When David Wickes set out to make a miniseries about Jack the Ripper that would premiere on the centennial of the infamous murders in Whitechapel, he announced to the world that he would reveal the true identity of the serial killer. A great P.R. stunt, but ripperologists were not too pleased. First of all, no one has presented credible evidence to settle the matter; we still don’t know for certain who the killer was.
Secondly, Wickes turned out to have decided for himself that the most probable scenario was an already widely discredited, twenty-year old theory. Still, this miniseries is well-made, with locations that look about as authentic as they come.
A series of gruesome murders in Whitechapel
London, 1888. Alcoholic police detective Frederick Abberline (Michael Caine) is brought back into duty when a series of gruesome murders are committed in Whitechapel. The victims, all prostitutes, are molested with an unmatched brutality. Together with Sergeant George Godley (Lewis Collins), Abberline is finding suspects everywhere. One of them could be the flamboyant actor Richard Mansfield (Armand Assante) who is currently playing Jekyll and Hyde on the stage in a performance so diabolically convincing that Abberline can’t help wondering where Mansfield finds the inspiration. The famous spiritualist Robert James Lees (Ken Bones) is consulted, with intriguing results that bring Abberline and Godley closer to the truth.
As the killer prepares for his worst crime yet, the Metropolitan Police is pressuring Abberline to find him before Whitechapel is set ablaze by rioters who fear for their women’s lives… and see an opportunity to force the city into creating better living conditions in the East End.
Getting one’s imagination going
The conspiracy presented by the filmmakers has little to do with reality, but it’s no coincidence that so many writers have been unable to resist it – there is something about sex and violence during the Victorian era (in combination with Freemasons and the royal family) that just gets your imagination going. Wickes expertly builds tension; a few scenes go over the top (especially an encounter between Caine and Richard Morant that turns into a bizarre shouting game), but that’s a minor quibble. Wickes has paid careful attention to the many details of the case and the recreation of all things large (the look of Whitechapel, the murder sites) and small (the letters to the police that the Ripper allegedly wrote) is quite impressive. It is also a well-told story that spins interesting fiction out of several contemporary details, such as the fact that several theater-goers did report to the police that they thought Mansfield had to be the murderer because of his “Jekyll and Hyde” performance, and that the spiritualist Lees believed he knew who the Ripper was.
Jane Seymour is essentially wasted in a pointless role (one of few not based on a real-life person), but Caine (whose return to television helped sell this project) and Collins are both very good as the two detectives who are deeply touched by the fate of the Ripper’s last victim, Mary Kelly. Assante also does a credible job as the ambiguous Mansfield. John Cameron’s music score reflects the majesty of the Victorian era as well as its dark undertones.
I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this miniseries; as a teenager, it was one of my favorites. And what do I think now when I’m all grown up? In spite of its occasional histrionics and silly conclusion, Jack the Ripper does what it’s supposed to do – thrill.
Jack the Ripper 1988-U.S.-Britain. Made for TV. 182 min. Color. Produced and directed by David Wickes. Teleplay: David Wickes, Derek Marlowe. Music: John Cameron. Cast: Michael Caine (Frederick Abberline), Armand Assante (Richard Mansfield), Jane Seymour (Emma Prentiss), Ray McAnally, Lewis Collins, Ken Bones.
Trivia: Originally shown in two episodes. The same story was told in From Hell (2001).
Golden Globe:Â Best Actor (Caine).
Last word: “For 25 years, I’ve said I would never do a mini-series, but this was too good to pass up. This is the 100th anniversary of the first Ripper murders, and we have the private papers of the Inspector who caught him, arrested him, and sealed the evidence for a century […] Our director has had a pre-look at the file, but he is going to make us film three or four different endings, so even the actors won’t know who the real Ripper is. The Duke of Clarence? Who can say for sure? Book-makers are taking odds over here.” (Caine in a 1988 interview, RogerEbert.com)
ABOVE AVERAGE