While there are certainly a few low budget cheap thrills to be found in this horror/mystery flick, there’s also a certain grainy “charm” to be found in 1959’s Jack The Ripper that makes it worth at least, a curious watch. It’s a mostly pedestrian affair, but not at all what I’d call a “biopic” or anything remotely close to that. In a way, it’s like cross between an episode of Quantum Leap with a transplanted New York City detective (and his modern 1959 haircut) attempting to solve the Ripper case, which gets in the way of most of the actual facts of the case. Granted, this is more of a quickie popcorn flick than anything else, but thanks to the Severin Films version, there are two cuts of the film to enjoy. One is the censored American cut and the other is the saucier foreign version that adds a bit of topless nudity and a cat fight (rowr!) scene. I picked up both versions last year (oddly, the US print cost more that the import)
Oh, and the film is as predictable as a hefty sneeze after snorting a handful of black pepper. There are “suspense” sequences that aren’t suspenseful, too many obvious suspects, a stalky chase through a foggy area that’s just padding between murders and so forth and so on. Not to knock the transfer quality, (he said, knocking the transfer quality), but, this is film that suffers from being far too dark in some areas and a tad too grainy in others. But if you can deal with the opening sequence, you can handle the rest. There’s a neat color sequence at the end of the American cut that kind of makes up for the near total lack of fake blood spilled in the film, but the nudity in the other cut isn’t exactly what I’d call “kid friendly”.
So, yep- this isn’t the best film of it’s type an you’re certainly not going to learn a thing here you already didn’t see in better Ripper flicks, but some will be all in on what bit of ground it does cover, unless they’re too darn picky about facts and such. As long as you go in blind, you should at least be entertained. Just don’t wear your Deestalker hat at all- you’re not going to over-roast a brain cell figuring out the killer here.
-GW
What do you do after making one of the most influential horror films ever? Given that George Romero really didn’t have much of a clue that his first film, Night of the Living Dead would become such an essential genre masterpiece, the director went on to make a few different films between 1971 and 1975 that were either interesting failed experiments or more polished but flawed films all worth a look. Arrow Video has restored and collected three of Romero’s post-NOTLD works in 
I somehow missed out on Frank Henenlotter’s 
With most exploitation films, it’s best to jump in cold and hang on for dear life because over-scrutinizing every frame can mean missing out on what a film really has to offer. Flaws and logic gaps are commonplace as many genre films tend to be rushed (or pay homage to earlier rushed flicks) and rely on copious nudity, sexual content, and/or graphic violence to make their points. Of course, that’s probably one reason why they’re so appreciated by those of us with time to spend watching as many as we can fit into out libraries. You know who you are, so wave that flag proudly, pal.
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