Hands of the Ripper – 1971 | 85 mins | Horror | Colour

Plot Synopsis

In Hands of the Ripper, an extremely polished and clever variation on the Jack the Ripper story, Eric Porter played the psychiatrist Dr Pritchard, who employs Freudian techniques to try and cure the homicidal impulses that overtake Anna (Angharad Rees), the daughter of Jack the Ripper, every time she is kissed. Having witnessed her father murder her mother as a child, she herself unconsciously resorts to violence later in life. Several murders follow, including that of maid Dolly (Marjie Lawrence), a phoney medium (Dora Bryan) speared to a door, and a prostitute stabbed in the eye by a handful of hatpins. Even her benefactor almost loses hope when he is stabbed in the side, pursuing her to the whispering gallery at St. Paul’s and coaxing her into a death fall on top of him.

L.W. Davidson’s script allows the audience to come to their own conclusions as to what has motivated Dr Pritchard to continually cover up Anna’s crimes, while at the same time it successfully caters for thrill seekers seeking a gory shock or two.