Jack the Ripper (1959 film)

Last updated

Jack the Ripper
Directed by Monty Berman
Robert S. Baker
Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster
Starring Lee Patterson
Eddie Byrne
Betty McDowall
John Le Mesurier
Ewen Solon
CinematographyRobert S. Baker
Monty Berman
Edited by Peter Bezencenet
Music by Stanley Black (UK)
Jimmy McHugh (US)
Pete Rugolo (US)
Production
company
Distributed byRegal Film Distributors
Release dates
  • 28 May 1959 (1959-05-28)(UK)
  • 17 February 1960 (1960-02-17)(US)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£50,000 [1]
Box office$1.1 million (US) [2]

Jack the Ripper is a 1959 film produced and directed by Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker. It is loosely based on Leonard Matters' theory that Jack the Ripper was an avenging doctor. [3] The black-and-white film stars Lee Patterson and Eddie Byrne and co-stars Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, and Ewen Solon. [4] It was released in England in 1959, and shown in the U.S. in 1960. [5]

Contents

The plot is a "whodunit" with false leads and a denouement in which the least likely character, in this case "Sir David Rogers" played by Ewen Solon, is revealed as the culprit. [6] As in Matters' book, The Mystery of Jack the Ripper, Solon's character murders prostitutes to avenge the death of his son. While Matters had the son dying from venereal disease, the film has him committing suicide on learning his lover is a prostitute. [7]

Plot

In 1888, Jack the Ripper is on his killing spree. Scotland Yard Inspector O'Neill (Byrne) welcomes a visit from his old friend, New York City detective Sam Lowry (Patterson), who agrees to assist with the investigation. Sam becomes attracted to modern woman Anne Ford (McDowall) but her guardian, Dr. Tranter (Le Mesurier), doesn't approve. The police slowly close in on the killer as the public becomes more alarmed. The killer's identity is revealed and he meets a ghastly end.

Cast

Production

The film's budget was raised from a combination of pre-sales to Regal Film Distributors at the National Film Finance Corporation. [1] The film was prepared in different edits to accommodate various territories' tolerance of nudity and violence. The British version was subject to some BBFC trims, including a moment at the end where the movie switched from black and white to colour as blood materialized on the floor. A racier continental version was released in France. [8]

Release

Joseph E. Levine bought the US rights for £50,000. He later claimed he spent $1 million on promoting the movie and earned $2 million in profit on it. [1] Levine replaced the Stanley Black score with a new one composed by Jimmy McHugh and Pete Rugolo, added some narration to the opening moments, rearranged the credits to move most of the technical credits to the end while changing the font for the opening title sequence, and restored the colour blood insert at the end that had been removed on orders of the BBFC. [8]

According to Variety , the film earned rentals of $1.1 million in North America on initial release. [2]

After Paramount's U.S. rights expired, the film circulated mostly in public domain bootlegs until Severin Films released a licensed Blu-ray edition in America on Black Friday 2017. That limited pressing was a 2-disc edition with a Blu disc containing HD transfers of the British version (mastered at 1.33 ratio) and the American version (mastered at 1.66), and a DVD containing a SD reconstruction of the European "continental" edition using bits from the US and UK prints and tape sourced material for the alternate nude footage (with alternating aspect ratios accounting for the different source prints), along with an exclusive slipcover reproducing the jacket art of the source novel. A single disc release without the bonus DVD was mass market released shortly after that initial offering on January 8, 2018. In 2019, a collector provided a film element for the European cut, and after scanning it, Severin made a new HD hybrid cut using its nude scenes with the American print (mastered at a consistent 1.66 ratio), and released it on Blu-Ray at a discounted price beginning with its Black Friday sale that year, so previous buyers could effectively replace the previous DVD from the limited edition. The single disc Blu and the European Blu are still available at their website.

Regrettably, the film element used for the American version is a less-than-ideal 16mm copy, which had itself been borrowed from the Library of Congress. The aspect ratio of 1.66 to 1 is a center extraction of that print. The 35mm negative and fine grain have been lost, and have never been found.

