Eric266 I'm constantly amazed at how well these old movies from the 40s and 50s conveyed mood, time and space. They didn't have the CGI effects we have today to generate backgrounds so they used what they had. I think it looks more genuine than the stuff today. London's Whitechapel is an icky, smoky, dark, dank and shallow place in the 1880s. The narrow streets and sense of everything pushed together gives the whole movie a sense of claustrophobia.Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Sara Allgood play the Bontings, who open their home to Mr. Slade (Laird Cregar), the lodger of the title. He is a pathologist who carries a black medical bag, goes out at odd hours, and is kind of creepy. Merle Oberon is the Bontings' niece, Kitty, who is a stage dancer at a local theater. Lastly, George Sanders (The Saint/The Falcon) plays Scotland Yard detective Warwick.Mr. Slade's behavior becomes more and more suspicious as the Ripper killings continue and the locals are in a frenzy. The Ripper murders are handled pretty gently with only shadows and off camera screams. Nothing on camera (I think its actually more effective to imagine the murders anyway) and they play with a lot of the facts of the murders in terms of timing and level of savagery.The movie is ambiguous as to whether Slade IS the Ripper. Was he the actual Ripper or was he just "working" during the same time as the Ripper. The movie leaves that up to the audience. I preferred that to a tidy wrap up.At a crisp running time of 90 minutes plus, the cast and crew did a marvelous job of conveying the sense of fear and distrust that the ripper murders engendered. The only drawback for me were the tepid musical numbers they shoehorned in for Ms. Oberon. She has an amazing voice, but the dance numbers were so cheeky and lame (by today's standards) that it dragged down the picture for me. I kept imagining Madeline Kahn's Lili Von Schtupp from Blazing Saddles every time Ms. Oberon did one of her two dance numbers.Watch this with the lights out and a storm raging for added effect. Its a fear borne from mood, not on screen scares. Top notch.

Nigel P This very rare and superior Jack the Ripper tale is directed with great style by John Brahm. It begins in a very pleasingly gloomy way: London smog, cobbled streets awash with rain water (and other less healthy fluids), plenty of policemen with whistles blowing through the darkness. All this is laid on with the thickest trowel, as is much of the dialogue ("Like a shadow, 'e was!") but is never over-the-top – just full of atmosphere. Plenty of condescension for the lower classes too. "Boy! Paper!" Imagine saying that to a paper-deliverer now.The melancholic Mr Slade (a tremendous performance from Laird Creger) comes to rent a room. If he was wearing a placard pronouncing 'I am the Ripper everyone's talking about', he couldn't be more blatant and suspicious. Cregar underwent a strict diet for this role, which contributed to his sad death shortly after at the age of 31.'Ghost of Frankenstein (1941)' star Sir Cedric Hardwicke (who is much more convincing here than as the starchy Frankenstein) plays Robert Bonting, whose wife rents Slade the room, and the police Inspector in charge of the events is played by the terrific George Sanders. Billy Bevan, who features in a handful of Universal chillers (including 'Dracula's Daughter (1936)' and 1943's 'Return of the Vampire'), plays the bartender. Some rich, fruity voices here.Only the couple's daughter Kitty (an excellent Merle Oberon) seems to believe in Slade as his increasingly strange and paranoid behaviour leads others to the conclusion – understandably – that he is the Ripper. Yet even her veneer begins to crack as his true colours may or may not be revealed in a genuinely thrilling finale. And yet nowhere is it implicitly stated that he is Jack. What a hidden gem this is.

Hitchcoc Once again, we have the streets of London taken over by Jack the Ripper (at least his ilk). Women are being murdered on dark foggy nights as the return to their homes or wander the streets. Some are prostitutes; some are just careless citizens. Anyway, the city is on edge and no one dares look past any stranger. Of course, that is assuming the person is a stranger. That said, a man takes a room in a house. His comings and goings are suspicious to the landlords, but they are also in need of the rent. Times aren't the best. The whole plot evolves around the murder of the women and how the man in the house is connected to their whereabouts. This is a very intense, well made film with great suspense.

GManfred Lame headline aside, this is a good, suspenseful melodrama based loosely on the Jack The Ripper legend. Just between us, I always feel John Brahm's directorial hand is a little uneven, but here he is right on the mark. He came up with a gem of a period piece, and you can look 'til your eyes drop out, you won't find anything out of place - (oh,alright,the anachronism mentioned on the title page) - he even had wick holders at the foot of the staircase, this being the 1880's before electricity. Surprisingly good production values for a movie in this genre.Laird Cregar is genuinely creepy (see humorous headline), as well as big. He puts the show over and is aided by George Sanders in a good guy role for a change and minus his usual smirk. Merle Oberon is lovely and sings, or at least lip-synchs some songs. I think one mark of a good production is often the quality of the supporting cast, and there is nothing lacking here - Cedric Hardwicke, Sarah Allgood, Queenie Leonard all give it their best.Director Brahm created a tense, atmospheric feel that is sustained and the picture is well-paced without dead spots in its 84 minute run. This is a good movie and minus the schlock that usually accompanies pictures of this type. It was on Fox Movie Channel the other morning and it is well worth your time.