Hands Of The Ripper [1971] [DVD]

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Given the time it was made, and the flow of influences, we must suppose that Hands of the Ripper was taking its cues from the Italian horror industry, but I don't think that's quite right. The thing is, there's never a minute's doubt that Anna is the killer - not from us, and not really from the other characters. There is, I suppose, some mystery around whether psychosis or possession is responsible for her actions, but L.W. Davidson's screenplay doesn't really care about answering that question. I would go so far as to say that we have in this film one of the earliest direct antecedents to the slasher movie, in which we are invited to watch a string of violent murders with no pretext of a mystery behind them at all, as there would be in a giallo: Anna is more in the line of Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, a killer known to us from the outset, whose actions are meant tob e satisfying spectacle in and of themselves. The film ends with a tragic yet fitting climax that takes place in the Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's Cathedral, the fatally wounded Pritchard calling to Anna to join him—which she does by climbing over the edge of the gallery and falling to her death. 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]. Still Gallery (5:43) contains 72 images from the production and marketing of the movie, including lobby cards and poster designs.

Hands of the Ripper (1971) - Plot - IMDb

Disney Villain Death: Anna throws herself off a high balcony to stop her split personality from killing anymore. At a railway station, Michael meets his blind fiancée Laura [Jane Merrow] and they return to the Pritchard's house. 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.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. 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. 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. 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.

hand of the ripper by Taran Whyte - Dailymotion The hand of the ripper by Taran Whyte - Dailymotion

Overall, a solid effort from Hammer that lovers of 70s horror cinema should find to be satisfactory. 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.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.

Hands of the Ripper Blu-ray - Angharad Rees - DVDBeaver Hands of the Ripper Blu-ray - Angharad Rees - DVDBeaver

That's pretty much the movie: watch as the little slip of an adolescent girl commits bloody crimes. Very bloody, at that; I haven't seen all of Hammer's late filmography, but on first glance, I'd be inclined to say that Hands of the Ripper is the studio's goriest film. That's not setting the bar tremendously high, mind you: the Italian gialli pretty much all hit this level, and American films could on occasion rise to some extraordinary heights of gruesomeness. Still, there's at least one effect in the scene where Anna goes into the whore's quarter of London to continue Dad's work that has an effect that even made as jaded a horror veteran as myself perk up with a little "ew, that's gross". 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! 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.Next day Pritchard meets Dysart for an update. To Pritchard's dismay, Dysart has not discovered anything about Anna's past and still thinks she is possessed. He insists Pritchard attend an interview with Queen Victoria's medium Madame Bullard [Margaret Rawlings].

Hands of the Ripper (1971)| Full Length Movie | Eric Porter Hands of the Ripper (1971)| Full Length Movie | Eric Porter

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. Visiting a medium with some friends, psychoanalyses Dr. John Pritchard discovers that the sounds of the "spirits" have actually been made by a girl called Anna,who was hidden away from view.Leaving with the group,Pitchard notices an MP enter the building,and pay to have sex with Anna,in what Pitchard realises is a secret brothel.Waiting round for his carriage (as you do!) Pitchard hears a blood curdling scream.Rushing in,Pitchard is horrified to find that Anna has brutally killed the medium. Hands of the Ripper" (1971) is Victorian horror from Hammer that's similar to their previous "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" (1960), but less psychologically fascinating or entertaining. The Devil's Bloody Plaything: Possessed by the 'Hands of the Ripper'" (28:21, HD) is more of a historical overview of the film, with journalists and admirers gathering to discuss its place in the pantheon of Hammer Horror, a cinematic legacy which found a difficult place of censorship and global distribution as it rolled into the 1970s. BTS information gradually increases during the featurette, with director Peter Sasdy and actress Jane Merrow interviewed, sharing their thoughts on the picture and their responsibilities to character and tone, and we hear snippets of a conversation from lead Angharad Rees, who passed away in 2012. Putting "Hands of the Ripper" in its proper Hammer context is interesting, and the enthusiasm for the movie is appealing, sharing a few anecdotes that aid in the understanding of a few scandalous scenes.

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Pritchard visits Anna in the police cells but she does not have any memory of the murder. Since Pritchard is a psychiatric doctor he arranges Anna's release to his care. He takes her home and to his late wife's room and instructs the maid Dolly [Marjie Lawrence] to look after her.