The biggest surprise for me was seeing "Mayberry R.F.D.s"
Aunt Bee Taylor in the supporting role as the landlady.
Jack Palance had a look about him that might have been very
convincing back when he was little known, but I could not shake his
identity and just see the character, Mr. Slade.
The story was nearly identical to the 1944 version discussed
earlier, with just two exceptions, one being the addition of the dog.
The second was that this was the only one of the three films
that truly shows the 'lodger' to be 'Jack.' All of the others have left
a shadow of doubt to who the lodger really was.
In Hitchcock's, he could have just as well been a brother of
the first victim, who was going insane as he tracked the 'Ripper.'
In the 1944 film, he could have just been the brother of the
first victim's lover, who was driven mad by the loss of the woman he
would have married.
But in this case, it was Slade's own mother who was the
'Ripper's' first victim.
Telling Lily of his mother (earlier in the story), he goes
into a rage as he reveals both his love and contempt for what she
became. He's driven made with lust for Lily to the point that he pulls
out the knife when she refuses to run away where he can keep her safe
from the leering eyes of men.
Finally, we know in this film that this was indeed, "Jack the Ripper."
Rich Wagner
Movies