Man in the Attic
1953 Directed by Hugo Fregonese
Synopsis
The Life...The Loves...The Crimes of Jack the Ripper!
London, 1888: on the night of the third Jack the Ripper killing, soft-spoken Mr. Slade, a research pathologist, takes lodgings with the Harleys, including a gloomy attic room for "experiments." Mrs. Harley finds Slade odd and increasingly suspects the worst; her niece Lily (star of a decidedly Parisian stage revue) finds him interesting and increasingly attractive. Is Lily in danger, or are her mother's suspicions merely a red herring?
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Somewhat shoddy remake of John Brahm's version of The Lodger, notable mostly for Jack Palance's turn as The Ripper. Interesting but not a patch on the 40s version.
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Bit of a curate's egg, this one. Jack Palance is effective and most creepy as the suspected one and the supposed London night scenes atmospheric but without showing any kills this gets just a bit dull. Also the jolly 'London' bobbies struggle with their English accents and goodness knows why they are given regional ones to struggle even more with. Maybe it works better in US.
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By-the-numbers remake of John Brahm’s The Lodger is interesting because it casts Jack Palance as Jack the Ripper, but thats about it. There’s some decent London street sets, but director Hugo Fregonese misses much of the earlier film’s significance and recycles scenes without realizing their importance.