Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

MARIO GAUCI This was a title I had long wanted to check out (in fact, I still recall a primetime Italian TV showing of it during my childhood way back in the early 1980s!) for its placing of the world's most celebrated fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, amid the backdrop that unleashed history's most notorious crime spree i.e. the Jack The Ripper killings: the fact that the setting and time period in which both figures operated coincided was indeed fortuitous and ripe for exploitation (given that, apart from here, their confrontation was also treated in the equally fine MURDER BY DECREE {1979})! Incidentally, both pictures would attract a host of notable actors – including two, Anthony Quayle and Frank Finlay, who would appear in each title (the latter even essaying the very same role!); John Neville and Donald Houston make a good team as Holmes and his indispensable sidekick Dr. Watson – however, unlike the later effort, The Ripper's identity is not only revealed at the climax, but he is made to receive his just desserts (Fiction, in this case, having overtaken Fact)! Stylistically, the movie – as did another by the same company and scriptwriters, namely THE BLACK TORMENT (1964) – clearly owed something to the Hammer Films stable, then at the pinnacle of its successful 20-year run in the field of Gothic Horror; the second murder, in which a water trough turns red from the victim's stab wounds, is especially well handled.

Scott LeBrun Here, the legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (John Neville) is on the case of the infamous real life murderer Jack the Ripper, brutally murdering Whitechapel prostitutes in Victorian London in this exceptionally good looking and twist-laden, nicely written movie. Without my spoiling things too much, Holmes learns that a well to do family is caught up in the drama.The idea of pitting Holmes against The Ripper is a clever one, and would be visited again 14 years later in "Murder by Decree". It's also a pleasure to see a cast full of esteemed British acting talent, beginning with Neville, whose Holmes is not only blessed with that intelligence and incredible deductive ability but true charisma as well. Donald Houston is a genial Dr. Watson. Notable is that two of the cast members here, Frank Finlay and Anthony Quayle, are also in "Murder by Decree". Finlay plays Inspector Lestrade in both movies while Quayle plays different roles.Wonderful atmosphere and production & costume design mix with efficient direction by James Hill ("Born Free", "Black Beauty" '71) and a story that is detailed but never too hard to follow. While some viewers may be able to figure out the identity of the killer, they may not anticipate just how Holmes is able to crack the case, which becomes one of the most interesting elements here. Sex and violence are accented here to a degree, with an eyeful of some of the ladies' bosoms and a little dose of the red stuff.The excellent cast also includes a young Dame Judi Dench, in one of her earliest movie roles, as well as John Fraser, Adrienne Corri, Charles Regnier, Cecil Parker, Peter Carsten, John Cairney, Edina Ronay, and Avis Bunnage.The movie is by turns suspenseful, exciting, creepy, and funny, with the two stars sharing a marvellous chemistry. And, speaking of exciting, the ending is a true corker, and will have viewers on the edge of their seats. The pacing is consistently strong and the sense of danger created right from the start. It would indeed be amusing to compare and contrast "A Study in Terror" and "Murder by Decree" and have a solid double feature of Holmes vs. The Ripper mysteries.Executive produced by Herman Cohen.Eight out of 10.

ShootingShark In 1888, a series of horrible murders are being committed in London's poor Whitechapel district. With public outcry growing and the police baffled, the world's greatest amateur detective, Sherlock Holmes, is tasked with finding the identity of Jack The Ripper …The idea of combining the fictional Sherlock Holmes from Arthur Conan Doyle's stories with the real-life murders of the notorious Jack The Ripper is a clever one. Only one of the stories was actually written prior to the murders but the time line is close enough, and the appeal of having a genius investigate perhaps the most notorious unsolved killings is pretty irresistible. Well written by brothers Derek and Donald Ford, it recreates the detail of the murders quite accurately, but also explores the social justice angle well - Holmes is at times almost sympathetic towards the Ripper as a psychotic driven to his deeds, and angry with the establishment who try to downplay the seriousness of his crimes and the squalor in which they occur. The cast are all talented British stalwarts, with Neville (The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen) a fine Holmes, Quayle good in a key part, and classic Cockney pin-up girl Windsor (the star of many of the Carry On films) at the height of her beauty. With some moody sets and good photography this is an effective if minor little thriller. The enjoyable 1979 Canadian film Murder By Decree with Christopher Plummer as Holmes is a virtual remake (Finlay even reprises his role as Inspector Lestrade) and the Holmes vs Ripper idea has also been used in several comics, books and video games.

dbdumonteil Brilliant account of the meeting between Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper.Sherlock Holmes is a better choice than American Sam Lowry in the 1959 version and James Hill's work predates later works such as "murder by decree" and "Jack the Ripper" (the MTV Version starring Michael Caine).With a small budget ,the depiction of the narrow streets of London,with the children begging for food,the soup kitchen where you have to sing the Lord's praises before having a good feed,the slaughterhouse where the butchers are carving chunks ("ain't I a better piece of meat?" says the hooker ),the shameful luxury in which indifferent snob aristocrats hide their rottenness under gold and velvet ,all rings true.As for the story itself ,it's an absorbing investigation which involves Sherlock,his faithful Watson -who can't put up with the lord's words: "being a doctor or a surgeon is not a "noble" occupation" - Lestrade,and Mycrof Holmes,the brother, who only appears in one short story and nevertheless became almost as famous as Moriarty (not present her:the Ripper was enough);he was even featured in Wilder' s largely overlooked " Private life of SH".He is portrayed by the always reliable Robert Morley."A study in terror" should be considered one of the best "Ripper/Holmes " in a topflight competition.