Critical reception

The New York Times called it a "shoddy horror feature" that was "extravagant only in its amount of gore." [9] The Tampa Tribune said it was "an interesting motion picture with a cast of reasonably talented unknowns" and said that it contained "one of the most effective shock devices dreamed up by movie men in some time". [10]

Box Office

According to Kinematograph Weekly the film performed "better than average" at the British box office in 1959. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>This Is Cinerama</i> 1952 American documentary film

This Is Cinerama is a 1952 American documentary film directed by Mike Todd, Michael Todd Jr., Walter A. Thompson and Fred Rickey and starring Lowell Thomas. It is designed to introduce the widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so that the viewer's peripheral vision is involved. This Is Cinerama premiered on September 30, 1952, at the Broadway Theatre in New York City.

<i>The Aristocats</i> 1970 American romantic comedy animated film

The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. It is the final Disney animated film made with the involvement of Walt Disney Productions' co-founder Roy O. Disney before his death on December 20, 1971. The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress's fortune which was intended to go to them. The film features the voices of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby.

<i>The Opening of Misty Beethoven</i> 1976 pornographic film directed by Radley Metzger

The Opening of Misty Beethoven is an American pornographic comedy film released in 1976. It was produced with a relatively high budget and filmed on elaborate locations in Paris, New York City and Rome with a musical score, and owes much to its director Radley Metzger. According to author Toni Bentley, The Opening of Misty Beethoven is considered the "crown jewel" of the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Criterion Collection</span> American home video distribution company

The Criterion Collection, Inc. is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinephiles and public and academic libraries. Criterion has helped to standardize certain aspects of home-video releases such as film restoration, the letterboxing format for widescreen films and the inclusion of bonus features such as scholarly essays and documentary content about the films and filmmakers. Criterion most notably pioneered the use of commentary tracks. Criterion has produced and distributed more than 1,000 special editions of its films in VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray formats and box sets. These films and their special features are also available via The Criterion Channel, an online streaming service that the company operates.

<i>Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie</i> 1994 anime film

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as Street Fighter II Movie in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting game written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 6, 1994, was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, and was adapted into English in dubbed and subtitled format by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. It was distributed by Toei Company in Japan, while 20th Century Fox also distributed in other countries.

<i>The Yankee Doodle Mouse</i> 1943 film by directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna

The Yankee Doodle Mouse is a 1943 American one-reel animated cartoon in Technicolor. It is the eleventh Tom and Jerry short produced by Fred Quimby, and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision by Scott Bradley and animation by Irven Spence, Pete Burness, Kenneth Muse and George Gordon. Jack Zander was credited on the original print, but his credit was omitted in the 1950 reissue. It was released to theaters on June 26, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The short features Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse chasing each other in a pseudo-warfare style, and makes numerous references to World War II technology such as jeeps and dive bombers, represented by clever uses of common household items. The Yankee Doodle Mouse won the 1943 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, making it the first of seven Tom and Jerry cartoons to receive this distinction.

<i>The Punch and Judy Man</i> 1963 British film

The Punch and Judy Man is a 1963 black and white British comedy film made by Elstree Studios directed by Jeremy Summers from a script by Philip Oakes and Tony Hancock for the Associated British Picture Corporation. It was Hancock's second and last starring role in a film, following The Rebel (1961).

<i>Midnight Lace</i> 1960 film directed by David Miller

Midnight Lace is a 1960 American psychological thriller film directed by David Miller and starring Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, and Roddy McDowall. The plot centers on a woman threatened by an anonymous stalker and who has a hard time convincing others of what is happening. The screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts was based on the play Matilda Shouted Fire by Janet Green. The new title referred to a lacy dress that Day's character purchases early in the film and wears at the climax.

Jack the Ripper, a notorious serial killer who terrorized Whitechapel in 1888, has been featured in works of fiction ranging from gothic novels published at the time of the murders to modern motion pictures, televised dramas and video games.

