Murder by Decree

In 1888 London, a series of brutal murders in the East End leaves police without answers, and the killer soon gains the name Jack the Ripper. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson begin their own inquiry into the killings, which draws them toward the royal family, the government and Freemasonry, as those in power appear more concerned with concealment than with catching the culprit. Christopher Plummer plays Holmes and James Mason plays Watson, with David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Anthony Quayle and John Gielgud among the supporting cast.

Bob Clark directed the film from a screenplay by John Hopkins, placing it between Black Christmas and Porky's in the run of nine features he made from 1974 to 1999. Shot with a budget of five million dollars, it runs just over two hours and was released in February 1979.

On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.8 from roughly 7,700 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.3 from a much smaller pool of 182 votes, suggesting a modest but durable following rather than wide agreement. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 16 reviews puts professional assessments somewhat above the audience scores.