''Jack the Ripper'' is a 1988
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...
-
American co-production by
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
and
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television film drama based on the notorious
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...
murder spree in Victorian London. It was first broadcast on
ITV.
The film was produced to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the
Whitechapel murders
The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the largely impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have ...
, and was originally screened on British television in two 90-minute episodes, broadcast on consecutive evenings, in October 1988, to coincide with the dates of some of the original events, advertising itself in advance as a solution to the century-old mystery of the murderer's identity using newly discovered original evidence.
Plot
London, autumn 1888. Chief Inspector
Frederick Abberline
Frederick George Abberline (8 January 1843 – 10 December 1929) was a British chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police. He is best known for being a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial killer ...
of
Scotland Yard is assigned by his superiors to investigate the murder and brutal mutilation of a prostitute in the
East End of London. As the mutilated corpses of other "
shilling whores" turn up in the same area, London's tabloid journalists – particularly Benjamin Bates of ''
The Star'' – whip up a public frenzy. The killer is nicknamed "Jack the Ripper" after
a letter bearing that name and supposedly from the killer, is forwarded to Scotland Yard. As the Ripper terrorizes London, public outrage erupts throughout the country, and Police Commissioner
Sir Charles Warren fears that a
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
is in the air in London's East End.
There is no shortage of suspects for Abberline and his partner, Sergeant
George Godley. These suspects include the American actor
Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''.
Life and career
Mansfield was born ...
(appearing in the play ''
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
'' in London); police surgeon Dr Henry Llewellyn;
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
agitator
George Lusk
George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
;
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's
clairvoyant
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
Robert Lees; the Queen's grandson
Prince Albert Victor; and Dr
Theodore Dyke Acland, the son-in-law of
Sir William Gull, Royal Surgeon to Queen Victoria and expert on diseases of the brain. The police and the authorities want the murders solved at any cost, but Abberline and Godley face huge obstacles as they search for the truth – and hindrance from their superiors when the killer is finally unmasked.
Cast
*
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
– Chief Inspector
Frederick Abberline
Frederick George Abberline (8 January 1843 – 10 December 1929) was a British chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police. He is best known for being a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial killer ...
, an aging
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
whose quest to solve the murders gives him the strength to give up drinking
*
Lewis Collins
Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...
– Sergeant
George Godley
*
Armand Assante
Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...
–
Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''.
Life and career
Mansfield was born ...
, American Stage actor in the theatrical play ''
Jekyll and Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
''
*
Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and ...
–
Sir William Gull, Physician-in-Ordinary to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
*
Ken Bones –
Robert James Lees
Robert James Lees (12 August 1849 – 11 January 1931) was a British spiritualist, medium, preacher, writer and healer of the late Victorian era and early twentieth century known today for claims that he knew the identity of Jack the Ripper, ...
, Queen Victoria's psychic medium
*
Susan George –
Catherine Eddowes, fourth victim of Jack the Ripper
*
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...
– Emma Prentiss
*
Harry Andrews
Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...
–
Coroner Wynne Baxter
*
Lysette Anthony
Lysette Anne Chodzko (born 26 September 1963), known professionally as Lysette Anthony, is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles in the film ''Husbands and Wives'' (1992), as Princess Lysssa in the 1983 fantasy epic ''Krull ...
–
Mary Jane Kelly
Mary Jane Kelly ( – 9 November 1888), also known as Marie Jeanette Kelly, Fair Emma, Ginger, Dark Mary and Black Mary, is widely believed to have been the final victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who murdered ...
, fifth and last victim of Jack the Ripper
*
Gerald Sim
Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the Rector in '' To the Manor Born''.
Career
Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and made over a hundred ...
– Dr.
George Bagster Phillips
George Bagster Phillips (February 1835 in Camberwell, Surrey – 27 October 1897 in London) was, from 1865, the Police Surgeon for the Metropolitan Police's 'H' Division, which covered London's Whitechapel district. He came to prominence d ...
*
Hugh Fraser –
Commissioner of Police Sir Charles Warren
*
Edward Judd
Edward Judd (4 October 1932 – 24 February 2009) was a British actor.
Biography
Born in Shanghai, he and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked China five years later. His career was at its peak in the 1960s ...
– Chief Superintendent of Police
Thomas Arnold
*
George Sweeney –
Coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
driver
John Netley
*
Michael Gothard
Michael Alan Gothard (24 June 19392 December 1992) was an English actor, who portrayed Kai in the television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' and the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film '' For Your Eyes Only''. ...
–
George Lusk
George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
, Chairman of the
Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was a group of local civilian volunteers who patrolled the streets of London's Whitechapel district during the period of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. The volunteers were active mainly at night, assisting th ...
, and a violent
Marxist and power-hungry politician
*
T. P. McKenna –
T. P. O'Connor
Thomas Power O'Connor (5 October 1848 – 18 November 1929), known as T. P. O'Connor and occasionally as Tay Pay (mimicking his own pronunciation of the initials ''T. P.''), was an Irish nationalist politician and journalist who served as a ...
