I began watching this as a joke, but actually found it mildly enjoyable, like a more-bloody, supernatural-ish Murder She Wrote episode. Hoff is Hoff, with all that entails, but most of the other leads give competent performances, and I appreciated that Clu Gulager's role wasn't as one-note as you would expect. Stephanie Kramer is solid as Hoff's romantic object, and while I'm sure some fans would have preferred a more sexy turn from Adrian Barbeau, she's likeable as the town librarian. Yes it's a silly bit of made-for-TV nonsense, but I found it a less than terrible thing to have running in the background during a quiet spring afternoon. :)
23 Reviews
Not bad if you're bored
tamstrat27 August 2020
The story of the "Terror at London Bridge" is pretty ridiculous but it held my interest. The plot is a pretty weird, the London Bridge (in real life) was dismantled and shipped to Arizona. Yes Arizona. Anyway, a tourist couple are staying near the bridge and the wife cuts her finger and Jack the Ripper is resurrected and starts his reign of terror again in Arizona (of all places)!
It's pretty cheesy, but David Hasselhoff was easy on the eyes. Stefanie Kramer held her own, although overly tanned and the hair, the shoulder pads, but hey, it's the 80's. Adrienne Barbeau was not utilized as much as she could have been, but did a decent job. Randolph Mantooth was fair enough as the co-cop friend of Hasselhoff.
This was a TV movie, which I realize young people can't comprehend these days. I grew up watching the "ABC Movie of the Week" back in the 70's, which actually have some fantastic movies, which are cult classics now. This isn't a classic, no way near that, but it was okay, and had a few suspenseful moments. Would I go out of my way to watch this, no. But if it came on, I had nothing else to do, yeah, sure.
It's pretty cheesy, but David Hasselhoff was easy on the eyes. Stefanie Kramer held her own, although overly tanned and the hair, the shoulder pads, but hey, it's the 80's. Adrienne Barbeau was not utilized as much as she could have been, but did a decent job. Randolph Mantooth was fair enough as the co-cop friend of Hasselhoff.
This was a TV movie, which I realize young people can't comprehend these days. I grew up watching the "ABC Movie of the Week" back in the 70's, which actually have some fantastic movies, which are cult classics now. This isn't a classic, no way near that, but it was okay, and had a few suspenseful moments. Would I go out of my way to watch this, no. But if it came on, I had nothing else to do, yeah, sure.
Don't hassle the Hoff, don't rip off the Ripper!
Coventry24 September 2020
If you are into horror, you always have to remain open-minded towards flamboyant premises and plot descriptions that instantly seem like a terribly bad idea. Otherwise, you are guaranteed to miss out on fantastically absurd movies like "Terror at London Bridge". How imaginative is this? The one and only Jack the Ripper - from Whitechapel in London, England - reincarnates in a small town in Arizona, USA, simply because the town rebuilt the original Thames Bridge where the most notorious serial killer in history allegedly died. Good old Jackie Boy cheerfully picks up his one-hundred-year-old habits and starts slicing the throats of local ladies.
Now, as silly as it sounds, I nevertheless reckon that "Terror at London Bridge" was quite a prestigious and successful production around the time of its release, especially for a TV-movie. The Jack the Ripper character always works in horror film, and there even was a whole hype and revival due to the 100th anniversary of the 1888 Whitechapel killings. Lead actor David Hasselhoff was hotter than butter on popcorn in 1985, since the film came right in between of "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch". Despite the slightly - just slightly, mind you - implausible plot, the film has a handful of tense moments and the murders are above-average gruesome for a TV-film. The Hoff receives good support from a couple of familiar faces, including Clu Gulager, Lane Smith and the ravishing Adrienne Barbeau.
Now, as silly as it sounds, I nevertheless reckon that "Terror at London Bridge" was quite a prestigious and successful production around the time of its release, especially for a TV-movie. The Jack the Ripper character always works in horror film, and there even was a whole hype and revival due to the 100th anniversary of the 1888 Whitechapel killings. Lead actor David Hasselhoff was hotter than butter on popcorn in 1985, since the film came right in between of "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch". Despite the slightly - just slightly, mind you - implausible plot, the film has a handful of tense moments and the murders are above-average gruesome for a TV-film. The Hoff receives good support from a couple of familiar faces, including Clu Gulager, Lane Smith and the ravishing Adrienne Barbeau.
good for a rainy Sunday afternoon
fyrefly6828 August 2004
Certainly not the level of a Hitchcock thriller, this movie was still kind of fun if you don't expect too much. Typical 80s style and fashion and a silly plot make this the kind of movie I remember seeing at an 8th-grade sleepover. If you are a
Randolph Mantooth fan like me, you'll appreciate seeing him in anything full
length. Unfortunately, his character is a bit goofy, but I'll take it. Don't bother if you want something that is scary or asks you to figure anything out. I would
recommend it only for a young group (contains nothing as gruesome as some of
today's treasures) or as background while you clean the house on a rainy
Sunday afternoon.
