1944 thrillerRating: 16/20
Plot: In this hilarious prequel to the television sitcom Three's Company, Jack Tripper is on the loose in London, spilling the blood of showgirls and whores and fooling Mr. Furley into thinking he's gay. It works because he's British and went to good schools and therefore fairly gayish. Scotland Yard gets involved after a scam involving Thighmaster knock-offs rips off some large-thighed and desperate women.
Shadows and fog, fog and shadows. Moments lag, but when this thing's good, it's really good. Very atmospheric right from the opening scene where the camera floats over a moody street littered with shadows of policemen and drunkards. I like how the camera moves in this one, and the acting (almost over the top) is good. There are some great scenes here--an awesome finale, a a killing, another killing. I've not seen the original version of this (silent Hitchcock). This has the style and feel of a silent film actually. The one main difference, I suppose, is that the characters talk a lot in this one.
I don't know how it's possible, but this story of Jack the Ripper kind of bored me. It could be the periodic overacting, but I think mainly it's that people in this film are MORONS! Jack might as well walk around with a neon sign on his forehead that reads "arrest me, I'm a psycho killer". Merle Oberon is so stupid, I was pulling for her death. You are right about the atmosphere being very effctive, and there are some great moments (the ending is very good), but George Sanders is wasted and the film feels contrived. I'm sure in 1944 it was a shocker, but for me it came off just a bit silly. A 13.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the Hitchcock version?
ReplyDeleteI see what you're saying. There are numerous slow moments, too many for a movie under 90 minutes. I still thought it was an effective movie, especially for '44. And I actually thought the acting was pretty good!
I haven't seen the Hitchcok version. I'll wait to see your review first.
ReplyDelete