Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

I saw this on the 2 disc release of "From Hell". This is an old documantary focusing on an author's theory that he invettigated for years, with numerous sources. The reason that this documentary was made was because of an inspired documentarian who read the author's book of the same name. The theory that 3 major people were involved and 2 were actual killers of only 5 murders. Like I said, this is only a theory, one that the film "From Hell" took into great consideration for their film.

To access this feature on the 2 disc DVD, select "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder" at the bottom of the main menu, press down and then right on your remote to highlight a knife on screen and press enter to view it.

Of all the many Ripper theories, the Stephen Knight version has made the biggest impact on the public, earning him a fortune in the few years before his untimely death. And I'm not the only one to have been fooled for a while. An Australian researcher, Ray McGregor, crossed the world to walk in the steps of the Ripper and his wretched victims in those dark lanes that still carry such emotional force - most of this film being his own interview with the author.

Knight was an obscure young reporter on Whitechapel's last remaining newspaper, when he was approached by a nervous, chain-smoking individual who claimed to be the illegitimate son of one of England's best-loved painters, Walter Sickert, by a secret daughter of Prince Eddy, Heir Presumptive to the throne, elder brother of the future King George the Fifth. On these grounds, he was apparently being persecuted by the Freemasons, for fear that he would reveal the Royal plot that lay behind the murders. Any professional reporter would immediately realise that he was listening to a fantasist, as Knight must have done. But of course he could smell money.

Like many sensational exposés, the story appears to add-up, provided you accept it at face value. The blackmailing of Sickert... the cover-up by corrupt police... the disembowelling of the victims according to masonic ritual... There's no doubt, it all makes for an unusually engaging and involving detective story. (Indeed, Patricia Cornwell has endorsed the theory so enthusiastically that you could believe it was her own.)

But on investigation, it all starts to crumble. No, England was not on the verge of revolution, so there was no need for desperate measures to silence any witnesses to a Royal scandal. No, Sickert's model was not a catholic, and even if she had been, marriage with Eddy would have been null without the Queen's approval. (In any case, Knight is conflating two different girls, Annie Cook and Annie Crook.) No, Prime Minister Salisbury was not a freemason. No, the police inspector's diaries handed to Knight by the fantasist were not genuine. And finally, the fantasist withdrew his claims anyway, for reasons not disclosed.

First-class entertainment it was. A final solution it was not.

A somewhat interesting documentary that provides detailed coverage of a single Ripper theory. While the intro seems to promise a deliriously, paranoia filled examination of how the Ripper this quickly slows down. The documentary hinges entirely around Stephen Knight's rather bland screen presence. While Knight does a good job of enumerating the facts of the case as well as offering a pretty over top conspiracy theory, it can't save this documentary from over staying it's welcome during it's 40 minute run time. Some notable aspects are it's focus on Masonic connections, depictions of the victims, and how the theory gradually becomes focused on a far reaching conspiracy that reaches up to the highest office of British power. I suppose if you are already a huge Ripper fan you might find this film to be noteworthy but I think you could probably find something better.