Randolph Mantooth fan like me, you'll appreciate seeing him in anything full
length. Unfortunately, his character is a bit goofy, but I'll take it. Don't bother if you want something that is scary or asks you to figure anything out. I would
recommend it only for a young group (contains nothing as gruesome as some of
today's treasures) or as background while you clean the house on a rainy
Sunday afternoon.
The London Bridge Is The Real Star!
gsbltd16 September 2017
I bought this little sleep-fest on VHS years ago in a cutout bin and could barely finish watching it. It moves like Molasses in the dead of winter and telegraphs the story line like Marconi on Meth. But, that legendary old bridge still photographs with atmospherics that rival any Hammer horror flick from 20 years earlier! I've walked that bridge and as you lean over those massive stones you can literally sense the history under your feet. Chainsaw mogul Robert McCulloch developed Lake Havasu City AZ after buying 26 square miles of desert for about $75/acre, intending on turning it into an upscale resort and site for a new chainsaw factory. But, to draw people to the middle of nowhere he needed a hook.
When the City Of London announced they were going to auction off the 1831 historic span because it was sinking into the Thames River, McCulloch negotiated long and hard to buy it in 1968 for a stunning $2.4 million and then spent three years dismantling it stone-by-stone for the long journey to his desert oasis. It was carried by ship down through the Panama Canal then carried by trucks to it's final destination. And that bridge is BIG! 928 feet long and 62 feet wide, but each stone was numbered so the span could be reassembled like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle -the bridge is now listed as the world's largest antique. And they did an amazing job! There was even a smallish English "village" complete with costumed employees who hawked Americanized Fish and Chips from quaint little shops. Iconic -and authentic- red cast-iron phone booths and heraldic banners complete the look. I visited it in 1979, and even though most of the current resort wasn't even built yet, it was still a memorable experience.
So: even today that bridge is really something to see -especially in it's present incongruous location. And, YEAH: it's entirely possible that Jack the Ripper himself scuttled across those historic stones!
When the City Of London announced they were going to auction off the 1831 historic span because it was sinking into the Thames River, McCulloch negotiated long and hard to buy it in 1968 for a stunning $2.4 million and then spent three years dismantling it stone-by-stone for the long journey to his desert oasis. It was carried by ship down through the Panama Canal then carried by trucks to it's final destination. And that bridge is BIG! 928 feet long and 62 feet wide, but each stone was numbered so the span could be reassembled like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle -the bridge is now listed as the world's largest antique. And they did an amazing job! There was even a smallish English "village" complete with costumed employees who hawked Americanized Fish and Chips from quaint little shops. Iconic -and authentic- red cast-iron phone booths and heraldic banners complete the look. I visited it in 1979, and even though most of the current resort wasn't even built yet, it was still a memorable experience.
So: even today that bridge is really something to see -especially in it's present incongruous location. And, YEAH: it's entirely possible that Jack the Ripper himself scuttled across those historic stones!
Awful Made For TV Chiller
LeaBlacks_Balls21 February 2010
In 1888 Jack the Ripper is shot by police and dies in the Thames river. In 1985 the last original stone used to rebuild the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona is laid, and all the city is happy. But since that moment some strange murders occur in the quiet tourist destination. The policeman Don Gregory (Hasselhoff) has some suspects, but his ideas are quite strange. He thinks that Jack the Ripper has somehow been revived. Nobody believes him, even though he is, in fact, correct.
When I sat down to watch this, I didn't expect a masterpiece. I just expected it to be a bad 80's horror movie that would be good for some laughs and some gore. But this is a made-for-television horror film that should never have been made. The premise is ridiculous, the film is scare free, and the acting is atrocious. And since it was made for TV, there is no gore, just women screaming as Jack raises a blade as we fade to commercial.
This film isn't even good for some laughs. Despite the presence of the always terrible Hasselhoff and cult icon Adrienne Barbeau (who is given nothing interesting to do,) the movie is boring, plodding along until it's predictable conclusion.
When I sat down to watch this, I didn't expect a masterpiece. I just expected it to be a bad 80's horror movie that would be good for some laughs and some gore. But this is a made-for-television horror film that should never have been made. The premise is ridiculous, the film is scare free, and the acting is atrocious. And since it was made for TV, there is no gore, just women screaming as Jack raises a blade as we fade to commercial.
This film isn't even good for some laughs. Despite the presence of the always terrible Hasselhoff and cult icon Adrienne Barbeau (who is given nothing interesting to do,) the movie is boring, plodding along until it's predictable conclusion.
Standard 80's TV fare
helpless_dancer12 April 2000
Another in a long line of Jack the Ripper returns movies. Every cornball cliche in the book was in this dull, routine, totally predictable yawner. A big city cop moves to Arizona as a way to avoid stress after a bad incident in Chicago. However, he runs into even more pressure when he gets on the trail of a serial murderer who slays in exactly the same fashion as the notorious 19th century London killer. Gad, what a stupid film.
