Jack the Ripper [1976]

Country of Origin: Switzerland / West Germany
Year of Production: 1976
Running Times: 95 mins
Format: Eastmancolor 35mm
Ratio: 1.75:1
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Cinemec-Produktion / Elite Film AG / Ascot
Executive Producer: Erwin C. Dietrich
Producers: Max Dara, Edward A. Stock (?)
Assistant Producer: Peter Spoerri

SCRIPT
Script: Jesus Franco, Nicolas Weisse

DIRECTION
Director: Jesus Franco
Assistant Directors: Mark Rissi, Alfons Sinniger

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Peter Baumgartner
Assistant Director of Photography: Rudolf 'Ruedi' Kuttel

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Marie-Luise Buschke

MUSIC
Music: Walter Baumgartner

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Jakob Peier, Ruta Urkhart (Burkhart?)
Costumes: Silvia de Stoutz
Assistant Costumes: Ellen Salzmann

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Hans-Walter Kramski, Karlheinz Reiber

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Set Dresser: Rolf Engler

CAST
Klaus Kinski [Dr Dennis Orloff / Jack the Ripper]
Josephine Chaplin [Cynthis]
Andreas Mannkopff [Inspector Anthony Selby]
Friedrich Schönfelder [Major Bentley]
Herbert Fux [Charlie]
Olga Gebhard [Miss Baxter]
Lina Romay [Marika]
Hans Gaugler [blind poacher]
Ursula Von Wiehse [old woman]
Francine Custer
Peter Nüsch
Nicolas (Nikola?) Weisse
Angelika Arndts
Lorli Bucher
Mike Lederer
Otto Dornbierer
Regine Elsener
Esther Studer

In the East End of Victorian London, a serial killer is targetting prostitutes. The killer, who signs himself Jack the Ripper, is a respected physician who goes about his grisly work with the help of his servant Frieda. The girlfriend of the increasingly desperate police inspector charged with catching the killer decides to go under cover, without back-up, to see if she can lure the maniac out...

Boasting a fantastic performance from Klaus Kinski, this is a typically offbeat take on the Ripper legend from Franco. Easily the bloodiest Ripper film to date, the killings are staged with a shocking casualness that makes them all the more effective and Franco even manages to stage a few well sustained suspense sequences. It takes great liberties with the facts, however, and technically the film is extremely shoddy.

France
Video Distributor: VIP

Netherlands
Video Distributor: Video For Pleasure

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Cineshowcase
Video Distributors: Vestron Video; Video Search of Miami
DVD Distributor: VIP Entertainment [30010 AE]; Elite Entertainment [EE5225]

West Germany
Video Distributor: Toppic

Finland
Rating: K-18

USA
Rating: R

1976
September
23: West Germany - theatrical release

1980
January
25: Finland - theatrical release

2001
March
Day Unknown: USA - DVD release [VIP Entertainment [30010 AE]]

Jack L'eventreur - France title
Der Dirnenmörder von London - German title
Erotico profondo - Italian title
Sohon Teurastaja - Finnish title

SEE ALSO
Bridge Across Time [1985]
Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde [1971]
Hands of the Ripper [1971]
Jack, el Destripador de Londres [1971]
Jack's Back [1988]
Jack the Ripper [1959]
Jack the Ripper [1988]
The Lodger [1926]
The Lodger [1932]
The Lodger [1944]
Lulu [1962]
The Man in the Attic [1953]
The Monster of London City [1964]
Murder By Decree [1979]
Pandora's Box [1928]
The Ripper [1997]
Room To Let [1949]
Santo en el Hotel de la Muerte [1961]
A Study in Terror [1965]
Terror in the Wax Museum [1972]
Three Wax Men [1924]

MAGAZINES

Absurd 8
credits, review

The Dark Side April 1993 p.33
review

Samhain 5 p.20
review [by Kevin Lyons]

BOOKS

Creature Features Strikes Again p.208
credits, review [by John Stanley]

Obsession - The Films of Jesus Franco p.120
credits, review [by Peter Blumenstock]

jack the ripper; serial killers; true crime; prostitutes

Last Updated: 6 March, 2007