Of all of the world’s real-life monsters, Jack the Ripper is one of the most iconic. Whether it’s because he was never actually caught or because he committed his savage crimes during an era that we associate with emotional and sexual repression or maybe just because he has a memorable name, Jack the RIpper continues to both fascinate artists of all genres and haunt the nightmares of viewers and readers like me.
(Check out my review of Murder By Decree for an example of my fascination.)
Tonight’s episode of televised horror on the Lens deals with Jack the Ripper. This episode of Thriller was originally broadcast on April 11, 1961 and is based on a short story by Robert Bloch. It was directed by actor Ray Milland.
Without further ado, here is Yours Truly, Jack the RIpper…
Through the Shattered Lens 
I didn’t know Ray Milland directed.
There was an episode of the mid-70’s TV series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” which explored a similar idea regarding Jack the Ripper, and accounts of his reappearances in later times and different places.
I loved this show when I was a kid. How could I not? A prime-time TV show about a tenacious newspaper reporter tracking down real contemporary monsters. The special effects were far from the best, but the show had a cool narrative style, and a fun scary atmosphere, as well as humor, much of which went over my head at the time. Much of the fun came from a consistently excellent and entertaining performance from the great Darren Mc Gavin.
If you never saw the show, but are interested, this episode is a great place to start. It was the first episode of the weekly run of the series, after two very highly-rated TV movies. Some episodes were better than others, as the saying goes, but this one was one of the best. If you are old, like me, and saw this show when you were young, here is blast from the past for the Halloween season.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker: The Ripper –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4J1WoPi9yA
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Definatly a classic episode. The Ripper (or his spirit) made numerous appearences on Tv, including such shows as Star Trek & Kolchak.
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The Star Trek Ripper episode was one of the original series’ best episodes.
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