Jack the Ripper Inspired Films and TV
by francescafay11 | created - 24 Sep 2015 | updated - 21 Nov 2022 | PublicThis list includes stories about the actual Jack the Ripper case, then there are ones that have Jack the Ripper as a supporting, passing, or background character, others that are contemporary settings with Jack the Ripper style murders, and lastly some of these are related to Jack the Ripper in name alone. Most of them are complete rubbish...and almost all of them get the facts totally wrong.
Also, I'm not planning on including shorts, documentaries, and video games, but there may be a few exceptions if they are good, popular, or noteworthy enough.
I included my scores of the films and television programs I have seen more recently, with brief explanations where needed. I did not factor in the accuracy of the facts on the case, unless it was meant to be a documentary.
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1. Waxworks (1924)
Not Rated | 107 min | Fantasy, Horror
A wax museum hires a writer to give the sculptures stories. The writer imagines himself and the museum owner's daughter in the stories.
Directors: Leo Birinsky, Paul Leni | Stars: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle
Votes: 2,307
2. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A landlady suspects that her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: June Tripp, Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney
Votes: 13,358
My Score: 8.5/10 (In my opinion, this is still the best movie related to Jack the Ripper. This was Hitchcock's first film to present the style and suspense he would later become famous for.)
3. Pandora's Box (1929)
Not Rated | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst | Stars: Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz
Votes: 11,842 | Gross: $0.01M
4. The Phantom Fiend (1932)
Passed | 67 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
A landlady suspects that her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.
Director: Maurice Elvey | Stars: Ivor Novello, Elizabeth Allan, A.W. Baskcomb, Barbara Everest
Votes: 356
My Score: 5/10 (This film is a talkie remake of Hitchcock's 1927 silent version, with Ivor Novello reprising his role as The Lodger. My score is based on the American-version entitled 'The Phantom Fiend', which was cut down to 65-minutes from the original 85-minute British-version, titled 'The Lodger'. Unfortunately, the print available to me had terrible sound quality, but I tried not to factor that in when giving my score...if I had, my score would be closer to a 4/10.)
5. Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)
84 min | Comedy
In Victorian London, a crime novelist and his wife fake their disappearance in order to hide from an uptight Anglican bishop who is leading a campaign against the "evils" of crime fiction.
Director: Marcel Carné | Stars: Françoise Rosay, Michel Simon, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Louis Jouvet
Votes: 1,961
6. The Lodger (1944)
Passed | 84 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A landlady suspects that her new lodger is Jack the Ripper.
Director: John Brahm | Stars: Laird Cregar, Merle Oberon, George Sanders, Cedric Hardwicke
Votes: 4,096
My Score: 8/10
7. Room to Let (1950)
68 min | Crime, Drama
In London in 1904, neighbours begin to suspect that a very strange man calling himself Dr. Fell may in fact be the infamous Jack the Ripper.
Director: Godfrey Grayson | Stars: Jimmy Hanley, Valentine Dyall, Christine Silver, Merle Tottenham
Votes: 97
My Score: 6/10
8. Man in the Attic (1953)
Approved | 82 min | Mystery, Thriller
After an enigmatic, self-described pathologist rents the attic room of a Victorian house, his landlady begins to suspect her lodger is Jack the Ripper.
Director: Hugo Fregonese | Stars: Jack Palance, Constance Smith, Byron Palmer, Frances Bavier
Votes: 1,969
My Score: 6.2/10
9.
The Veil (1958)
Episode:
Jack the Ripper
(1958)
Not Rated | 25 min | Horror, Mystery
A clairvoyant, in dreams and visions, sees a series of grisly murders in London's Whitechapel district. But his knowledge of the details of the crimes makes him a suspect in the eyes of the police.
Director: David MacDonald | Stars: Boris Karloff, Niall MacGinnis, Dorothy Alison, Robert Brown
Votes: 162
My Score: 5.9/10
10. Jack the Ripper (1959)
Not Rated | 84 min | Crime, Drama, History
A serial killer is murdering women in the Whitechapel district of London. An American policeman is brought in to help Scotland Yard solve the case.
Directors: Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman | Stars: Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne, Betty McDowall, Ewen Solon
Votes: 963
My Score: 5.4/10
11.
Thriller (1960–1962)
Episode:
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper
(1961)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
70 years after the Jack the Ripper killings in London, Sir Guy tries to convince the police that Jack may still be alive, eternally young, and still killing, currently in New York.
Director: Ray Milland | Stars: Boris Karloff, John Williams, Donald Woods, Edmon Ryan
Votes: 230
My Score: 8.2/10
12. Lulu (1962)
100 min | Crime, Drama
A 14-year-old girl is caught while trying to pick a doctor's pocket. The doctor ends up taking her in and turning her into a sophisticated lady, whom he marries off to a wealthy man.
Director: Rolf Thiele | Stars: Nadja Tiller, O.E. Hasse, Hildegard Knef, Mario Adorf
Votes: 110
13.
