''Seven Murders for Scotland Yard'' (Spanish:''Jack el destripador de Londres'' / ''Jack the Ripper of London'') is a 1971 Italian-Spanish

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

film directed by

José Luis Madrid José Luis Madrid (11 April 1933 – 19 July 1999) was a Spanish screenwriter, producer and film director.Goble p.292 Selected filmography * ''Ruthless Colt of the Gringo'' (1966) * '' Somebody's Stolen Our Russian Spy'' (1967) * ''Seven M ...

and starring

Paul Naschy Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina Álvarez, September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures— The Wolfman, ...

, Patricia Loran and

Renzo Marignano Renzo Marignano (26 March 1923 - 25 November 1987), sometimes credited as Renzo Marignani, was an Italian actor and film director. Born in Genoa, after World War II Marignano was one of the founders of ''Cimofilm'', a production company speciali ...

. 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. 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''. 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

as Bruno Doriani * Patricia Loran as Lulu *

as Inspector Henry Campbell *

Orchidea De Santis Orchidea De Santis (born 20 December 1948, Bari) is an Italian television and film actress. Biography Orchidea De Santis is an Italian actress in cinema, theatre and television. Her films include '' Il Vizio di Famiglia'' directed by Mariano ...

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 Miguel Muniesa is a Spanish film and theater actor. He appeared in '' Companys, proceso a Cataluña'' (1979), ''Biotaxia'' (1968), ''The Exquisite Cadaver ''The Exquisite Cadaver'' ( es, Las Crueles) AKA: ''The Cruel Ones'' is a 1969 Spanish film ...

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.Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. ISBN 978-1718835894

References

Bibliography

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

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0067260 1971 films Italian horror films Italian crime films Films about cannibalism Spanish horror films 1971 horror films Spanish crime films 1970s crime films 1970s Spanish-language films Films directed by José Luis Madrid Films set in London Films about Jack the Ripper Films scored by Piero Piccioni Giallo films 1970s Italian films