<i>Stripped</i> (Rolling Stones album) The Rolling Stones 1995 live/studio album

Stripped is an album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones released in November 1995 after the Voodoo Lounge Tour. It contains six live tracks and eight studio recordings. The live tracks were taken from four 1995 performances, at three small venues, and include a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", which was the first single from the album. The remaining eight tracks were acoustic studio re-recordings of songs from the Stones' previous catalogue, the exception being a cover of Willie Dixon's "Little Baby". The studio performances were recorded "live," i.e., without overdubs.

<i>My Bloody Valentine</i> (film) 1981 Canadian slasher film by George Mihalka

My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.

<i>Deep Red</i> 1975 giallo film directed by Dario Argento

Deep Red, also known as The Hatchet Murders, is a 1975 Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Bernardino Zapponi. It stars David Hemmings as a musician who investigates a series of murders performed by a mysterious figure wearing black leather gloves. The cast also stars Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Méril, and Clara Calamai. The film's score was composed and performed by Goblin, the first in a long-running collaboration with Argento.

Pirated movie release types are the different types of pirated movies and television series that are shared on the Internet. The quality and popularity of pirated movie release types vary widely, due to the different sources and methods used for acquiring the video content, the development and adoption of encoding formats, and differing preferences on the part of suppliers and end users as to quality and size-efficiency.

<i>Unidentified Flying Oddball</i> 1979 film by Russ Mayberry

Unidentified Flying Oddball is a 1979 science fiction comedy film. It is based on Mark Twain's 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, directed by Russ Mayberry and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released in the United Kingdom as The Spaceman and King Arthur, then subsequently re-released in the United States as A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court, the film stars Dennis Dugan as NASA employee Tom Trimble who unintentionally travels back in time with his look-alike android Hermes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home video</span> Prerecorded video media that are either sold, rented, or streamed for home entertainment

Home video is recorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movies. Another format LaserDisc is also a home video format released in 1978 which never caught on market due to high cost of the players and their inability to record TV programs unlike the VHS. The format gained interests from movie collectors.

<i>The Constant Husband</i> 1955 film by Sidney Gilliat

The Constant Husband is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, George Cole and Raymond Huntley. The story was written by Gilliat together with Val Valentine, and the film was produced by Individual Pictures, Gilliat's and Frank Launder's joint production company. Because the film got caught up in the 1954 bankruptcy of British Lion Film Corporation, it was not released until more than seven months after it had been finished and reviewed by the British Board of Film Censors.

A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy with which the digital copy is usually offered as part of a bundle. It allows the disc's purchaser to acquire a single copy of the film on a digital device such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet computer, or digital media player, and view it on those devices without requiring access to the physical media. "Digital copy" is also commonly referred to as "Digital HD".

<i>Maigret</i> (1960 TV series) British TV series or programme

Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.

<i>La Morte Vivante</i> 1982 French horror-drama film directed by Jean Rollin

La Morte Vivante is a 1982 French horror-drama film directed by Jean Rollin and starring Marina Pierro, Francoise Blanchard, Mike Marshall, Carina Barone, Fanny Magier, Patricia Besnard-Rousseau and Sam Selsky. The story involves a young woman who has returned from the dead and needs human blood in order to survive.

References

  1. 1 2 3 John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 56-61
  2. 1 2 "Rental Potentials of 1960", Variety, 4 January 1961 p 47. Please note figures are rentals as opposed to total gross.
  3. Meikle, Denis (2002). Jack the Ripper: The Murders and the Movies. Richmond, Surrey: Reynolds and Hearn Ltd. ISBN   1-903111-32-3, pp. 75-79. Woods, Paul; Baddeley, Gavin (2009). Saucy Jack: The Elusive Ripper. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7110-3410-5, p. 198.
  4. "Jack the Ripper (1958)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  5. Woods and Baddeley, p. 197
  6. Meikle, pp. 76–77
  7. Meikle, p. 79
  8. 1 2 Cotenas, Eric. "JACK THE RIPPER (1958) Standard Edition Blu-ray". dvddrive-in.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  9. Archer, Eugene (18 February 1960). "Screen: 'Jack the Ripper':Murder Story on Bill With 'The Big Night'" . New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  10. Robins, Charles (2 April 1960). "Screen Parade". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 23. Retrieved 5 November 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Billings, Josh (17 December 1959). "Other better-than-average offerings". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 7.