It's Different - I Liked It
Rainey-Dawn22 April 2015
'Bridge Across Time' aka 'Terror at London Bridge' is a pretty good 1985 made for TV film. It's a different twist on Jack the Ripper.
Basically, when The Ripper was shot and toppled over the London Bridge in 1888 he knocked over a stone with him into the Thames River. The original London Bridge was relocated to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and completed there in 1971. The film shows there was a missing stone, found and brought to Arizona in 1985 - this stone must have housed The Ripper's soul(?) or similar idea. Anyway, Jack is back in 1985 and he's killing the same way he did in 1888.
In away, The Ripper is resurrected via this stone and fresh blood (similar to the way a vampire is resurrected - ya know the dust of a vampire, fresh blood hits it and ta-dah we have a vampire - same with The Ripper and the stone in this film).
I quite liked this film - I can suspend my beliefs to see a vampire resurrected in a similar manner so it is easy for me to do that for Jack The Ripper as well.
The movie started out good, it hit a bit of a lull then picked back up into an exciting thriller.
Yes this is a good rainy day film.
7/10
Basically, when The Ripper was shot and toppled over the London Bridge in 1888 he knocked over a stone with him into the Thames River. The original London Bridge was relocated to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and completed there in 1971. The film shows there was a missing stone, found and brought to Arizona in 1985 - this stone must have housed The Ripper's soul(?) or similar idea. Anyway, Jack is back in 1985 and he's killing the same way he did in 1888.
In away, The Ripper is resurrected via this stone and fresh blood (similar to the way a vampire is resurrected - ya know the dust of a vampire, fresh blood hits it and ta-dah we have a vampire - same with The Ripper and the stone in this film).
I quite liked this film - I can suspend my beliefs to see a vampire resurrected in a similar manner so it is easy for me to do that for Jack The Ripper as well.
The movie started out good, it hit a bit of a lull then picked back up into an exciting thriller.
Yes this is a good rainy day film.
7/10
This is a rare 80s David Hasselhoff horror movie, thankfully
kevin_robbins30 September 2022
Terror at London Bridge (1985) is a movie that I recently watched on Shudder. The storyline follows a Chicago detective who transfers to Lake Havasu, Arizona after a traumatic shooting. Lake Havasu has the London Bridge (true story) which a philanthropist purchased and moved there for tourist purposes. When a piece of the bridge is found in England in the River Thames, it is transferred to Lake Havasu and added to the bridge. Little do the residents know that piece of bridge is haunted and triggers the return of Jack the Ripper. When a killing spree starts like Lake Havasu has never seen can the Chicago police officer overcome his inner demons and stop Jack?
This movie is directed by E. W. Swackhamer (The Dain Curse) and stars David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider), Stepfanie Kramer (The Man with Two Brains), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Barbara Bingham (Jason Takes Manhattan) and Randolph Mantooth (Killer Holiday).
The is a very random and odd movie. I will say I did like the opening kill, depiction of the bridge and use of fog. They do a good job of using fog machines throughout the film. However, the plot is flimsy, writing is average to bad, acting is mediocre and the ending is horrendous. The Scooby-Doo who done it elements and reveal was "so bad it's bad" and the love story didn't work for me.
Overall, this is a rare 80s David Hasselhoff horror movie, thankfully. I would score this a 3.5/10 and recommend skipping it.
This movie is directed by E. W. Swackhamer (The Dain Curse) and stars David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider), Stepfanie Kramer (The Man with Two Brains), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Barbara Bingham (Jason Takes Manhattan) and Randolph Mantooth (Killer Holiday).
The is a very random and odd movie. I will say I did like the opening kill, depiction of the bridge and use of fog. They do a good job of using fog machines throughout the film. However, the plot is flimsy, writing is average to bad, acting is mediocre and the ending is horrendous. The Scooby-Doo who done it elements and reveal was "so bad it's bad" and the love story didn't work for me.
Overall, this is a rare 80s David Hasselhoff horror movie, thankfully. I would score this a 3.5/10 and recommend skipping it.
Night Rider Meets the Ripper!
gaylord_small26 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
David Hasselhoff gives an Oscar-worthy performance in this lurid tale of sexual intrigue, murder, mystery and frilly British retro.
Those curly locks, boyish grin and heavenly physique truly articulate the full spectrum of human emotion; often simultaneously!
"Night Rocker," anyone?
The scene where he's recollecting a past tragedy (Pre-Baywatch era: when there was actually someone he couldn't save); he's teary-eyed, his manly voice quivering, his Adonis-like body trembling with the weight of each individual sob... I reached for my hanky and cried along with him.
Oh, the humanity!
David Hasselhoff is truly a god among men!
