Jack the Ripper (1976 film)

Jack the Ripper
German film poster
Directed byJesús Franco
Written byJesús Franco
Produced byErwin C. Dietrich
Starring
CinematographyPeter Baumgartner
Edited byMarie-Louise Buschke[1]
Production
company
Cinemec-Film
Distributed byAvis Filmverleih
Release date
  • September 23, 1976 (1976-09-23) (Germany)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman

Jack the Ripper (German: Jack the Ripper - Der Dirnenmörder von London, lit. 'Jack the Ripper - The London Prostitute Murderer') is a 1976 German horror film directed by Jesús Franco and starring Klaus Kinski.

Cast

Cast adapated from Flowers of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco: Volume Two (2018).[1][2]

Production

In April 1976, director Jesús Franco suggested to producer Erwin C. Dietrich to make a horror film based on the case of Jack the Ripper.[2] Franco biographer Stephen Thrower said that despite the title, the film predominantly a re-staged version of his film The Awful Dr. Orloff (1962).[3] In an interview with Swiss journalist Hans D. Furrer, Franco said that he needed his version of Jack the Ripper to have a name, leading him to say "So why not Orloff? He is my favorite such figure and I had the opportunity, this time, to shoot a larger Orloff film. One thing that's very important to me in this film its that I was lucky enough to get the actor Klaus Kinski. I have already made several films with him. He is an actor I admire, and my Orloff is an ideal role for Kinski."[3]

The project was designed from the beginning to have Klaus Kinski as the lead actor.[2] When working on the film Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969), director Jesús Franco would first work actor Klaus Kinski. Franco would work with Kinski on three more films together with Jack the Ripper being the last of their collaborations.[4] In 1977, Kinski spoke about his work with Franco, stating that the director was "the exact opposite of so many others. In a way, I'll always stick up for him. He shoots in his own style, very fast, very swift, he doesn't dwell on things. He makes films with whatever he has to hand, and that's where his talent lies; he can make you weep by his ability to bring out what's inside people."[3]

Franco had initially wanted Edmond Purdom for the role of the inspector, with the role eventually going to Andreas Mannkopff.[2] Franco initially wanted to shoot in London and southern France, with Dietrich and Franco eventually settling to shoot in Zurich.[2] This included location shooting along the Schanzengraben canal which was to represent the River Thames.[5]

According to cinematographer Peter Baumgartner, Franco began on pre-production for Jack the Ripper in May 1976 after returning from Paris.[6] It was shot between June 1 and the 25th.[1] Jack the Ripper was a West German production by Cinemec-Film.[1] The film was shot without any sound recorded. All dialogue on location was spoken in whatever language the actors preferred to talk in.[2]

During editing, Jack the Ripper was made to match the script and written in German, which Dietrich considers to be the "original version of the film."[2]

Release

Jack the Ripper was released in Germany under the title Jack the Ripper - Der Dirnenmérder Von London where it was distributed by Avis Filmverleih.[1] The film was only one of the few productions by Dietrich to release in France, where it was released as Jack l'eventreur.[7] It has been released by United Kingdom and American-based DVD distributors as Jack the Ripper.[1]

Jack the Ripper on Blu-ray by Ascot Elite Home Entertainment on September 24, 2013.[8]

Reception

Robert Firsching of AllMovie described it as "one of the better efforts" from Franco, specifically noting the performances from Kinski and Lina Romay.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Thrower 2018, p. 92.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Thrower 2018, p. 95.
  3. ^ a b c Thrower 2018, p. 96.
  4. ^ Thrower 2018, p. 14.
  5. ^ Thrower 2018, p. 102.
  6. ^ Thrower 2018, p. 44.
  7. ^ Thrower 2018, pp. 102–103.
  8. ^ Ballin 2014.
  9. ^ Firsching.

Sources

  • Ballin, Dima (11 May 2014). "Jack the Ripper (1976 – German Blu-Ray Review)". Diabolique Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  • Firsching, Robert. "Jack the Ripper". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  • Thrower, Stephen (2018). Flowers of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco: Volume Two. Strange Attractor Press. ISBN 9781907222603.
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