Jack the Ripper is on the loose killing prostitutes in London's Whitechapel district, and Sherlock Holmes (John Neville), assisted by his friend Dr. John H. Watson (Donald Houston), is on the case. From the pathologist's findings, Holmes concludes that the man had some medical training, most likely as a surgeon. Various clues lead him to the son of an aristocrat who was studying medicine, but has since vanished since marrying a prostitute. His investigation leads him to a local street mission for the poor where Dr. Murray (Sir Anthony Quayle), an avowed Socialist who works part-time as a Police surgeon, does his best to provide the basic necessities of life to London's poor and destitute. Holmes soon has a short list of possible suspects including Dr. Murray, his assistant Sally Young (Dame Judi Dench), and Max Steiner (Peter Carsten), a pub owner and pimp. The inevitable final confrontation reveals the identity of the killer.
—garykmcd