Hands of the Ripper

Hands of the Ripper
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Peter Sasdy
Produced by	Aida Young
Written by	L.W. Davidson Edward Spencer Shew
Starring	Eric Porter Angharad Rees Jane Merrow Keith Bell Derek Godfrey
Music by	Christopher Gunning
Cinematography	Kenneth Talbot
Edited by	Chris Barnes
Production company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	3 October 1971 (UK)
Running time	85 min.
Language	English

Hands of the Ripper is a 1971 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy for Hammer Film Productions. It was written by L. W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew, and produced by Aida Young.

Plot

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 late 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. However, he soon regrets his decision...

Cast

• Eric Porter as Dr. John Pritchard
• Angharad Rees as Anna
• Jane Merrow as Laura
• Keith Bell as Michael Pritchard
• Derek Godfrey as Mr. Dysart
• Dora Bryan as Mrs. "Granny" Golding
• Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Bryant
• Lynda Baron as Long Liz
• Marjie Lawrence as Dolly, the maid
• Margaret Rawlings as Madame Bullard
• Elizabeth MacLennan as Mrs. Wilson
• Barry Lowe as Mr. Wilson
• April Wilding as Catherine

Production

The film featured veteran British actor Eric Porter as the doctor and also stars Jane Merrow, Keith Bell and Derek Godfrey. The film had an early starring role for Angharad Rees. Later in the 1970s, she appeared with Robin Ellis, Ralph Bates and an all star cast in the BBC TV costume drama Poldark.

It was filmed at Pinewood Studios, with some location work at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

Critical reception

The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films wrote that the film "expertly mixes the sophistication expect 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 with a much pacier handling of this story."

References

Sources

External links

• Hands of the Ripper at IMDb
• Hands of the Ripper at AllMovie

Template:Hammer Film Productions films