The Man in the Attic

It’s business as usual when boarding house owner Helen Harley lets rooms to a polite research pathologist. Yet as all of London churns with news of the latest Jack the Ripper murder, she begins to suspect her lodger is more than he appears. The stakes—and Mrs. Harley’s panic—rise as her niece, popular actress Lily Bonner, catches his eye.

“The Man in the Attic” (1953) is one of nearly two dozen films centered on the unsolved serial killings that shocked late Victorian England. With more than a hundred suspects, the case was never solved, which may help explain why the sensational mystery has intrigued imaginations for more than a century.

Fans of 1950s TV and film will recognize landlady Helen Harley as none other than Frances Bavier, best known for playing Aunt Bea on the Andy Griffin Show. Jack Palance’s role as Mr. Slade occurred early in an international career that spanned decades.