Carl may be up against the original Jack the Ripper, a black-caped, bullet-resistant, super-human killer of women.Carl may be up against the original Jack the Ripper, a black-caped, bullet-resistant, super-human killer of women.Carl may be up against the original Jack the Ripper, a black-caped, bullet-resistant, super-human killer of women.
- Masseuse
- (as Marya Small)
- Policeman
- (as Donald Mantooth)
- Mail Boy
- (as Robert Bryan Berger)
- Cop in Alley
- (uncredited)
- Detective
- (uncredited)
- Debbie Fielder
- (uncredited)
- Detective
- (uncredited)
- Bus Driver
- (uncredited)
- Driver's Wife
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThough actress Ruth McDevitt is credited only as "Elderly Woman", her character is actually given a name in dialogue - Miss Eggenweiller (no spelling shown) Ruth McDevitt would later join the regular cast as "Miss Emily Cowles", the columnist to whom "Miss Eggenweiller" had written in this episode.
- GoofsKolchak, while being a reporter, even though employed by a 3rd rate news service, constantly uses a small format 110 camera to capture out of focus images of vampires, werewolves and the like. Such a camera would not produce usable photos, especially those taken at night.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Carl Kolchak: [Voiceover intro] If by chance you happened to be in the Windy City between May 25 and May 29 of this year, you would have had good reason to be terrified. During this time Chicago was stalked by a horror so frightening, so fascinating, that it ranks with the great unsolved mysteries of all time. It's been the fictional subject of films, plays, even an opera. Now, here, are the true facts.
This episode shows how well the cast, writers, and directors could successfully put together true spookiness & suspense and genuinely funny comedy into the same stories without the balance ever tipping too far to either side.
The story here has a series of brutal murders plaguing Chicago, done Ripper style. Kolchak knows of similar Ripper style murders that have occurred throughout the decades, and comes to believe that the perpetrator may very well be THE Jack the Ripper.
Directed with efficiency by Allen Baron ("Blast of Silence"), 'The Ripper' features some solid action sequences and stunts (The Ripper is played for maximum menacing presence by stuntman Mickey Gilbert) and some undeniable tension as Kolchak checks out the house where The Ripper has been spotted. The hilarious bits often come from the confrontations between Kolchak and his long suffering editor Tony Vincenzo, wonderfully played by Simon Oakland, as well as between Kolchak and stuffy colleague Uptight - I mean Updyke (Jack Grinnage) - and weary police captain Warren (Ken Lynch). One can see how Kolchak would rub people the wrong way, but that's why we as fans love him. It's also hysterical seeing an agitated Kolchak trying to do what he would rather do when faced with the task of filling in for advice columnist Miss Emily.
Popping up in supporting parts are Beatrice Colen ('Wonder Woman', 'Happy Days') as upbeat reporter Jane Plumm, Ruth McDevitt, who would go on to play Miss Emily in subsequent episodes, as the elderly woman, Mews Small as a masseuse, and Roberta Collins as an undercover cop.
Good fun all around, and well establishes the formula for the series.
Eight out of 10.
- Hey_Sweden
- Mar 3, 2012
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- 407 S. Dearborn St Chicago IL 60605, USA(INS office exterior in Chicago where elevated train passes by)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime52 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1