, Editor of ''
The Star'' newspaper
*
Jon Laurimore
Jon St Alban Laurimore (born 1936) is a British actor, known for his television appearances.
His TV credits include '' The Avengers'', ''The Prisoner'', ''Z-Cars'', '' Dixon of Dock Green'', '' Public Eye'', ''Warship'', ''Sutherland's Law'', ' ...
– Inspector John Spratling
*
Peter Armitage – Sgt. Kerby
*
Richard Morant
Richard Morant (30 October 1945 – 9 November 2011) was an English actor.
Biography
Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. His father was the Shakespearean actor Philip Morant (1909–1993). His sister is the actress Angela ...
– Dr.
Theodore Dyke Acland, son-in-law of Sir William Gull
*
Ronald Hines
Ronald Charles Andrew Hines (20 June 1929 – 28 March 2017) was a British television actor. He had a lengthy career, but possibly his most prominent roles were as Henry Corner in three of the four series of ''Not in Front of the Children'', ...
–
Henry Matthews, Home Secretary
*
David Swift –
Lord Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
, Prime Minister
* Jonathan Moore – Benjamin Bates, reporter for the Star
* Michael Hughes – Dr. Llewellyn, Chief Medical Examiner of
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
*
Gary Shail
Gary Shail (born 10 November 1959) is an English actor, director, producer and musician.
Career
Gary Shail began work in TV and film in 1977 and is best known for his roles as Spider in the 1979 film ''Quadrophenia'' and as Steve, the punky teen ...
– Billy White, a Whitechapel
pimp
*
Angela Crow
Angela Rosemary Crow (13 December 1935 – 3 March 2022) was an English television actress, best known for her appearance in the early days of British soap opera '' Coronation Street'', as factory worker Doreen Lostock, between 1961 and 1963.
...
–
Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride ( Gustafsdotter; 27 November 1843 – 30 September 1888) is believed to have been the third victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitecha ...
, third victim of Jack the Ripper
*
Marc Culwick –
Prince Albert Victor
*
David Ryall
David John Ryall
Retrieved 28 December 2014 (5 January 1935 – 25 December 201 ...
– Bowyer, Mary Kelly's landlord
*
Gary Love
Gary Joseph Love (born 26 November 1964) is a British actor and film director. He is best known for playing the role of Sergeant Tony Wilton in the British Army inspired award-winning series ''Soldier Soldier'', and as Jimmy McClaren in Grange ...
– Derek, a young police officer
* Kelly Cryer – Annette, a French girl and friend of Mary Jane Kelly
*
Roger Ashton-Griffiths
Roger Ashton-Griffiths (born 19 January 1957) is an English character actor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his role as Mace Tyrell in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''.
Life and career
Born in Hertfordshire, ...
– Rodman, a blind brothel operator in Whitechapel
Production
''Jack the Ripper'' presents a fictionalised portrayal of Frederick Abberline, with details of his personal life (including
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
and his relationship with artist "Emma Prentiss") invented via dramatic licence. (In real-life, at the time of the Ripper murders, Abberline was married to Emma Beament, the daughter of a merchant. In ''Jack the Ripper'', Emma Prentiss is not married to Abberline.) Furthermore, the series' portrayal of Abberline unmasking the Ripper as William Gull contradicts the fact that the real-life Abberline believed that the Ripper was actually
George Chapman
George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shakesp ...
.
George Lusk
George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
of the
Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was a group of local civilian volunteers who patrolled the streets of London's Whitechapel district during the period of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. The volunteers were active mainly at night, assisting th ...
was depicted in the film as a violent, argumentative troublemaker when in fact he was very quiet, a good local business man who was known for his peaceful nature, a
churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
and a
Freemason.
Hugh Fraser wore clothing that his character,
Sir Charles Warren, had actually worn. This was both
Harry Andrews
Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...
and
Edward Judd
Edward Judd (4 October 1932 – 24 February 2009) was a British actor.
Biography
Born in Shanghai, he and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked China five years later. His career was at its peak in the 1960s ...
's last production.
Armand Assante
Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...
's stand-in died during filming. Of her experience filming ''Jack the Ripper'',
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...
said, "That was fun. I played it as a redhead, it was a great role, and of course I got to work with the great Michael Caine. I had been warned that Michael is tough on actors and actresses unless they know their lines and are very professional, which mostly I was, but they didn’t tell me that he literally liked to do one take and then go and have lunch with his wife. Which is basically what happened! So you’d show up, and unless the
icrophonelanded on you or the camera bumped onto you or he messed up, which he never did, that was it. It was one take, and then you’re on to the next. So that was interesting."
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
worked with ''Jack the Ripper'' director David Wickes on another television film: the four-hour, two-part ''Jekyll & Hyde'' (1990), based on
the book by
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
. The story of Jekyll and Hyde is a plot-point in Wickes' ''Jack the Ripper'' series.
Using historical characters involved in the genuine 1888 hunt for the killer, ''Jack the Ripper'' was written by
Derek Marlowe
Derek William Mario Marlowe (21 May 1938 – 14 November 1996) was an English playwright, novelist, screenwriter and painter.