The Ripper is wonderfully effeminate; a lovely throwback to the frills and frippery of London's Victorian era - the girlish accent, those delicious hand gestures... why, he even wears the most adorable ascot!
You could cut the sexual tension with a knife ... and he does!
Sadly, the film loses its thrust as these two exquisite specimens inexplicably transfer their longings to frizzy-haired, dowdy, shoulder-padded frump Stepfanie Kramer.
Go figure!
Those curly locks, boyish grin and heavenly physique truly articulate the full spectrum of human emotion; often simultaneously!
"Night Rocker," anyone?
The scene where he's recollecting a past tragedy (Pre-Baywatch era: when there was actually someone he couldn't save); he's teary-eyed, his manly voice quivering, his Adonis-like body trembling with the weight of each individual sob... I reached for my hanky and cried along with him.
Oh, the humanity!
David Hasselhoff is truly a god among men!
The Ripper is wonderfully effeminate; a lovely throwback to the frills and frippery of London's Victorian era - the girlish accent, those delicious hand gestures... why, he even wears the most adorable ascot!
You could cut the sexual tension with a knife ... and he does!
Sadly, the film loses its thrust as these two exquisite specimens inexplicably transfer their longings to frizzy-haired, dowdy, shoulder-padded frump Stepfanie Kramer.
Go figure!
Cult film for the vault. Keep it in the Vault!!
jimjer28 March 2000
This film is set in my hometown of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, home of the London Bridge. What I can tell you about this film is that you should only see it if you live in LHC and would like a big laugh. To see big stars (Rose Marie from the Dick Van Dyke Show and David Hasselhoff) in our little meccha is unreal, especially when you see that Rose Marie is the owner of the hotel at the edge of town. This film is one for the history books, and if you had the opportunity to see this film on NBC when it first aired, you would have probably seen the Apple Computer "1984" commercials a few times too. Ahh memories!
Enjoyed it very much!
GOWBTW27 March 2008
This made for TV movie wasn't such a bad shot. "Bridge Across Time" provided a great cast, a great plot, and a superb outcome. Here you got places that mirrors one another. A bridge in London where Jack The Ripper crossed and died. Then about 100 years later, the same thing happens all over again. The bridge in Arizona has a stone that contained a curse. When the first victim cuts her finger, her blood strangely revived Jack The Ripper. How could that possibly happen? Policeman Don Gregory(David Hasselhoff) wants to know. He suspects that the stone the town fished out is laced with the spirit of The Ripper. But no one is buying that. Other than himself, he has Angie(Stepfanie Kramer, "We Got it Made" and "Hunter") to help back up his story. Swearing off guns due to mistaken identity in the past, he later puts those feelings aside when the Ripper tried to kill Angie. Both he and the stone went back to the watery grave where it stays. The one thing the stone should have done is left that stone where it belongs. With the star power this movie have, no wonder I love it! 4 out of 5 stars!
Did I do all that!
sol-kay3 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILER ALERT*** You get far more then you would expect in the film "Bridge Across Time" in David Hasselhoff's, as local detective Don Gregory, acting in that he shows genuine emotion in a number of scenes that he's in. I suspect that it may well have been the fact that Mr. Hasselhoff, who's no John Barrymore or Laurence Olivier in the acting department, was so upset with his part in the movie that his emotions came straight from his heart and soul not the script he was reciting!
In the movie we have the legendary and notorious Jack the Ripper make a guest appearance in the little out of the way town of Lake Havasu Arizona. What attracted Jack to Lake Havasu was that the carbon copy of the famed London Bridge was finally completed, after some 15 years, with its final stone added to it! What the London Bridge had to do with Jack the Ripper was that's where he fell to his death, while being chased by a squad of London Police, into the Thames River back in November 1888.Now with the bridge finally completed Jack's back to complete the grizzly work that he started almost a century ago.
Det. Gregory who was a former Chicago cop never expected to run into the kind of murderous psycho that he confronted in Lake Havasu. In fact he thought that his work as a cop in that little Arizonian town would be a piece of cake compared what he had to face in Chicago. How wrong he turned out to be! We have an anguished and tearful Det. Gregory spill his guts out to his girlfriend, who studied psychology, Angi played by Stephain Kramer about the trials and tribulations that he's been going through since he gunned down an unarmed 14 year old boy during a blotched robbery back in the "Windy City". This in fact made Det. Gregory a stanch anti-gun advocate even though he was a cop and a gun was what came with the territory or the job!
When a number of women are murdered in and around Lake Havasu Det. Gregory suspects that the killer, in how he killed his victims and the dates he murdered them, is a Jack the Ripper copycat. It's later when checking the evidence that a shocked and almost hysterical Det. Gregory realizes that the killer is actually the Ripper-coming back from the dead- himself! Treated like a nut-case and threatened to be fired from his job, for mental instability, by City Counsel President Anson Whitfield, Lane Smith, Det. Gregory goes, since no one else will, out on his own to track down the elusive killer. As things turn out Det. Gregory will need all the help he could get with the Ripper now and expert in jujitsu, as well as with his scalpel, to deal with!