The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
Episode:
The New Exhibit
(1963)
TV-14 | 51 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A wax-museum employee fights to preserve five figures of famous murderers.
Director: John Brahm | Stars: Martin Balsam, Will Kuluva, Margaret Field, William Mims
Votes: 1,999
14. Das Ungeheuer von London-City (1964)
90 min | Crime, Horror
Then the spirit of Jack the Ripper seems to be very much alive in 1960s London as a series of brutal slayings by the Monster of London City has Scotland Yard baffled. In a macabre ... See full summary »
Director: Edwin Zbonek | Stars: Hansjörg Felmy, Marianne Koch, Dietmar Schönherr, Hans Nielsen
Votes: 263
15. A Study in Terror (1965)
95 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson join the hunt for the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
Director: James Hill | Stars: John Neville, Donald Houston, John Fraser, Anthony Quayle
Votes: 2,470
My Score: 6.3/10 (First film to have Jack the Ripper directly face-off with Sherlock Holmes. Very entertaining, even if almost all of the JtR facts were wrong.)
16.
Star Trek (1966–1969)
Episode:
Wolf in the Fold
(1967)
TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Kirk and the Enterprise computer become detectives after Scotty is accused of murdering women on a pleasure planet.
Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, John Fiedler
Votes: 3,349
17.
Cimarron Strip (1967–1968)
Episode:
Knife in the Darkness
(1968)
TV-PG | 73 min | Western
Marshal Crown, during the course of a hauntingly foggy night, hunts for a killer who is butchering his victims. Francis tells Crown about how police in London were unable to solve a similar... See full summary »
Director: Charles R. Rondeau | Stars: Stuart Whitman, Percy Herbert, Randy Boone, Jill Townsend
Votes: 72
18. Night After Night After Night (1969)
88 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A Jack the Ripper-type serial killer is loose in London. Suspicion falls on a transvestite judge.
Director: Lindsay Shonteff | Stars: Jack May, Justine Lord, Gilbert Wynne, Linda Marlowe
Votes: 186
19.
Get Smart (1965–1970)
Episode:
House of Max: Part 1
(1970)
TV-G | 24 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Max and 99 are in London to investigate the reappearance of Jack the Ripper. The owner of Duval's Cave of Wax has developed a formula to bring his wax characters to life.
Director: Anton Leader | Stars: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Kurt Kreuger
Votes: 146
20.
Get Smart (1965–1970)
Episode:
House of Max: Part 2
(1970)
TV-G | 24 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Max and 99 are in London to investigate the reappearance of Jack the Ripper. The owner of Duval's Cave of Wax has developed a formula to bring his wax characters to life.
Director: Anton Leader | Stars: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Kurt Kreuger
Votes: 144
21.
Six Dates with Barker (1971)
Episode:
1899: The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town
(1971)
Comedy
Director: Maurice Murphy | Stars: Ronnie Barker, Alan Curtis, Larry Noble, John Sharp
Votes: 19
22. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)
R | 81 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
An ambassador's wife discovers that one of the men in her life - either her husband, an ex-lover or her current lover - may be a vicious serial killer.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Conchita Airoldi, Manuel Gil
Votes: 5,442
23. Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)
PG | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a sensuous murderess.
Director: Roy Ward Baker | Stars: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander
Votes: 3,799 | Gross: $0.20M
24. Hands of the Ripper (1971)
R | 85 min | Horror
As a young child Jack the Ripper's daughter witnesses him kill her mother. As a young woman she carries on the murderous reign of her father. A psychiatrist tries to cure her with tragic consequences.
Director: Peter Sasdy | Stars: Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell
Votes: 3,020
25.
The Sixth Sense (1972)
Episode:
With Affection, Jack the Ripper
(1972)
60 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
An experiment to determine if ESP can span time proves fatal.
Director: Robert Day | Stars: Gary Collins, Robert Foxworth, Percy Rodrigues, Patty Duke
Votes: 39
26. Seven Murders for Scotland Yard (1972)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In this version of the famous story of the London serial killer, Jack not only likes to kill prostitutes but he is a cannibal as well.
Director: José Luis Madrid | Stars: Paul Naschy, Patricia Loran, Renzo Marignano, Orchidea De Santis
Votes: 356
27. The Ruling Class (1972)
PG | 154 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A member of the House of Lords dies, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son thinks he is Jesus Christ. Their other, somewhat more respectable family members plot to steal the estate from him; murder and mayhem ensue.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Hugh Owens
Votes: 6,796
28. Jack the Ripper (1973)
304 min | Crime, Drama, History
The highly popular detective pair from the series Softly, Softly, Barlow and Watt, try to solve the old mystery of Jack The Ripper in this documentary series.
Stars: Stratford Johns, Frank Windsor, Frank Duncan, Alan Cullen
Votes: 70
My Score: 8.3/10 (I scored this particularly high due to the comprehensiveness of the information presented on the case. This is a mix of documentary with live re-enactments and two fictional detectives discussing and working through the case. It's very entertaining and informative.)
