hwg1957-102-265704 Paul Naschy was an unlikely looking leading man, pudgy and balding, but carved a name for himself as a werewolf, a vampire and various unhinged characters. Even when playing straight he still looked slightly barmy. "Seven Murders for Scotland Yard" is a Spanish giallo where he plays an ex-circus trapeze artist (not that plausible!) who is implicated in a series of Jack The Ripper style murders. There is a bit of gore and a few nice ladies in underwear but it is mainly talky and dull.It is set in London but only parts of it were filmed there. It is easy to tell apart what was the English footage and what was the Spanish footage. In the London scenes Naschy roams about familiar locations like Soho and Piccadilly. He goes to Euston Station but amazingly can get a train to Rye from there. It's actually the wrong station for that. Perhaps the film makers should have chosen Leighton Buzzard or Berkhamsted instead.It is always hard to assess acting quality when a film is dubbed so i won't comment on that though Renzo Marignano as Inspector Henry Campbell has a splendid moustache. A good music score is provided by the reliable Piero Piccioni.

Red-Barracuda The giallo was an Italian invention; however, there were several Spanish movies that are accepted entries in the genre. Seven Murders for Scotland Yard is a pretty typical example of this sub-genre of the sub-genre. It stars Iberian horror icon Paul Naschy in the lead role. In it he plays medical student turned acrobat who is the chief suspect in a series of prostitute murders in London. The killings recall the work of Jack the Ripper.This is a pretty routine murder-mystery. It's hampered a bit by its low budget. It lacks the sense of style that most of its Italian counterparts had, so it comes across as somewhat more rough-edged. The murders themselves have pretty crude gore effects, while there is a distinct lack of nudity. The latter is clearly as a result of the Spanish origins, seeing as this was made in Franco's Spain and film nudity was a bit of a no-no – Spaniards like Jesus Franco had to make films in France and West Germany in order to ramp up the sex. The mystery itself isn't bad as such but the small cast means that there really aren't a lot of suspects to begin with. Still, it's certainly an entertaining enough flick, just don't go into it expecting too much.

HumanoidOfFlesh After being injured in circus acrobat Peter Dockerman(Paul Naschy)spends his nights drinking heavily and fighting in some obscure bars.When his wife is murdered Peter becomes the chief suspect in a series of Jack The Ripper style butcherings.Cops are trying to track down Peter and he tries to solve the case himself."Seven Murders for Scotland Yard" is a pretty watchable Spanish giallo with plenty of bloody stabbings.The killings are mean and misogynistic but not very graphic.The cinematography is quite good and there are some suspenseful stalking scenes.Unfortunately the direction is pretty bland and the gore scenes look amateurish.Still if you enjoyed "Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll" give this one a look too.7 Jack the Rippers out of 10.

Witchfinder General 666 The Italian Giallo is doubtlessly one of the intriguing sub-genres in Horror/Suspense cinema. As it was the case with many cult-cinema sub-genres that became popular in Italy, the Spanish also contributed some films. While the only somewhat Giallo-esque Spanish masterpiece remains Narcisco Ibanez Serrador's brilliant Gothic-gem LA RESIDENCIA (THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, 1969), several other grands in Spanish Exploitation/Cult cinema have delivered Gialli that were, at least, highly entertaining. Spain's great late Horror icon Paul Naschy starred in, wrote and directed a vast variety of films, being most famous for his role as the Werewolf Waldemar Daninsky in 14 'HOMBRE LOBO' movies. Being a great fan of Paul Naschy, I have to see everything he is in, any Giallo that he starred in in particular.In the particular case of JACK EL DESTRIPADOR DE LONDRES aka. SEVEN MURDERS FOR Scotland YARD, which is a modern version of Jack the Ripper set in the 1970s, Naschy plays a Spaniard in London who becomes a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend. More women are found dead and missing body-parts. A very corny-looking Scotland Yard commissioner investigates...As a Giallo, one might say that José Luis Madrid's movie fails, since the identity of the murderer is not exactly the biggest of mysteries. Then again, the movie is suspenseful enough, and the murders are gruesome and gory (even if cheaply made). Naschy plays a somewhat naive character (which he often did). As in many of the films he starred in, he also co-authored the script to this one. Some may disagree, but for me personally a movie starring Naschy is always worth the while. The man simply was an icon and any fellow Eurocult lover should watch any of his films that they get the chance to. This being a Spanish/Italian co-production, chances are good that there are different versions. The version I saw must be the Spanish one, as there was no nudity in spite of many beautiful actresses (the reason for which is no nudity being permitted in Spain under Franco). Even though I haven't seen it, I have no doubt that the Italian version is a lot sleazier. Overall, this is a worthwhile film for fans of European cult-cinema. As far as Gialli starring Paul Naschy go, however, I would recommend LOS OJOS AZULES DE LA MUNECA ROTA (aka. BLUE EYES OF A BROKEN DOLL/HOUSE OF THE PSYCHOTIC WOMEN) of 1976 over this one.