Besides David Hasselhoff "Academy Award" caliber acting and him mercifully refraining, in keeping you from turning him and the movie off, from singing "Bridge Across Time" isn't anywhere as bad a film that you would have thought it would be. The only real disappointment I had with the movie is that I didn't get to see enough, with or without her clothes on, top-heavy-in her bra size-and sexy Adrienne Barbeau as the town librarian Lynn Chandler. With Lynn working at the library you could well imagine that the literacy rate, as well as checking books out at the library, of Lake Havasu had skyrocketed!
In the movie we have the legendary and notorious Jack the Ripper make a guest appearance in the little out of the way town of Lake Havasu Arizona. What attracted Jack to Lake Havasu was that the carbon copy of the famed London Bridge was finally completed, after some 15 years, with its final stone added to it! What the London Bridge had to do with Jack the Ripper was that's where he fell to his death, while being chased by a squad of London Police, into the Thames River back in November 1888.Now with the bridge finally completed Jack's back to complete the grizzly work that he started almost a century ago.
Det. Gregory who was a former Chicago cop never expected to run into the kind of murderous psycho that he confronted in Lake Havasu. In fact he thought that his work as a cop in that little Arizonian town would be a piece of cake compared what he had to face in Chicago. How wrong he turned out to be! We have an anguished and tearful Det. Gregory spill his guts out to his girlfriend, who studied psychology, Angi played by Stephain Kramer about the trials and tribulations that he's been going through since he gunned down an unarmed 14 year old boy during a blotched robbery back in the "Windy City". This in fact made Det. Gregory a stanch anti-gun advocate even though he was a cop and a gun was what came with the territory or the job!
When a number of women are murdered in and around Lake Havasu Det. Gregory suspects that the killer, in how he killed his victims and the dates he murdered them, is a Jack the Ripper copycat. It's later when checking the evidence that a shocked and almost hysterical Det. Gregory realizes that the killer is actually the Ripper-coming back from the dead- himself! Treated like a nut-case and threatened to be fired from his job, for mental instability, by City Counsel President Anson Whitfield, Lane Smith, Det. Gregory goes, since no one else will, out on his own to track down the elusive killer. As things turn out Det. Gregory will need all the help he could get with the Ripper now and expert in jujitsu, as well as with his scalpel, to deal with!
Besides David Hasselhoff "Academy Award" caliber acting and him mercifully refraining, in keeping you from turning him and the movie off, from singing "Bridge Across Time" isn't anywhere as bad a film that you would have thought it would be. The only real disappointment I had with the movie is that I didn't get to see enough, with or without her clothes on, top-heavy-in her bra size-and sexy Adrienne Barbeau as the town librarian Lynn Chandler. With Lynn working at the library you could well imagine that the literacy rate, as well as checking books out at the library, of Lake Havasu had skyrocketed!
I did not care for the way it ended
jordondave-280859 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
(1985) Terror at London Bridge
THRILLER
At the opening and it is during 1888 that has a group of UK authorities chasing Jack the Ripper and upon him attempting to cross the London Bridge with police covering both sides, he then falls off the side with a hedge stone falling down with it. And at that point Jack the Ripper's body had never been recovered from the river giving viewers the assumption it had disappeared. Then the movie jumps to the present day of 1985, the year the movie is released and there's an announcement to tourists and townspeople alike that the pieces of that particular London Bridge had been transported to a small local town called Havasu, Arizona in the United States of America, brick by brick to every stone and mortar, including the broken hedge brick stone Jack the Ripper fell off the ledge from. A female visitor walking over there overnight coincidentally by herself accidentally cuts herself on that particular hedge piece that fell off when Jack the Ripper fell off with it, reincarnating him back to life. She of course, becomes his first potential victim before her husband makes a report to the chief of police, and he in turn turns it over to former Chicago detective, Det. Don Gregory (David Hasselholf). And just when local resident, Angie (Stefanie Kramer) takes her boat on a spin, she stumbles onto the husband wife's body floating onto the water. And as a result of Angie finding that body, she eventually becomes Det. Don Gregory's first love interest. While her best friend, Lynn Chandler (Adrienne Barbeau) is the head libririan, Jack the Ripper disguises himself by giving himself a new identity by calling himself Reger Eddington and introduces himself to Lynn for info regarding the bridge and so forth, and lays low by hanging around in the wax museum. Meanwhile, Det Don Gregory and his associate, Det Joe Nez (Randolph Mantooth) has his own problems as he clashes with his superiors both the mayor, McCoy(Jim Hodge) and it's city counsel Anson Whitfield (Lane Smith) regarding closing the bridge until the investigation was over, as it's not good publicity to link the murder with the bridge itself.
