JACK THE RIPPER GOES WEST (1974)

JACK THE RIPPER GOES WEST (1974) – This hilariously lame horror western was also released under the titles Silent Sentence, A Knife in the Dark and A Knife for the Ladies.

Jack the Ripper Goes West is a horror western that plays like a failed pilot episode for a television series given its mere 51 minute running time. When a rash of Jack the Ripper style murders afflict the western town of Mescal their old-fashioned Sheriff Jarrod (Jack Elam) is aggravated to find himself forced to work with an out of town private detective named Burns (Jeff Cooper). 

If this was indeed once planned as a tv pilot (and the incredibly fake-looking buildings in the town might support that notion) the premise was apparently going to be the clash of old vs new methods of investigating crimes. Elam’s sheriff is an old-fashioned hip-shooting, hard-drinking, saloon-brawling man of the past. Cooper’s private investigator is a sophisticated big city criminologist intent on using modern methodology.  

Jeff Cooper

The two men clash over the approach to bringing the Ripper killer to justice. Jarrod’s habit of just going with his gut instinct and shooting at somebody is at odds with Burns’ cool-headed and clinical approach. Amid the expected bickering the two eventually get in a fist-fight, after which they respect each other but still continue to quibble about how to run down bad guys. 

In addition to preying on the prostitutes of Mescal the Ripper killer has also murdered a member of the town’s founding family, deepening the mystery … sort of. It’s more of a Wild West slasher story than a detective story. Long ago some enterprising distributors edited in some gory prostitute murders and sex scenes with no-name actors who were not in the original production.  

That editing swelled the running time out to about 70 minutes but it’s not really worth the effort to track those versions down. I regretted making the effort myself.

Not pictured: Edward James Olmos

Ruth Roman, John Kellogg and NFL star Fred Biletnikoff of all people appear in supporting roles. All the thespians seem to be playing for simpletons, strengthening my notion that this was originally meant as mindless, harmless Prime Time television fodder. 

FOR MORE REVIEWS OF WESTERN HORROR FILMS CLICK HERE

FOR MY LOOK AT BLAXPLOITATION HORROR FILMS: https://glitternight.com/2011/10/26/a-very-blaxploitation-halloween/

FOR MY LIST OF THE TOP ELEVEN BAD MOVIES FOR HALLOWEEN: https://glitternight.com/2011/10/24/the-eleven-most-neglected-bad-movie-classics-for-halloween/

FOR MY LOOK AT MEXICAN HORROR FILMS CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2011/10/31/a-halloween-mexi-monster-bestiary/