Midnight Movie of the Week #171 - Murder By Decree

A few months back I covered the other movie from 1979 in which a famous literary name tracked Jack the Ripper (that would be Time After Time, of course), so it's only fair that I let Sherlock Holmes follow in H.G. Wells' steps and track Whitechapel's most infamous knifeman too. Which brings us to Murder By Decree, a grimy and serious attempt to investigate the Ripper with Holmes and Watson leading the charge.

Directed by Bob Clark, whose versatility as a filmmaker is a thing of legend, Murder By Decree exists in a London where the sun never seems to shine, the fog never seems to lift, and the prostitutes don't at all look like Hollywood actresses. I'm serious on that last point too. Heather Graham isn't walking through that door. Instead, we're left realizing that Jack the Ripper was a seriously disturbed fella - and also wondering why anyone back in the day would pay a few quid for some of those old hags.  Sorry, did I get off track? Yeah, I think I did.

Or maybe I didn't, because I think the grimy prostitute issue makes a point. While the film is on the surface a Sherlock Holmes mystery, the script also unabashedly digs into the political and social climate of less fortunate districts of London in the late 1800s. The Jack the Ripper era has been romanticized so often on screen, and Murder By Decree counteracts these portrayals by refusing to make the situation look more glamorous than it is. Clark's previous work on films like Black Christmas and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things showed a similar talent for keeping death ugly, but the tone of Murder by Decree doesn't offer near as many moments of levity or humor as those films did.

Thanks to this unrelenting tone, Murder By Decree functions kind of like Alfred Hitchcock's masterful Vertigo did more than twenty years earlier, because the winding plot keeps our eyes fixated on the screen and our mind wondering about what it all means.  Neither film really ever takes a break to let us really collect our thoughts, it just keeps moving at its own seductive pace. As is the case with any good mystery - and any Sherlock Holmes story - any missed detail might be the one that trips the case. This isn't a Scooby Doo style mystery either, and Clark and screenwriter John Hopkins don't provide many easy clues to solving the enigma that is Jack the Ripper.  Historians will no doubt notice some connections to the real case and some conspiracy theories that have become popular in some circles, but also offers some unique perspective on the infamous killer.

Of course, none of this would be interesting if the cast involved couldn't handle the film, so it's delightful to see that the casting is so darn fantastic here. Christopher Plummer and James Mason star as Holmes and Watson, respectively, and each is an inspired choice for their role. It's weird to watch the two actors - who I relate to much different eras in film - play off each other, but they have a natural chemistry. The once suave Mason is probably the film's biggest asset as Watson, balancing the character's gruff exterior with the astute wit instilled upon him by Holmes. He does seem to imitate Nigel Bruce - my favorite Watson by FAR - a bit, but doesn't go too far that the role doesn't feel like his own.

Plummer, on the other hand, seems to transition smoothly into the role of Holmes. It's a perfect casting idea and Plummer seems to relish one of his few chances to be the lead performer in a picture. He manages to hit on many of the trademarks of the Holmes character but he, like Mason, never seems to be just going through the motions. And when it is time for him to relate his findings in the final act, there is not a wasted word - it's one of the most well-delivered segments I've ever seen wrap up a murder mystery. It's also worth noting that these stars are assisted by a dynamite supporting cast, with folks like David Hemmings, Donald Sutherland and Sir John Gielgud adding respectability to the story.

Murder By Decree is not for everyone, and it's still kind of surprising to me that such a humorless film came from the director who would soon be directing Porky's and A Christmas Story. It works as a Holmes movie and it works as a Ripper film and it even works as a commentary on poverty in London near the turn of the century. Most impressively, it never loses its grasp on any of these major themes, keeping everything together for over two hours. When you consider it all together, Murder by Decree holds up as one of the most well-constructed mysteries on film.

Midnight Movie of the Week #152 - Time After Time

If we were talking about the all-time great concepts for sci-fi films, we would probably end up talking about Time After Time.  I would insist upon it. I'm sorry, but there simply can not be a conversation about the most inventive films to tackle time travel without mention of the film in which famous author H.G. Wells uses his (totally real) "time machine" and chases Jack The Ripper to San Francisco of the late 1970s.

Yes, you read that right.

The directorial debut of Nicholas Meyer - who would follow this success with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - is a one of a kind sci-fi romantic comedy. In it, The Ripper escapes from the police by slipping into Wells' most famous invention during a dinner party. Thankfully, a plot device loophole allows the machine to return to the writer, which means he can follow the killer and attempt to bring him to justice.  Because that's that a noble Englishman would do in that situation, naturally.

Malcolm McDowell stars as Wells, who doesn't exactly adjust to the twentieth century with ease.  The film takes on a very comedic tone as the distinguished gentleman tries to catch up with the times, and much of the film's first act is comprised of interactions that end with McDowell acting shocked to learn about things like McDonalds or the second World War or women's liberation. The actor, who most have come to think of in more serious roles, seems to be having a lot of fun in the role when he needs to.  At the same time, his serious side is visible when he tries on his detective skills, making this vision of H.G. Wells a memorable and loveable character.

McDowell's success as Wells is amplified by the work Mary Steenburgen does as the "modern" woman who becomes a) his love interest and b) his instructor on the ways of the 1970s.  The actress, known primarily to me for her later work in comedies and her somewhat abrasive voice, is given a lot to work with as an empowered young businesswoman who doesn't shy away from taking the lead with an "attractive" man. The character isn't an overly comical addition to the tongue in cheek film, but many of the tricks used to show her beliefs - like a comment on lesbianism that would get modern movies heckled - have an edgy side to them.

And, of course, a Jack The Ripper movie isn't complete without Jack, who is played here by the fantastic David Warner.  Warner has long been one of my favorite character actors, but his sinister turn as the killer here is easily my favorite piece of his work that I've seen.  Unlike Wells, Warner's Ripper seems instantly at home in modern society, and resumes his deadly hobby.  A greatly effective scene early in the film has Warner flipping TV channels and explaining to Wells that he belongs in this world - because there's violence on almost every channel. (The exception, of course, is the channel that featured the gentleman's game of football.)  Warner's controlled emotions and his command over every line of dialogue - I swear, the best casting ever was him as a drama professor in Scream 2 - are the perfect attributes for a modern day Ripper.

With the three fantastic characters being realized through fantastic performances, the only other thing Time After Time has to do is become a thrilling sci-fi tale. And, believe me, it soars off the screen in that regard. Meyer's film runs near two hours, but the pace is cracking and everything seems to be put into its proper place. The mystery and the romance never get in each other's way, and there's plenty of room to fit the comedy and the killing into their proper places. It's not an epic piece of drama or a technical masterpiece in any regard, but it's just a ton of fun to watch because it moves with such confidence through the story.

There simply isn't another movie that does what Time After Time does as well.  It seems that filmmakers, especially today, are always trying to find new ways to rewrite history and to make historical characters interesting in their own ways.  For my money, none of them have matched the whimsical charm of Time After Time. It's one of the most must-see science fiction tales I've ever known; packed with enough action, romance, and drama to please fans of any age.