Murder by DecreeMurder by Decree is a 1979 mysterythriller 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 1888 Whitechapel murders committed by Jack the Ripper. Christopher Plummer plays Holmes and James Mason plays Watson. Though it features a similar premise, it is somewhat different in tone and result to A Study in Terror.
Jack the RipperJack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of the East End of London, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also called the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron. Attacks ascribed to Jack the Ripper typically involved women working as prostitutes who lived in the slums of the East End of London. Their throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations.West Hatch High SchoolWest Hatch High School is a secondary school located in Chigwell, Epping Forest, Essex (near Woodford Bridge). The area, now currently occupied by West Hatch, was previously the western gate (or hatch as it would have been known) into Hainault Forest; it is from these roots that the school derives its name. The school currently educates 1,300 students from the local catchment area, and nearly 200 sixth-form pupils from northeast London and west Essex.
British royal familyFamily of the British monarchThe royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the annual Trooping the Colour parade in 2023.
ChigwellChigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It lies adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the London Underground. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 14,599 and the built up area had a population of 12,250.
Hainault, LondonHainault (, ) is a large suburban area of East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge, 12.5 miles (20.1 km) northeast of Charing Cross. Most of the housing in Hainault was built by the London County Council between 1947 and 1953. Originally spanning the parishes of Chigwell, Dagenham, and Ilford, in 1965 the estate was combined in a single London borough and became part of Greater London.
FreemasonryGroup of fraternal organizationsThe Square and Compasses, the main emblem of the FreemasonsFreemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century. One of the primary purposes of Freemasonry is charity.
Graphic novelA graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art (i.e. comics). The term graphic novel is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and industry professionals. It is, at least in the United States, typically distinct from the term comic book, which is generally used for comics periodicals and trade paperbacks.Bob ClarkBenjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film history such as Black Christmas (1974), Murder by Decree (1979), Tribute (1980), Porky's (1981) and A Christmas Story (1983). He won a trio of Genie Awards (two Best Direction and a lone Best Screenplay) with two additional nominations.
EssexCounty of EnglandNon-metropolitan and ceremonial county in EnglandEssex ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is Southend-on-Sea. The county has an area of 3,670 km (1,420 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,929,610 in 2024.
London Electricity BoardThe London Electricity Board was the public sectorutility company responsible for the supply and distribution of electricity to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers in London prior to 1990. It also sold and made available for hire and hire-purchase domestic electrical appliances through local showrooms where electricity bills could also be paid. It was shortened to LEB in its green and blue logo, consisting of the three letters.
Conspiracy theoryAttributing events to an improbable conspiracyAs seen on the US$1 bill, the Eye of Providence has been perceived by some to be evidence of a conspiracy linking the Founding Fathers of the United States to the New World Order conspiracy theory.A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.