Hands of the Ripper

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Sasdy directs. Kenneth Talbot behind the camera. Christopher Gunning scores. Chris Barnes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 4Directed by Peter Sasdy, shot by Kenneth Talbot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Christopher Gunning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Chris Barnes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Eric Porter and Angharad Rees and Jane Merrow carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "The hands of Jack the Ripper live again...".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0067176 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 82 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Kenneth Talbot

Original score

Christopher Gunning

Editing

Chris Barnes

Runtime

85 min · 1h 25m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Hands of the Ripper (1971) ↗

Also by

Peter Sasdy

• 
  Six Days of Justice

  1972 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Time in Advance

  1965 · ★ 9.0
• 
  The Sweet Scent of Death

  1984 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Arthur of the Britons

  1972 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Storyboard

  1983 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Wuthering Heights

  1967 · ★ 7.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Hands of the Ripper (1971) Original Trailer [FHD]

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2021-10-04
  ★ 6/10

  Beware: the daughter of Jack the Ripper is on the loose In 1906 London the troubled daughter of Jack the Ripper (Angharad Rees) is taken in by a sympathetic Freudian psychologist (Eric Porter) who wants to study her condition and “fix” her, but she’s soon prowling the Whitechapel district. Jane Merrow, Keith Bell and Derek Godfrey are also on hand. “Hands of the Ripper” (1971) is Victorian horror from Hammer that’s similar to their previous “The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll” (1960), but less psychologically fascinating or entertaining. Actually the doctor’s mental condition is more interesting than that of the girl he’s studying: He pulls a "Vertigo" on her by giving her his late wife's room, providing Anna her clothes to wear and is obsessed with healing her because he couldn't heal his wife. At one point he nigh kisses Anna wearing his wife's clothes when the topic of life-after-death surfaces. Moreover, his son has picked a ‘marred’ fiancé and not only can this woman not assuage the doctor’s guilt over being unable to heal his wife (since Laura is his son's bride and her 'flaw' is outside his field) he’s concerned that his son will suffer the same outcome as himself and it weighs on him. The film runs 1 hour, 25 minutes, and was shot at Pinewood Studios, just west of London. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2025-01-25
  ★ 6/10

  This is quite an intriguing take on the established "Ripper" murders - as seen through he eyes of his daughter. She's but a bairn when she sees him at work and is unsurprisingly traumatised by the whole experience. Now grown to adulthood, "Anna" (Angharad Rees) finds herself the unwitting agent of a psychological impulse to continue in her father's stead. The sympathetic doctor "Pritchard" (Eric Porter) tries to apply some of elementary Victorian psychology to the investigation in the hope that he may be able to unlock this mystery and help out. Perhaps even find out the true identity of the original killer? Sadly, though, this is a deep rooted trouble that his good will isn't going to wish away. Indeed, after about half an hour we all realise that it's going to take something altogether more direct and even then, tragedy is more than less likely. It's a decent looking period drama this, with Porter doing enough to hold it together and Rees quite effective as the schizophrenic character. The dialogue is a bit excessive, and the science behind the story maybe isn't the best, but in many ways that serves to illustrate quite well how limited our understanding of the human psyche was - even in London at the height of empire. There's some fun added by the always reliable Dora Bryan and Lynda Baron and it's quite interesting to watch these otherwise street-smart and savvy characters completely disarmed by a different type of criminal altogether. The production is all a bit theatrical but it's not a bad light-horror film that effortlessly kills an hour and an half.

  Read full review ↓
• Sierbahnn2026-05-09
  ★ 6/10

  Exploring the psychology of murder This has the tell-tale signs of a Hammer production, but it does not stray as far as some as the others into incredulity, but instead remains somewhat grounded in its own narrative consistency. It is superbly acted and well-directed, looks and sounds great, and carries itself well. Of course you can harp about the production quality, but this is from 1971, and allowances have to be made. It is a good movie, especially for its kind.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Hammer Film Productions

  GB

Key crew

• ProducerAida Young
• EditorChris Barnes
• Art DirectionRoy Stannard
• Assistant DirectorAriel Levy

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• daughter
• jack the ripper

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1972-07-13R

Also known as

International titles

• Haende voller BlutDE
• As Mãos do EstripadorBR