Based on "The Lodger" by Marie Belloc Lowndes, this is another take on the Jack the Ripper legend that takes place in Victorian London's West End side.
Sinister looking JACK PALANCE is perfectly well cast as the young man seeking lodgings in a rooming house during a period when the city is aghast over a series of brutal murders. The story begins with ISABEL JEWELL as a "lady of the night" getting her comeuppance from The Ripper.
Produced by Fox at a time when the studio system was collapsing, it looks as though it was filmed on the quick (and cheaply), using sets from other Fox films, particularly the atmospheric London streets with cobblestone and gaslights, a village set often used in Fox films of the period.
Although it follows the Ripper story faithfully, there's nothing new about the presentation. Secondary roles are filled by lesser names like RHYS WILLIAMS and CONSTANCE SMITH and one gets the feeling it's strictly been given perfunctory treatment by writers and director. Smith is a very pretty lady but fails to make the same sort of impression Merle Oberon did in "The Lodger" in the same role of the showgirl. BYRON PALMER is rather colorless as a police inspector who falls in love with Smith.
Strangely enough, JACK PALANCE is never as menacing as Laird Cregar was in "The Lodger." There's more of the "smokehouse ham" in his performance than anything else.
Summing up: The Ripper tale has been done better countless times.
Sinister looking JACK PALANCE is perfectly well cast as the young man seeking lodgings in a rooming house during a period when the city is aghast over a series of brutal murders. The story begins with ISABEL JEWELL as a "lady of the night" getting her comeuppance from The Ripper.
Produced by Fox at a time when the studio system was collapsing, it looks as though it was filmed on the quick (and cheaply), using sets from other Fox films, particularly the atmospheric London streets with cobblestone and gaslights, a village set often used in Fox films of the period.
Although it follows the Ripper story faithfully, there's nothing new about the presentation. Secondary roles are filled by lesser names like RHYS WILLIAMS and CONSTANCE SMITH and one gets the feeling it's strictly been given perfunctory treatment by writers and director. Smith is a very pretty lady but fails to make the same sort of impression Merle Oberon did in "The Lodger" in the same role of the showgirl. BYRON PALMER is rather colorless as a police inspector who falls in love with Smith.
Strangely enough, JACK PALANCE is never as menacing as Laird Cregar was in "The Lodger." There's more of the "smokehouse ham" in his performance than anything else.
Summing up: The Ripper tale has been done better countless times.