Hands Of The Ripper [1971] [DVD]

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At the police station the police inspector [Norman Bird] interviews those people who were at the séance. He is puzzled because it would have taken a very strong person to impale Mrs Golding. He establishes that Mr & Mrs Wilson left first, followed by Pritchard and Michael, but no-one saw Dysart leave. Although Pritchard knows the truth, he saves Dysart's embarrassment by stating it could have been possible for Dysart to leave shortly afterwards without anyone seeing him and that he does not believe Dysart was the man he saw leaving after the murder. U.S. Television Introduction" (7:07) is audio from the original ABC presentation of "Hands of the Ripper," where, to fill in the gaps caused by excised gore, Universal shot special scenes to help explain the setting and psychological profile of the characters. Due to a studio fire, the footage is presumed lost, but the audio, despite its rough quality, is intriguing.

Hands of the Ripper - Rotten Tomatoes

The sceptic-who-is-proved-wrong is a familiar figure in horror films. As soon as we hear the words "I don't believe in ghosts/witches/vampires/whatever" we know that retribution is lurking just around the corner. In some films this retribution will take no more serious form than the humiliation of being forced to eat one's words, but in others the forces of the supernatural will take bloody revenge on those who wrong them by doubting their existence. The problem with this is is that, as interesting and complicated as Anna is, Rees isn't up to the job of playing her. Overall, Hands of the Ripper has an unusually strong cast for a Hammer film, particularly one of this vintage: Porter is absolutely terrific, as is Jane Merrow as his optimistic future daughter-in-law, Laura. Keith Bell, playing Pritchard's son and Laura's lover Michael, is far more interesting than the usual pretty boys Hammer was putting in that kind of role in the '70s, bringing a lustful good humor to the role. Godfrey brings substantial nuance out of what's maybe the film's most surprising role, a shitty libertine who turns out to have much more going on than just the repulsive sex fiend of his first scenes. Hell, even in the throwaway roles, Bryan really does make it seem like Mrs. Golding is torn up about selling Anna, and Lynda Baron brings something maternal and funny and lively to her role as a doomed prostitute. As a take on the Ripper story, this doesn't really work. As usual the prostitutes on display here are mainly glamour types with little attention to veracity (a few matronly ladies do make it into the mix) and Eric Porter's Freudian Doctor is surely the most misguided psychoanalyst ever put on screen, even disposing of the bodies when Anna kills.With having enjoyed the commentary that Kim Newman had done with Alan Jones for Dario Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage,I started to search round for other commentaries that Newman was involved in,and I stumbled upon a title which was made during the last days of Hammer Horror,which led to me getting ready to shake hands with the ripper. What helps to make the film work is the distinguished cast, lead by a stern and commanding Eric Porter (THE LOST CONTINENT) as Dr. Pritchard, whose philosophy that the end always justifies the means leads him to coldly dismiss the bodies that Anna has recently murdered. Angharad Rees, who plays the young schizophrenic girl, does a great, scary believable job of conveying the difficult impression that there are two personalities in her body trying to get out. The supporting cast is also effective, especially Keith Bell and Derek Godfrey. At a séance the now grown-up Anna [Angharad Rees] assists her foster mother, the medium Mrs Golding [Dora Bryan], by pretending to be the voice of a spirit communicating with the dead child of a couple, Mr & Mrs Wilson [Barry Lowe & Elizabeth MacLennan]. However, she becomes upset midway through and stops speaking so the medium is forced to finish prematurely. As the guests prepare to leave, one of them, the sceptical Dr. Pritchard [Eric Porter], notices Anna's foot underneath a curtain and stands on it, revealing the hidden Anna. As they leave, Pritchard confides his disgust of charlatans like Mrs Golding to his son Michael [Keith Bell].

Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Plot Summary - IMDb Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Plot Summary - IMDb

At a church Michael and Laura rehearse for their wedding attended also by Pritchard and Anna. Outside afterwards, Anna is worried about herself but Pritchard asks her to trust him. Disney Villain Death: Anna throws herself off a high balcony to stop her split personality from killing anymore. Downer Ending: Anna throws herself off a balcony to stop her split personality from killing. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist who's been trying to treat her the whole film bleeds out from a stab wound she gave him earlier. Hands of the Ripper" brings a new twist to this theme. Dr. John Pritchard is an eminent psychiatrist in Edwardian London who brings one of his patients, a young woman named Anna, into his home. This might seem a risky thing to do, as Pritchard is well aware (although the police are not) that Anna is not only mentally unstable but also a murderess. Pritchard, however, is an enthusiastic Freudian who believes that the new science of psychoanalysis will enable him not only to find out the cause of her murderous impulses but also to cure them.

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Actually the doctor's mental condition is more interesting than that of the girl he's studying: He pulls a "Vertigo" on her by giving her his late wife's room, providing Anna her clothes to wear and is obsessed with healing her because he couldn't heal his wife. At one point he nigh kisses Anna wearing his wife's clothes when the topic of life-after-death surfaces. This being a Hammer film, however, there has to be a more complex explanation for Anna's criminality. Although Pritchard as a scientific rationalist would disdain any supernatural explanation for evil, it transpires that Anna is possessed by her father's spirit and that he is using her as a vehicle to carry out further murders from beyond the grave. Pritchard is guilty of the sin of hubris- the hubris of believing that his scientific methods can cure her- and he therefore has to accept the moral responsibility when Anna, contrary to his confident predictions, does indeed kill again. I am an enthusiastic fan of the Hammer Studios, and my admiration for this brilliant Production Company gets greater with each film I see. The Hammer Studios are most famous for their films made in the late 50s and 60s, most prominently for the (awesome) "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" series. As far as I am considered, however, some of Hammer's films from the early 70s are just as brilliant as their older successes. One of their greatest and my personal favorite of their films, the brilliant "Vampire Circus" was made in 1972, for example, and the early 70s also brought a variety of other classics, such as "Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde" or "Scars Of Dracula", which is easily the nastiest entry to Hammer's Dracula series. "Hands Of The Ripper" of 1971 is yet another great Hammer production that is immensely atmospheric, genuinely creepy, well-acted and stunningly suspenseful, and an absolute must-see for every Horror-fan. This English production was directed by Peter Sasdy & was presumably an attempt by Hammer studios to try something different from it's well know Dracula & Frankenstein series of films, personally I really liked it for what it was even though I know it's not that well known or thought of that highly which is a shame. The script by L.W. Davidson was based on a short printed story by Edward Spencer Shew & seems to take itself very seriously which I thought it just about got away with, the basic concept is rather far fetched & silly but I thought it worked quite well & was something a bit different even if it unfolds in a slightly predictable & linear way. Some of the character's are a bit underdeveloped & some of them are a bit dull but that's probably how people behaved in Victorian London. The film moves along at a nice pace & is never boring plus it has a nice ending which seemed very fitting. The only thing which didn't really work for me was that it didn't take much for Anna to go into here trance & be possessed & since it was so easy why had it never happened before? Oh & I personally wouldn't let a person who had just slit my maids throat in cold blood walk around my house & do whatever she wanted especially while my family was there! Asshole Victim: Anna's first victim after possessing Anna is her guardian, a con artist "medium" who sold her to be raped by an Ephebophile.

Hands of the Ripper (1971) - IMDb

Way before Jason or Michael Sliced and Diced, this Gory Horror from Hammer's Late Period Set a Template and in a Lot of Ways other Films Noticed and Borrowed from Hammer. This good if not great Hammer production is efficiently entertaining, as it hits the ground running and offers up a provocative story of one forward-thinking person attempting to find an alternative way of dealing with mental illness. Some viewers may feel that the proliferation of elaborate, amusingly gory murders throw things asunder considering the more interesting aspects to the script (and Hammers' typically stylish period atmosphere). Also, one may grow impatient with the protagonists' stubbornness and sneakiness as he goes about doing everything possible to try to make his method work.Overall, it is a Good Looking Film as usual for the always Visually Interesting Hammer Studios and is one of the most Violent in its Catalog. Hooker with a Heart of Gold: When Anna escapes from her home in a trance, a Whitechapel prostitute thinks she's new to the job and takes her home to have a chat and give her better advice on the line of work. Unfortunately, Anna kills her.