Man in the Attic (1953)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Hugo Fregonese

Writers:

Marie Belloc Lowndes (novel)
Barré Lyndon (writer)

Release Date:

23 December 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Life...The Loves...The Crimes of Jack the Ripper!

Plot:

London, 1888: on the night of the third Jack the Ripper killing, soft-spoken Mr. Slade, a research pathologist...

Plot Keywords:

Jack The Ripper | Pathologist | River | Period Piece | Doctor

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Slade
Constance Smith	...	Lily Bonner
Byron Palmer	...	Insp. Paul Warwick
Frances Bavier	...	Helen Harley
Rhys Williams	...	William Harley
Sean McClory	...	Constable #1
Leslie Bradley	...	Constable #2
Tita Phillips	...	Daisy (the maid)
Lester Matthews	...	Chief Insp. Melville (as Lester Mathews)
Harry Cording	...	Detective Sgt. Bates
Lisa Daniels	...	Mary Lenihan
Lilian Bond	...	Annie Rowley
Isabel Jewell	...	Katy

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated (DVD) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16755) | Sweden:15

Company:

Panoramic Productions

Quotes:

Slade: Sometimes I walk close by the river. The river is like liquid night flowing peacefully out to infinity.

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

Soundtrack:

THE DEAR LITTLE SHAMROCK

Not bad take on the Jack the Ripper story.

During the infamous killers' murder spree, odd pathologist Mr. Slade (Jack Palance, boosted to star status after his chilling turn as the villain in "Shane" and his Academy Award-nominated performance in "Sudden Fear") takes a room with the Harleys (Frances 'Aunt Bea' Bavier of 'The Andy Griffith Show' and Rhys Williams). For what he claims is the need to perform experiments, he takes over the attic as well (hence the title). He also becomes smitten with the Harleys' gorgeous and good-hearted niece, Lily (Constance Smith), a musical performer.

This nice and reasonably entertaining little thriller from 20th Century Fox provides Palance with a good vehicle. Both he and the effervescent Smith deliver performances that help to carry the film along. Supporting actors Bavier, Williams, Byron Palmer as the Scotland Yard detective Warwick, and Tita Phillips are all good as well. (The lack of English accents in a picture set in London is a little distracting, but not unbearably so.) The picture itself is fairly atmospheric, with good sets and excellent black & white photography. Particularly good are those shots of the victims being confronted by the Ripper, as the camera takes his point of view. The picture also has a pretty good chase scene for its climax.

The source novel was filmed previously in 1927 as the Alfred Hitchcock silent "The Lodger" and then filmed again in 1944 under the same title.

While this picture may not attain classic status like its predecessors, it makes for some good entertainment, a tense and interesting combination of an English period piece and film noir.

7/10