SPOILERS I like the idea but did not care too much for the way it ended, as the way Jack the Ripper was eliminated was similar to how he disappeared at the opening, which was going back into the water. Giving the assumption, yet again, that his body is not going to be found at all. It is not like killing the Ripper for good.
At the opening and it is during 1888 that has a group of UK authorities chasing Jack the Ripper and upon him attempting to cross the London Bridge with police covering both sides, he then falls off the side with a hedge stone falling down with it. And at that point Jack the Ripper's body had never been recovered from the river giving viewers the assumption it had disappeared. Then the movie jumps to the present day of 1985, the year the movie is released and there's an announcement to tourists and townspeople alike that the pieces of that particular London Bridge had been transported to a small local town called Havasu, Arizona in the United States of America, brick by brick to every stone and mortar, including the broken hedge brick stone Jack the Ripper fell off the ledge from. A female visitor walking over there overnight coincidentally by herself accidentally cuts herself on that particular hedge piece that fell off when Jack the Ripper fell off with it, reincarnating him back to life. She of course, becomes his first potential victim before her husband makes a report to the chief of police, and he in turn turns it over to former Chicago detective, Det. Don Gregory (David Hasselholf). And just when local resident, Angie (Stefanie Kramer) takes her boat on a spin, she stumbles onto the husband wife's body floating onto the water. And as a result of Angie finding that body, she eventually becomes Det. Don Gregory's first love interest. While her best friend, Lynn Chandler (Adrienne Barbeau) is the head libririan, Jack the Ripper disguises himself by giving himself a new identity by calling himself Reger Eddington and introduces himself to Lynn for info regarding the bridge and so forth, and lays low by hanging around in the wax museum. Meanwhile, Det Don Gregory and his associate, Det Joe Nez (Randolph Mantooth) has his own problems as he clashes with his superiors both the mayor, McCoy(Jim Hodge) and it's city counsel Anson Whitfield (Lane Smith) regarding closing the bridge until the investigation was over, as it's not good publicity to link the murder with the bridge itself.
SPOILERS I like the idea but did not care too much for the way it ended, as the way Jack the Ripper was eliminated was similar to how he disappeared at the opening, which was going back into the water. Giving the assumption, yet again, that his body is not going to be found at all. It is not like killing the Ripper for good.
Contrast between temperature shooting and what the shot temperature portrayed.
trebligj8 February 2002
The opening shot of the movie was made outside-at night when the desert temperature was over 105 degrees F. The opening shot for the movie depicted Jack The Ripper in a long black cloak running stealthfully down a fog ladden street in London. The scene skillfully suggested a clold damp evening in London. The actual special effects produced by the crew were classic Hollywood. It seemed very surreal to watch this scene being shot over and over between 12:30 and 1:30 in the morning. The final cut depicted cold when the entire crew was literally crumbling from the heat. It was truly a treat to watch the skill and professionalism displayed just to get a take on approximately five seconds of movie film.
Hasselhoff vs. Jack the Ripper!
BandSAboutMovies1 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Originally airing on November 22, 1985 on NBC, this made for TV movie was written by William F. Nolan, who wrote the novel Logan's Run, as well as the scripts for The Norliss Tapes, Burnt Offerings and Trilogy of Terror. It was directed by E. W. Swackhamer, whose credits include episodic television across all genres.
Also known as Bridge Across Time and Arizona Ripper, this movie begins with Jack the Ripper drowning in the Thames river. A century or so later and London Bridge has been rebuilt across the world in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
From the moment the final stone is set into the bridge, strange murders start happening. No one knows how they're happening, but one man has a theory. And that man is policeman Don Gregory. played by David Hasselhoff. He thinks that Jack the Ripper is back.
This movie is packed with some of your favorite TV and genre stars. Stephanie Kramer from TV's Hunter plays the love interest. Randolph Mantooth, Clu Gulager and Adrienne Barbeau all show up, as does Rose Marie from The Dick Van Dyke Show.
If you can believe that Hasselhoff can be a cop, you can swallow that blood on the rocks of London Bridge can bring back Jack the Ripper. It's an 80's TV movie, so it's not the fastest moving thing you've seen. But it's a nice reason to shut your mind off and enjoy seeing Clu and the Hoff go one on one. And hey - Adrienne Barbeau!
Also known as Bridge Across Time and Arizona Ripper, this movie begins with Jack the Ripper drowning in the Thames river. A century or so later and London Bridge has been rebuilt across the world in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
From the moment the final stone is set into the bridge, strange murders start happening. No one knows how they're happening, but one man has a theory. And that man is policeman Don Gregory. played by David Hasselhoff. He thinks that Jack the Ripper is back.
This movie is packed with some of your favorite TV and genre stars. Stephanie Kramer from TV's Hunter plays the love interest. Randolph Mantooth, Clu Gulager and Adrienne Barbeau all show up, as does Rose Marie from The Dick Van Dyke Show.
