“He uses his knife like a doctor who’s gone mad.”
The crimes of Jack the Ripper always make popular fodder for scriptwriters and authors–the attraction must be the heinous nature of his crimes combined with the fact that the Ripper murders were never solved. The film, “Man in the Attic” directed by Hugo Fregonese, focuses on the psychological aspects of the Ripper’s crimes–rather than the gore.
When the film begins, the third Ripper murder has just taken place. All of London is in fear that the killer will strike again. A mysterious stranger named Slade (Jack Palance) arrives late at night in the fog to rent a room from a nice older couple–the Harleys (Francis Bavier and Rhys Williams). He rents a large bedroom and also takes the poky upstairs attic for his ‘experiments’. He’s in the room less than five minutes before he turns the paintings of various beautiful actresses over to face the wall, stating that their “eyes are following” him. Mrs. Harley is immediately suspicious, but her husband racks her fears up to “female hysteria.” The fact that the family dog is keen on Slade gains the new lodger some trust.
Also living in the house is the Harleys’ beautiful niece, actress Lily Bonner (Constance Smith). Her new dance show is about to open, and naturally Slade is invited to attend. Slade, who’s a research pathologist, is an interesting character. He’s quiet, softly spoken, and basically just wants to be left alone. He’s also horribly touchy about the subject of the Ripper, and he has his own theories about the compulsion behind the crimes.
There’s little dramatic tension here, and the English accents are awful. The film uses the excuse of Lily’s stage career to include two full dance numbers, and they don’t have much to do with the film but seem intended to give us an excuse to look at Lily prancing around half-dressed. There’s nothing much new or exciting here, and the best scene occurs at the Black Museum when Slade almost faints when he sees the nooses used to execute famous murderers. Jack Palance–an actor doomed to be type-cast–makes the film worth watching
Phoenix Cinema 