Jack the Ripper (1976)

A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.

Director:

Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco)

Writer:

Jesús Franco (screenplay) (as Jess Franco)

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, Josephine Chaplin, Andreas Mannkopff

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klaus Kinski	...	Dr. Dennis Orloff
Josephine Chaplin	...	Cynthia
Andreas Mannkopff	...	Inspector Selby
Herbert Fux	...	Charlie, the Fisherman
Lina Romay	...	Marika Stevenson
Hans Gaugler	...	Mr. Bridger, the Blind Man
Nikola Weisse	...	Frieda
Ursula von Wiese	...	Miss Higgins (as Ursula v. Wiese)
Francine Custer	...	Sally Brown, first victim
Olga Gebhard	...	Mrs. Baxter
Angelika Arndts	...	Mrs. Stevenson, Marika's Mother
Peter Nüsch	...	Sergeant Ruppert (as Peter Nuesch)
Esther Studer	...	Jeanny, second victim
Regine Elsener	...	Blondy
Lorli Bucher	...	Lulu

Storyline

A Swiss-German horror film with Klaus Kinski as the notorious Jack the Ripper. A respected doctor by day, Kinski dismembers London prostitutes by night, until the local Inspector's girlfriend (Josephine Chaplin) goes undercover to catch him.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude woman | character name as title | jack the ripper character | serial murder | three word title | 

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Taglines:

Close your eyes and whisper his name...

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Switzerland West Germany Spain

Language:

German English Spanish

Release Date:

23 September 1976 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Jack l'éventreur

Filming Locations:

Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elite Film, Ascot Film, Cinemec

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 82 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The royal coat of arms shown outside Scotland Yard bears the letters ER - presumably for the current Queen: Elizabeth Regina. In 1888 when Jack the Ripper was loose Victoria was on the throne and the letters would have been VR: Victoria Regina.

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Quotes

Mr. Bridger, the Blind Man: The murderer smelled of several familiar odours; expensive soap. sweat, and very fine woolen clothes and mild Turkish tobacco and also an odour, Inspector, that you could recognise with much ease, I think: alcohol.
Inspector Selby: Yes, of course. You smell of it.
Mr. Bridger, the Blind Man: Oh, but that's an easy one. What I detected was a medicinal alcohol and then a real surprise; I also caught a whiff of a rare, medicinal plant of India. It transported me back to the colonies. In England, it's found only in the Botanical Gardens. It ...

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Connections

Referenced in Demon Queen (1987)

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Soundtracks

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
(uncredited)
Scottish folk tune
Performed by Francine Custer

User Reviews

The Awful Dr. Kinski?

Throughout his career, Franco has borrowed ideas from his atmospheric first shocker, Gritos en la Noche/The Awful Dr. Orloff. This movie is almost a complete remake of that film, with Klaus Kinski an inspired substitute for Howard Vernon as the main maniac. A couple of things really get in the way of

my enjoyment, though: first, the city Jack terrorizes looks no more like London than, say, Marrakech. Or Beijing. Or Dubuque. Another irritating thing: the English dubbing on my print confuses Victorian English with Elizabethan English -- it's all "prithee"'s and "milord"'s and "wilt thou"'s. Ouch.