Seven Murders for Scotland Yard
Directed byJosé Luis Madrid
Written by
  • José Luis Madrid
  • Paul Naschy
  • Tito Carpi
Produced byEdmundo Amati
Intl. Apollo
Cinefilms
StarringPaul Naschy
Patricia Loran
Renzo Marignano
Orchidea De Santis
Andres Resino
Irene Mir
CinematographyDiego Úbeda
Edited byLuis Puigvert
Music byPiero Piccioni
Production
companies
  • Cinefilms
  • International Apollo Films
Distributed byDICINSA
Release dates
1971 (Italy)
1976 (U.S.)
Running time
87 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • Spain
LanguageSpanish

Seven Murders for Scotland Yard (Spanish: Jack el destripador de Londres / Jack the Ripper of London) is a 1971 Italian-Spanish giallo film directed by José Luis Madrid and starring Paul Naschy, Patricia Loran and Renzo Marignano.[1] Naschy and Madrid wrote the screenplay, Tito Carpi's name was simply added to the credits to satisfy the requirements for a Spanish-Italian co-production.[2] The film was shot in June 1971, and was first released in Italy in 1971 as Sette Cadaveri per Scotland Yard / Seven Corpses for Scotland Yard. It was shown in Spain on July 10, 1972, as Jack el destripador de Londres, and finally wound up theatrically released in the U.S. in 1976 as Seven Murders for Scotland Yard.[3] The Mexican one-sheet poster simply called the film Jack el distripador/ Jack the Ripper.

Plot

Paul Naschy plays Bruno Doriani, an ex-acrobat living in London who limps badly as a result of an accident he suffered years before on the trapeze. Bruno's life has slid downhill, and he hangs out in seedy pubs and dates tarts and prostitutes. When a number of call girls begin turning up brutally murdered, the police led by Inspector Campbell seek to uncover the identity of the mad slasher, whom they nickname Jack the Ripper after the notorious serial killer from the late 1800s. Paul becomes a suspect in the eyes of the police, as he had personal connections to one or two of the victims. Inspector Campbell (Renzo Marignano) himself turns out to be the killer, as Bruno discovers when he follows the police chief down into his underground dungeon of horrors, where the inspector keeps certain body parts from his victims in jars as mementos. But the mystery of this film is not simply who the killer is, but rather why he is performing these hideous murders.

Cast

  • Paul Naschy as Bruno Doriani
  • Patricia Loran as Lulu
  • Renzo Marignano as Inspector Henry Campbell
  • Orchidea De Santis as Sandy Christian
  • Andrés Resino as Winston Darby Christian
  • Irene Mir as Belinda
  • Franco Borelli as Detective Hawkins
  • Víctor Iregua
  • Teresita Castizio
  • Carmen Roger as Violeta
  • Palomba Moreno as Senorita Sanders
  • Víctor Vilanova as McMurdo
  • Maika as Prostitute
  • Miguel Muniesa as Superintendent Chambers
  • Isidro Novellas as Mile
  • Alfonso Castizo as Robert
  • Antonio Ramis
  • Enrique Beltrán

Critiques

Film historian Troy Howarth opines that although the film's murders are presented in a lurid manner, the bulk of the film is directed by Merino in a lackluster manner, which undercuts Naschy's interesting script. Also he felt too much screen time was allotted to police procedure and not enough to Naschy. He did find that the score by Piero Piccioni added to the film's suspense.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Lazaro-Reboll p.279
  2. ↑ Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. ISBN 978-1718835894
  3. ↑ Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. ISBN 978-1718835894
  4. ↑ Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. ISBN 978-1718835894

Bibliography

  • Antonio Lazaro-Reboll. Spanish Horror Film. Edinburgh University Press, 2012.
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