One of the most intriguing pieces of film on the Jack the Ripper murders appeared in James Mason’s film of “The London That Nobody Knows.”
This film captures parts of London that have long since vanished including a trip along Hanbury Street where we are treated to a view of, not just the exterior of number 29, but also the back yard as well where the murder of Annie Chapman, the second of Jack the Ripper’s victims, took place on the 8th September 1888. With the 126th anniversary of that murder now approaching I thought that this would be a great subject for today’s blog.
The footage shows James Mason standing in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street. It’s also wonderfully staged in that the woman who answers the front door when James Mason knocks isn’t in the least bit phased by the fact that she’s got an internationally renowned Hollywood actor standing on her doorstep.
I think this is the only footage we have of an actual murder site before it was developed and, as such, it is, most certainly, a genuine piece of Jack the Ripper history.
Anyway, if you would like to see the site of the second murder by Jack the Ripper you can book onto our nightly walking tour that takes you around the murder sites.