Jack the Ripper (1988)

[Jeff Leahy]

Thats cause it ain't real BBC history Sam...

Pirate

[JTRSickert]

Hello, please excuse me for posting this question on 2 different forums, but I thoguht it would more than likely be answered here. So, again I do apologize...

I've never seen the 1988 miniseries "Jack the Ripper" with Michael Caine, but I do know that it postulates the Royal/Masonic conspiracy with Sir William Gull, John Netley, and so on. However, on Wikipedia, it says that the Royal Prince fathering an illegitimate child is not Gull's motive for killing the women in that particular miniseries. So, what I wanted to ask anyone on here who has seen the miniseries is: Why does Gull start killing women? Is he insane?

Thank you.

[BillyE]

For those interested, I've answered JtRSickert's question in the other thread. If you want to read my response to his question go to:

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?p=106657#post106657

Regards.

[kensei]

Since this thread has been revisited, here's just another nod to Michael Caine, a truly fine actor whether as a super-charged Abberline banging Netley's head off the wall of a jail cell or decades later as Batman's faithful butler Alfred.

[JTRSickert]

What's also ironic is that, in the Jack the Ripper miniseries, there is a small sub-plot concerning Richard Mansfield and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Abberline suspicious of Mansfield due to his errie performance. And, in the next Tv mini-series by David Wickes was called "Jekyll & Hyde" with Michael Caine portraying both incarnations. Caine was especially creepy as Hyde. And, also, the transformation sequence in that miniseries is VERY similar to the one that Armand Assante does as Mansfield while he is on stage.

Both are very good, but I like the Jack the Ripper one better, even if it is a bunch of BS. But yeah, I liked when Caine is beating the crap out of Netley too.

[kensei]

That's interesting- I seem to remember a version of Jeckyl & Hyde starring George C. Scott from around that same general time period, but I didn't know Caine had ever done it.

[JTRSickert]

Yes, it was done in 1990, 2 years after Jack the Ripper. I had it taped on a VHS but sadly, no longer have it. It was real good. It departs significantly from the Robert Louis Stevenson story, but nonetheless, is a very good adaptation. The writer-director, David Wickes, (who also directed Jack the Ripper) recycled a lot of props, costumes, and actors (notably Caine) that were used in the 1988 miniseries for this one as well. I have tried to see if Youtube has any clips of it but nothing. There is information about it at imdb.com. Also, I remember while watching that it could be a "spin-off" of the Jack the Ripper miniseries since the music and tone are very similar.

[JTRSickert]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to post this to get everyone's opinion on something. In the mini-series, does anyone agree with me that Ken Bones' portrayal of Lees make him out to be the Comedy Relief of the movie? I don't know about the rest of you but I giggle every time I see him do that overacted "seizure" when he has a vision of the Kelly murder. The best part though is when he gets hit by a coach in a street and is dragged, only to keep yelling "They're trying to murder me! They're trying to murder me! Help me!!!!" What a wimp. Real funny though.

[ianincleveland]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to post this to get everyone's opinion on something. In the mini-series, does anyone agree with me that Ken Bones' portrayal of Lees make him out to be the Comedy Relief of the movie? I don't know about the rest of you but I giggle every time I see him do that overacted "seizure" when he has a vision of the Kelly murder. The best part though is when he gets hit by a coach in a street and is dragged, only to keep yelling "They're trying to murder me! They're trying to murder me! Help me!!!!" What a wimp. Real funny though.

Ive just recently rewatched the dvd a couple of times,the one who gives me fits of laughter is self important reporter Bates of the Star.He thinks hes really someone but ends up looking a right prat.Even Lusk(wrongly cast as an anarchist) is just using Bates who cant see it.

With Lees and being dragged along by the coach,the reaction of the bystanders is what makes me laugh as they say hes drunk.In other words you can try and kill him if hes drunk.

[tredstoneguy]

I watched it for the first time last week and over all i rilly enjoyed it, sure some of the facts ant right and you got the whole royal conspiracy thing but i still enjoyed it, its the third or forth ripper movie i've seen if you count the 1927 lodger. i put it as second in my favorites, time after time being my favorite and from hell last on the list.

[The Grave Maurice]

OK, admittedly it's been quite a while since I saw this film, but I don't remember the royal conspiracy angle figuring in it at all. No secret marriage, no child, no attempt at a cover-up. Queen Vic sticks her big beak into the action a couple of times by way of telegrams, and PAV is briefly suspected because he frequented East End brothels---but gets cleared rather quickly when Godley discovers that he was in Scotland during the murders.

[BillyE]

There are certain aspects of the royal/masonic conspiracy in the Caine movie, but it's never evoked as such. You're right: no secret marriage, no royal baby, no blackmail scheme, just Gull and Netley as the Ripper. By that time the R/M conspiracy was falling out of favor, and really only worked by that time as fiction (ala "From Hell") and Wickes was wanting people to at least think his theory was for real.

[TomTomKent]

Ah if only I had joined this forum a few months back, I could have asked which lucky beggars remembered to pick up a copy of the free DVD that came with one of the broadsheet newspapers. (I forgot to grab one myself. D'oh!)

[j.r-ahde]

Hello TomTom!

Ahh, and this one is the best movie about The Ripper in my thoughts...

Nevermind, let us know, when the next one appears!

All the best
Jukka

[Monty]

TP McKenna who played The Stars TP O'Connor sadly passed away last Sunday.

Also starred in the Siege of Sidney Street Film.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCMQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fobituaries%2Fculture-obituaries%2Ftv-radio-obituaries%2F8326662%2FTP-McKenna.html&ei=C-1bTe7oFc218QODlN2VAg&usg=AFQjCNGYOaMNvqRjWqXNEZ5Kk-71hUrLXA

Monty