Two things make this episode a standout: a fine script by Harlan Ellison, and a great original Bernard Herrmann score that's perfectly suited to the grim and gruesome subject matter.
It's been a month-and-a-half since Saucy Jack's last escapade in London, and one foggy night in Cimarron, the body of a girl from the local bordello "Pony Jane's" is found, bearing all the gory earmarks of an encounter with the Ripper. When shortly afterward an old flame becomes the next victim, Marshall Jim Crown (Stuart Whitman) comes to the reluctant realization that he must try to do what all the resources of Scotland Yard couldn't: bring history's most mysterious and infamous serial killer to justice.
There's some hokey dialogue, and the low budget occasionally works against the story's premise (i.e. that with so many rootless people passing through this frontier town, it's not so easy to pick out one suspicious stranger). Still and all, the entire story (except for the epilogue) takes place at night, and the director makes fairly effective use of the spooky atmosphere.
For Ripper afficianados, Ellison put some nice touches in his script, including a taunting letter from Jack to the Marshall which reads quite authentically when compared to the real thing. There's an original twist involving the true identity of the Ripper, and the fate he meets at the end of the episode is highly appropriate.
Plus, the original Bernard Herrmann score is a treat, very effective and well-matched to the somber mood of this (mostly) convincing little nightmare.
It's been a month-and-a-half since Saucy Jack's last escapade in London, and one foggy night in Cimarron, the body of a girl from the local bordello "Pony Jane's" is found, bearing all the gory earmarks of an encounter with the Ripper. When shortly afterward an old flame becomes the next victim, Marshall Jim Crown (Stuart Whitman) comes to the reluctant realization that he must try to do what all the resources of Scotland Yard couldn't: bring history's most mysterious and infamous serial killer to justice.
There's some hokey dialogue, and the low budget occasionally works against the story's premise (i.e. that with so many rootless people passing through this frontier town, it's not so easy to pick out one suspicious stranger). Still and all, the entire story (except for the epilogue) takes place at night, and the director makes fairly effective use of the spooky atmosphere.
For Ripper afficianados, Ellison put some nice touches in his script, including a taunting letter from Jack to the Marshall which reads quite authentically when compared to the real thing. There's an original twist involving the true identity of the Ripper, and the fate he meets at the end of the episode is highly appropriate.
Plus, the original Bernard Herrmann score is a treat, very effective and well-matched to the somber mood of this (mostly) convincing little nightmare.