Life
Derek Marlowe was born in Perivale, Middlesex, and lived there and in Greenford as a child. His father was Fre ...
and David Wickes and
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
by Wickes. The series drew heavily on the same discredited
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
/
Royal Family conspiracy theory as the 1978 film ''
Murder By Decree
''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1 ...
''; it is also the account presented in the 2001 film ''
From Hell
''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions.
Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...
''. This theory was first put forward in the 1960s by
Thomas E. A. Stowell who published his claims in a November 1970 issue of ''The Criminologist''. The theory was later turned into the bestselling ''
Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution'' (1976) by
Stephen Knight. The 1988 series dispenses with the fictional
Sherlock Holmes who uncovered the conspiracy in ''Murder By Decree'' and instead concentrates on the real-life
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
detective
Frederick Abberline
Frederick George Abberline (8 January 1843 – 10 December 1929) was a British chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police. He is best known for being a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial killer ...
, as assisted by Sergeant
George Godley.
[''Jack the Ripper'' reviewed on Eofftv.com]
/ref>
The series is constructed as a Whodunit
A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...
in which viewers are led to suspect, at various points, that Prince Albert Victor, Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''.
Life and career
Mansfield was born ...
, George Lusk
George Akin Lusk (1839–1919) was a British builder and decorator who specialised in music hall restoration, and was the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the Whitechapel murders, including the killings ascribed to Jack ...
, Henry Llewellyn or Theodore Dyke Acland could be Jack the Ripper. Before ''Jack the Ripper'' was broadcast, director/co-writer David Wickes claimed that he had been allowed unprecedented access to the Scotland Yard files on the Ripper
Ripper or The Ripper may refer to:
People
* Ripper (surname)
* Paul Burchill, ring name "The Ripper", a professional wrestler based on Jack the Ripper
* Kirk Hammett, nicknamed "The Ripper", the lead guitarist in the heavy metal band Metallica ...
case and stated that his production would be revealing the 'true' identity of Jack the Ripper for the first time. After pressure from Ripperologist Melvin Harris and others, Wickes was forced to withdraw this claim.[ Nevertheless, the series begins with a disclaimer on behalf of the production staff, stating, ''"Our story is based on extensive research, including a review of the official files by special permission of the Home Office and interviews with leading criminologists and Scotland Yard officials."'' The series' "revelation" that Sir William Gull was Jack the Ripper was not new: Stephen Knight's 1976 book alleged that Gull was the Ripper, and prior to that, the theory had been cited in the 1973 ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' (two episodes of which were directed by David Wickes). Furthermore, the Ripper character in the film ''Murder by Decree'', assigned the fictitious name "Sir Thomas Spivey," was based on Sir William Gull.
Marlowe and Wickes retained ''The Final Solution''s contention that William Gull was Jack the Ripper, but dispensed with most of the rest of the theory: the involvement of Prince Albert Victor is dismissed as a
. The original script adhered more closely to ''The Final Solution'' but was changed during the course of production: interviewed in 2017,
stated "when we first got the script, they kind of implicated the Masons as being involved, and by the time we finished the movie, there was pretty much no mention of the Masons."
The series ends with Gull's son-in-law, Dr. Theodore Dyke Acland, theorising that Gull was using himself as a case-study of
(giving free rein to his murderous impulses in an effort to understand his own multi-faceted mind). The series presents Gull acting of his own accord (with only coachman
complicit in his crimes), and conspiracy only coming into play ''after'' Gull's arrest: according to the series, Gull's murders were covered up at the behest of police commissioner
's physician. The series' denouement thus differs to Stephen Knight's claim that Warren was aware of the Ripper's identity as the crimes were being committed.
''Jack the Ripper'' ends with the following disclaimer:
The series was originally mounted on a relatively low-budget, with interior photography shot on video-tape and location footage shot on 16-mm film (as was common practice for British television productions of the time). Filming commenced in October 1987, with
'' cast in the role of Abberline. Production was halted in December 1987 after the American television network
became interested in the project, and most of the original cast and crew were paid off.
and CBS), shot entirely on film. It was decided that a more famous actor would be required to headline the series if it was to sell in the
'', when Caine refused to play a serial killer who mutilates women. The casting of Michael Caine was considered to be a major coup, as the actor was not known for doing television work. ''Jack the Ripper'' reportedly earned Caine a fee of $1 million.
In the original version of the series, Abberline's partner George Godley was to have been played by
.
''. American actor
, both well known to American audiences, were added to the cast at the suggestion of CBS.
and Kelly Cryer all played the parts they were cast for in the unfinished version of the series.
''Jack the Ripper'' began filming in February 1988, with principal photography at
. David Wickes was determined that as few people as possible should know who would be unmasked as the killer, and shot four dummy endings (revealing George Lusk, Inspector Spratling, Chief Superintendent Arnold and Sir Charles Warren as the Ripper) to put the cast and crew off the scent. He also mocked up a scene with Godley pulling William Gull from a coach in a case of mistaken identity, and then edited them all together to produce the result. Reportedly, only eight members of Wickes' staff knew the truth before production wrapped.