29. Terror in the Wax Museum (1973)
PG | 93 min | Horror, Mystery
The murder of a Wax Museum proprietor and some other strange goings-on in the vicinity prompt a police investigator to determine whether the killer is one of the principles who wants to own... See full summary »
Director: Georg Fenady | Stars: Ray Milland, Elsa Lanchester, Maurice Evans, John Carradine
Votes: 837
30. A Knife for the Ladies (1974)
R | 86 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A private detective travels out west to investigate the murders of several prostitutes, facing off against the reluctance of the town's grizzled sheriff, and several suspicious characters, each with something to hide.
Director: Larry G. Spangler | Stars: Jack Elam, Ruth Roman, Jeff Cooper, John Kellogg
Votes: 398
31.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975)
Episode:
The Ripper
(1974)
TV-PG | 52 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Carl may be up against the original Jack the Ripper, a black-caped, bullet-resistant, super-human killer of women.
Director: Allen Baron | Stars: Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Beatrice Colen, Ruth McDevitt
Votes: 824
32. Le nosferat ou les eaux glacées de calcul égoiste (1974)
95 min | Crime, Thriller
A Brechtian, theatrical version of the NOSFERATU/DRACULA story, with this time the vampire as Jack the Ripper with political ambiance.
Director: Maurice Rabinowicz | Stars: Martine Bertrand, Marcel Dossogne, Groupe de Chambre, Quentin Milo
Votes: 14
33. L'éventreur de Notre-Dame (1975)
Not Rated | 95 min | Horror
A madman conducts a private inquisition to exorcise demons by torturing women to death.
Director: Jesús Franco | Stars: Lina Romay, Catherine Lafferière, Jesús Franco, Pierre Taylou
Votes: 953
34. Tickled Pink (1975)
R | 83 min | Comedy
A Victorian aristocrat buys a former madhouse and converts it into a "love nest". Unknown to him, Jack the Ripper lives in secret passages lining the building.
Director: Vernon P. Becker | Stars: Ole Søltoft, Sue Longhurst, Charlie Elvegård, Malou Cartwright
Votes: 305
35. Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976)
72 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Two restaurant employees begin a torturous and sexual killing spree after they accidentally kill a hitch hiker and find that murder and mutilation is their mutual aphrodisiac.
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe | Stars: Tamaki Katsura, Yuri Yamashina, Natsuko Yashiro, Yôko Azusa
Votes: 557
36. Jack the Ripper (1976)
R | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.
Director: Jesús Franco | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Josephine Chaplin, Herbert Fux, Lina Romay
Votes: 1,900
37. Lulu (1978)
95 min | Drama, Music, Musical
This highly stylized film mixes silent film cards, a soundscape, color, opera music and atmosphere to explore the Freudian truths about men's fear of women that Wedekind powerfully exposed.... See full summary »
Director: Ronald Chase | Stars: Michael Anderson, Stephen Ashbrook, Norma Leistiko, Elisa Leonelli
Votes: 39
38.
Vega$ (1978–1981)
Episode:
Ghost of the Ripper
(1979)
49 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Psychotic Jack Schulman is killing prostitutes. Amateur criminologist Philiip Graykirk sees a pattern similar to the Jack-the-Ripper murders and predicts more deaths to come.
Director: Lawrence Dobkin | Stars: Robert Urich, Greg Morris, Bart Braverman, Phyllis Davis
Votes: 64
39. Lulu (1979 TV Movie)
171 min | Crime, Drama, Music
Adaptation of the work of Wedekind which was a scandal in his time and which tells the tragic life of a young woman who becomes rich by chance to finish in misery and who ends his life by a fatal encounter with Jack The Ripper.
Directors: Yvon Gérault, Bernard Sobel | Stars: Teresa Stratas, Yvonne Minton, Hanna Schwarz, Toni Blankenheim
Votes: 22
40. Murder by Decree (1979)
PG | 124 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Sherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, Susan Clark
Votes: 6,584
My Score: 7.4/10 (Another film pairing Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes; and this one, in my opinion, improved upon that premise.)
41. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,605
My Score: 7.3/10
42.
Fantasy Island (1977–1984)
Episode:
With Affection, Jack the Ripper/Gigolo
(1980)
TV-G | 60 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Lorraine Peters, who's writing a book about the Whitechapel murders, visits 1888 London to get the proof she needs, only to place dozens of people in danger; Stanley Hocker, who has no self-confidence around women, asks to become a gigolo.
Director: Michael Vejar | Stars: Ricardo Montalban, Hervé Villechaize, Ken Berry, Victor Buono
Votes: 75
43.
The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977– )
Episode:
Lulu
(1980)
178 min | Musical
Former society matron Lulu has fallen on hard times, and gradually is forced to work her way down the social ladder. At first she's a dancer, then a kept woman, and finally a prostitute. One of her first clients is Jack the Ripper.
Director: Brian Large | Stars: Julia Migenes, Evelyn Lear, Kenneth Riegel, Frank Little
Votes: 9
44. Lulu (1980)
86 min | Drama