees), sole heir to a legacy of violence and horror. Innovative and forward-looking, Hands of the Ripper occupies linchpin status between Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) - a genre game-changer to which Hammer paid homage via a series of nervy black-and-white psychological thrillers - and the slasher cycle kicked off by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978); there are intriguing points of comparison between the Sasdy and Carpenter films, from the image of a traumatized child shocked into a glassy-eyed fugue state to the butterfly pinning of a victim to the back of a door to the symbiotic relationship between the killer and a doctor (here played by Forsyte Saga star Eric Porter) racing to stop her before she kills again. Director Sasdy was able to recreate Edwardian England on the backlot of Pinewood Studios by reusing leftover sets from Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1971) - though a climactic suspense setpiece set in the domed Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's Cathedral in London was faked by placing the actors in front of frame blow-ups of the interior of the historical edifice.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Hands of the Ripper
Always looking to add another monster to its repertory, Great Britain's Hammer Film Productions broached the subject of Jack the Ripper (though not for the first time) with Peter Sasdy's Hands of the Ripper (1971). This distinctly Freudian spin on the serial killer mythos focuses not on the Fiend of Whitechapel himself but on his orphaned daughter (Angharad Rees), sole heir to a legacy of violence and horror. Innovative and forward-looking, Hands of the Ripper occupies linchpin status between Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) - a genre game-changer to which Hammer paid homage via a series of nervy black-and-white psychological thrillers - and the slasher cycle kicked off by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978); there are intriguing points of comparison between the Sasdy and Carpenter films, from the image of a traumatized child shocked into a glassy-eyed fugue state to the butterfly pinning of a victim to the back of a door to the symbiotic relationship between the killer and a doctor (here played by Forsyte Saga star Eric Porter) racing to stop her before she kills again. Director Sasdy was able to recreate Edwardian England on the backlot of Pinewood Studios by reusing leftover sets from Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1971) - though a climactic suspense setpiece set in the domed Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's Cathedral in London was faked by placing the actors in front of frame blow-ups of the interior of the historical edifice.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Lynda Baron's character is named after one of Jack the Ripper's real-life victims, Elizabeth Stride, whose nickname was "Long Liz".
For the climactic scenes in St Paul's Cathedral - permission was requested and turned down to film on location. A replica was built instead.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1971
Released in United States 1971