If you can believe that Hasselhoff can be a cop, you can swallow that blood on the rocks of London Bridge can bring back Jack the Ripper. It's an 80's TV movie, so it's not the fastest moving thing you've seen. But it's a nice reason to shut your mind off and enjoy seeing Clu and the Hoff go one on one. And hey - Adrienne Barbeau!
Criminally underrated!
jacobnunnally25 June 2022
This delightfully corny 80s yarn popped up on autoplay while I was watching some afternoon movies on Tubi. When this one autoplayed I thought "eh whatever I'll give it a shot" and boy, was I surprised!
Hasselhoff as the sheriff, Clu Gulagar, the lady from Hunter (I always forget her name), Adrienne Barbeau -- there are some solid names in this flick! As a random observation almost all of the actors guest starred on Murder, She Wrote.
Anyway I just loved everything about this movie, it's silly and fun. The current 4.9 rating is way way harsh, it deserves higher!
Hasselhoff as the sheriff, Clu Gulagar, the lady from Hunter (I always forget her name), Adrienne Barbeau -- there are some solid names in this flick! As a random observation almost all of the actors guest starred on Murder, She Wrote.
Anyway I just loved everything about this movie, it's silly and fun. The current 4.9 rating is way way harsh, it deserves higher!
A Decent, if Unoriginal, Film
dodgecameron-4305929 July 2022
"Terror at London Bridge" is a decent TV budget horror mystery. The cast does a good job of invoking the right emotions at the right moments, Hoff gives a good performance as usual. The effects are meh at best, which is sad as this is a Jack the Ripper movie. One would hope to see some actual ripping, and not just some light stabbing. The cinematography could be better, as could the lighting and the score, but the writing is good at least. It all adds up to an enjoyable middle of the road TV movie.
There is one thing that really bothers me though. This film seems like it's based on the William Nolan story "The Final Stone". In fact, Nolan wrote the script. The changes are so small that you'd barely know there were changes. Sure, there's the usual toning down for TV, but other than that, and some slight name changes, there's nothing different. So why didn't they credit his original story? It just kind of irks me. Not enough to deduct any points from the product, but enough that I would rather read the story instead.
There is one thing that really bothers me though. This film seems like it's based on the William Nolan story "The Final Stone". In fact, Nolan wrote the script. The changes are so small that you'd barely know there were changes. Sure, there's the usual toning down for TV, but other than that, and some slight name changes, there's nothing different. So why didn't they credit his original story? It just kind of irks me. Not enough to deduct any points from the product, but enough that I would rather read the story instead.
Creepy movie with a great cast!
JohnnyGage15 October 2005
I love this movie because i'm a huge Randolph Mantooth fan. This movie had a lot of creepy atmosphere supported by a great score composed by Lalo Schifrin.The casting for this film is excellent,too.Randolph Mantooth plays Detective Joe Nez,he is very cool and looks hot! David Hasselhoff and Stepfanie Kramer had a great chemistry together and both played great. The supporting cast by Clu Gulager,Lane Smith,Adrienne Barbeau,Rose Marie and Paul Rossilli is perfect. It's a real classic and i hope this movie become a great DVD release some day!
( Randolph Mantooth-One of the best actors in the world- I love you! )
Title: Terror at London Bridge/Bridge Across Time/Jack the Ripper in Arizona Director: E.W. Swackhamer Writer: William F. Nolan Cinematographer: Gil Hubbs Cast: David Hasselhoff,Randolph Mantooth,Stepfanie Kramer,Adrienne Barbeau,Rose Marie,Clu Gulager,Ken Swofford,Paul Rossilli,Barbara Bingham,David Fox Brenton and others.
( Randolph Mantooth-One of the best actors in the world- I love you! )
Title: Terror at London Bridge/Bridge Across Time/Jack the Ripper in Arizona Director: E.W. Swackhamer Writer: William F. Nolan Cinematographer: Gil Hubbs Cast: David Hasselhoff,Randolph Mantooth,Stepfanie Kramer,Adrienne Barbeau,Rose Marie,Clu Gulager,Ken Swofford,Paul Rossilli,Barbara Bingham,David Fox Brenton and others.
