Murder by Decree

John Chard

2015-05-08

⭐ 9

Elementary my dear Ripper! Murder by Decree is directed by Bob Clark and adapted to screenplay by John Hopkins from the novel The Ripper File written by Elwyn Jones and John Lloyd. It stars Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Frank Finlay, Anthony Quayle, Donald Sutherland, Geneviève Bujold & John Gielgud. Film pitches Sherlock Holmes (Plummer) and Dr. Watson (Mason) into the hunt for Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel, London 1888... I've been exploited old fellow, by the very people for whom we are searching. The greatest of detectives searching for Britain…

CinemaSerf

2023-03-26

⭐ 6

Christopher Plummer dons the famous deerstalker in this well produced and stylish looking outing for "Sherlock Holmes". Here, together with stalwart colleague "Dr. Watson" (James Mason) they find themselves drawn into the mysterious investigation of a series of gruesome Whitechapel murders. What is being locally described as the "Jack the Ripper" crimes is baffling "Lestrade" (Frank Finlay) to the point that his job is on the line after an intervention by the Commissioner himself (Sir Anthony Quayle). This adaptation follows the increasingly more established story of political and court intrig…

Wuchak

2026-06-17

⭐ 6

**_What if Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson took on the 1888 Jack the Ripper case?_** This isn’t as colorful as “A Study in Terror” or the Hammer versions; nor is it as sordid & gory as Klaus Kinski’s 1976 rendition or Anthony Perkins’ future “Edge of Sanity,” nor as entertaining as the future “From Hell.” You could call it a respectable version of The Ripper case that’s dialogue-driven and eschews exploitation with the highlight being Christopher Plummer and James Mason as the detective duo. I’d compare it to Jack Palance’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from eleven years prior,…