Man in the Attic (1953)

Director:

Hugo Fregonese

Writers:

Marie Belloc Lowndes (novel)
Barré Lyndon (writer)

Release Date:

23 December 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Life...The Loves...The Crimes of Jack the Ripper!

Plot:

London, 1888: on the night of the third Jack the Ripper killing, soft-spoken Mr. Slade, a research pathologist...

Plot Keywords:

Pathologist | Remake | Jack The Ripper | Serial Killer | Period Piece

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Slade
Constance Smith	...	Lily Bonner
Byron Palmer	...	Insp. Paul Warwick
Frances Bavier	...	Helen Harley
Rhys Williams	...	William Harley
Sean McClory	...	Constable #1
Leslie Bradley	...	Constable #2
Tita Phillips	...	Daisy (the maid)
Lester Matthews	...	Chief Insp. Melville (as Lester Mathews)
Harry Cording	...	Detective Sgt. Bates
Lisa Daniels	...	Mary Lenihan
Lilian Bond	...	Annie Rowley
Isabel Jewell	...	Katy

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Unrated (DVD) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16755) | Sweden:15

Company:

Panoramic Productions

Quotes:

Helen Harley: Did you see that? The little minx wiggled at the Prince of Wales!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Lodger (1944)

Soundtrack:

COME AND DO THE NEW PARISIAN TROT

Aunt Bea Does London

This is a remake of the 1944 "The Lodger", which was a remake of the early Hitchock silent "The Lodger". This one isn't bad but uses most of the dialogue from the 1944 version. Jack Palance gives an excellent portrayal of the lodger who may or may not be Jack the Ripper. Palance has a certain menace here but yet you feel some sympathy for him. That voice should be trademarked!! Constance Smith plays the part of his object of affection/hatred and there is a good performance from Rhys Williams, a long time character actor, as her uncle. It's a little tough getting by Frances Bavier as Smith's aunt since to most TV viewers she will forever be Aunt Bea from Mayberry. Frankly, she can't hold a candle to Sara Allgood in the 1944 version but she passes muster. I found the 1944 version superior to this film due to the presence of Laird Cregar and George Saunders but this remake is worth watching, especially if you are a Jack Palance fan.