Silly Jack the Ripper Tale
Michael_Elliott29 March 2010
Terror at London Bridge (1985)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Silly made-for-TV flick starts off in 1888 as Jack the Ripper has just killed another woman and takes off running. He only makes it to the London Bridge where he is shot, falls over the side and takes one of the stones with him. Flash-forward to 1985 and Lake Havasu City, AZ where the bridge is now located. It's a special day as that one, long-lost piece of the bridge has been found and returned to its place. Soon murdered women start turning up and a detective (David Hasselhoff) begins to think that the spirit of Jack the Ripper has returned. There's way too much attempted plot in this rather horrid flick that really insults anyone who is a fan of Jack the Ripper movies. I'm really not sure what the point of this film was but there's no logic that can be found here and the story seems to go off in countless directions. Part of the time it wants to be a serious horror flick and other times it wants to simply show off the body of Hasselhoff who is either shirtless, acting sexy or simply walking around with the buttons of his shirt undone. He certainly tries coming off more as a playboy than a detective and his performance isn't much better. The supporting cast isn't too bad with Clu Gulager (THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), Adrienne Barbeau (THE FOG) and Lane Smith (MY COUSIN VINNY) having small roles. None of them have much to do but it's fun seeing them. The screenplay is the main problem here as the movie just never paints any type of mystery that one will be excited about and things get off to a bad start and never pick up. By the thirty-minute mark you'll be bored out of your mind and you've still got seventy-minutes to go. The direction by Swackhamer isn't too bad even if it has all those cliché made-for-TV moments.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Silly made-for-TV flick starts off in 1888 as Jack the Ripper has just killed another woman and takes off running. He only makes it to the London Bridge where he is shot, falls over the side and takes one of the stones with him. Flash-forward to 1985 and Lake Havasu City, AZ where the bridge is now located. It's a special day as that one, long-lost piece of the bridge has been found and returned to its place. Soon murdered women start turning up and a detective (David Hasselhoff) begins to think that the spirit of Jack the Ripper has returned. There's way too much attempted plot in this rather horrid flick that really insults anyone who is a fan of Jack the Ripper movies. I'm really not sure what the point of this film was but there's no logic that can be found here and the story seems to go off in countless directions. Part of the time it wants to be a serious horror flick and other times it wants to simply show off the body of Hasselhoff who is either shirtless, acting sexy or simply walking around with the buttons of his shirt undone. He certainly tries coming off more as a playboy than a detective and his performance isn't much better. The supporting cast isn't too bad with Clu Gulager (THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), Adrienne Barbeau (THE FOG) and Lane Smith (MY COUSIN VINNY) having small roles. None of them have much to do but it's fun seeing them. The screenplay is the main problem here as the movie just never paints any type of mystery that one will be excited about and things get off to a bad start and never pick up. By the thirty-minute mark you'll be bored out of your mind and you've still got seventy-minutes to go. The direction by Swackhamer isn't too bad even if it has all those cliché made-for-TV moments.
A decent movie.
wkozak2214 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I rented this at a convenience store. It sounded interesting. I watched it without expecting any thing. I was surprised. Even though it is slightly out there I found it entertaining. The script was decent. The cast was above average.
Winner Winner
michle5317 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I happily found this chestnut on Tubi the other night. I couldn't believe the lineup: Barbeau, Hasselhoff, Gulager and Miss Rose Marie. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
The story is as old as cinema itself. Jack the Ripper is reincarnated after falling to his death in the Thames and becoming one with a stone from London Bridge. Flash forward a hundred years; the bridge is now on a lake resort town in Arizona. An unfortunate tourist bleeds on the Ripper stone, and that's the end of her. Jack traipses all over town, creeping people out, trying to keep a low profile.
Meanwhile, Adrienne Barbeau as the town librarian makes a date with what appears to be a lesbian in a cravat. David Hasselhoff is the hunky town cop who spills buckets of his own backstory to anyone who will listen. He's dating the charter fisher person. All this time, Jack is running around slashing women.
This could have been a marvelous romp had the script been trimmed. There is far too much pointless exposition. Still, it's a very fun watch.
The story is as old as cinema itself. Jack the Ripper is reincarnated after falling to his death in the Thames and becoming one with a stone from London Bridge. Flash forward a hundred years; the bridge is now on a lake resort town in Arizona. An unfortunate tourist bleeds on the Ripper stone, and that's the end of her. Jack traipses all over town, creeping people out, trying to keep a low profile.
Meanwhile, Adrienne Barbeau as the town librarian makes a date with what appears to be a lesbian in a cravat. David Hasselhoff is the hunky town cop who spills buckets of his own backstory to anyone who will listen. He's dating the charter fisher person. All this time, Jack is running around slashing women.
This could have been a marvelous romp had the script been trimmed. There is far too much pointless exposition. Still, it's a very fun watch.
Yes the '80s movies, what good times.
jimgvpinc3 September 2022
Oh yes the '80s movies. What great times. The gals all had long blonde hair skinny and tall with a smug attitude knowing the are turning everyone's eyes. The guys almost the same lol, long hair, skinny, tall and wearing their tight worn out big bell Levi jeans in those days. But the '80s movies were fun sometimes a little corny sometimes a little drawn, but they were always interesting and fun to watch. It's amazing how many big stars today got their start and some of those movies from the '70s and '80s even in television series no names and up-and-coming ended up being big names and well known throughout the entertainment industry. But give me the '80s. Give me the rock and roll in those big bell Levi jeans.
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