Best Performances as Jack the Ripper

I think that most people would agree that the majority of these performances should qualify for a “Best of” Jack the Ripper.

10. Jack Palance in The Man in the Attic (1954)
Probably the most controversial choice on the list. Some people call Palance’s performance “somnambulistic.” I disagree. His performance in this film is generally low-key… but that serves as good contrast for the moments when his character becomes intense and threatening. In those moments, Palance is superb. In addition: The rest of the cast is so mediocre that Palance may have keyed down his on-screen interaction with them in order to avoid seeming “over the top.” He doesn’t have to worry about that, of course, when his character shifts more into his Ripper persona.

9. Charles Regnier in Lulu (1962)
Regnier does not have a large role, but he does have an important one. His Jack the Ripper dispatches Lulu in the final sequence. But in between “Acts,” he also serves as a sort of “Greek Chorus” on Lulu’s behavior. Having Jack the Ripper provide the moral voice of the citizenry is a rather ironic choice, and Regnier does a fine job with it. Also, he provides a Ripper who seems more like a bureaucrat than a homicidal maniac. Good casting. Interesting interpretation. Unfortunately, this Austrian interpretation of the Lulu story is not readily available in English (or even in German).

8. Sir John Mills in Deadly Advice (1993)
Once again, the role is not large, but it is significant. And Mills provides an ironic flair to the character, as he instructs an “up-and-coming” serial killer in how best to remain undetected. Excellent black comedy. And wonderful casting for Jack the Ripper. Mills plays the Ripper as a quiet, unassuming man who would be the last person anybody would suspect… which is precisely the point.

7. Peter O’Toole in The Ruling Class (1972)
O’Toole does not technically play Jack the Ripper in this “False Sighting” film. He plays a schizophrenic aristocrat who comes to think he’s Jack the Ripper. But his performance is so chilling that any “Best of” list would be incomplete without it. By today’s standards, the film’s commentary on British class structure and the aristocracy seems a little heavy-handed. But none of that undermines O’Toole’s magnificent performance as Jack Gurney, the 14th Earl of Gurney.

6. David Warner in Time after Time (1979)
This is the first film mentioned so far that nearly everybody has heard of. You probably know the concept: H.G. Wells uses his Time Machine to track down Jack the Ripper, who has fled into the 20th century. Warner is… well, Warner. He’s always good at playing detached, ironic, sociopathic characters. His interaction with Malcolm McDowell (as his former friend Wells) is excellent. He also delivers that great line that From Hell quotes as coming straight from Jack the Ripper: “I am the 20th century.” So far as I can tell, that line is actually by the makers of Time after Time and has been put into the mouth of their Jack the Ripper. But that’s a small quibble, since at this point in history, Jack is more myth than man anyway.

5. Sir Ian Holm in From Hell (2001)
Okay, the film may have some problem areas, but Sir Ian Holm is not one of them. He is excellent both as the mild-mannered Sir William Gull, and as the maniacal Jack the Ripper. In fact, his part requires tremendous range, and he delivers it. But then, he also makes a great Bilbo, a great Ash, a great Polonius… I mean, the guy can act.

4. Gustav Diesel in Pandora’s Box (1929)
The absolute finest Ripper cameo ever committed to film. This movie belongs to Louise Brooks, who plays Lulu. But in the few minutes he’s on screen, Diesel provides a wrenching and haunting pathos to his Jack the Ripper. He and Brooks together electrify the screen. Absolutely brilliant.

3. Valentine Dyall in Room to Let (1949)
This film, unfortunately, is one of those long-forgotten Ripper programmers from the beginning of the television era. In its full 68-minute version (not the 55-minute version that sells on Movies Unlimited), it is a complex and multi-layered re-working of The Lodger. In either version, it features a fabulous performance by Dyall as Dr. Fell—a man suspected of being Jack the Ripper. Dyall’s Fell/Ripper is a controlling lodger who begins to dominate the lives of his landladies and dictate what they will and will not do. If nothing else, it is a chilling portrait of a man who must always be in control. Dyall, though, also plays Fell/Ripper as a haunted man, longing for something unattainable. Great job.

2. Laird Cregar in The Lodger (1944)
Surprised that I ranked Cregar so “low”? I know, he is generally accepted as having given The “Best Ripper Performance.” There’s no question, really, that Cregar’s performance belongs in either the #1 or #2 slot. He is iconic as Jack the Ripper, and the entire film is dependent on Cregar’s performance, and he and his co-stars (Merle Oberon and George Sanders) all deliver the goods. Cregar’s interaction with Merle Oberon (as potential victim Kitty), though, is what really “makes” this film a classic.

1. Wayne Alexander in “Comes the Inquisitor” (Babylon 5) (1995)
American actor, Wayne Alexander, beat out a regiment of British actors to win the role for this B5 episode. When you watch it, you can see why. His Inquisitor/Ripper is utterly chilling. All he has to do is walk off the Vorlon ship he has travelled on, and the hair on the back of your neck stands on end. No other Ripper actor has ever created such terror before ever saying a word. I know this choice for #1 Jack the Ripper goes against the common wisdom. But the writing for this episode is outstanding, and Alexander makes the most of it–in both his silence and his dialogue. All I have to say is that, IMHO, it’s “Sorry, Laird. You have to move over for Wayne.” In his performance, Wayne Alexander brings us the most menacing Jack the Ripper Ripper ever put on screen.

A challenge: Watch as many of these performances as you can and see how you would rank them. Then write me and let me know how your list matches with mine.

Regnier’s peformance will be nearly impossible to find. Cregar’s is not commercially available, but it does play on cable. All the others are either commercially available, have been commercially available (and therefore probably available on ebay), will be commercially available, or are at least available through Movies Unlimited.

Happy hunting.