Man in the Attic is a 1953 American horror film directed by Hugo Fregonese and starring Jack Palance, Constance Smith and Byron Palmer.

[1][2] The screenplay was by Barré Lyndon and Robert Presnell Jr. based on the 1913 novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes which fictionalizes the Jack the Ripper killings.

Inspector Warwick, who is investigating the murders, informs Lily and tells her that the suspect was seen wearing an Ulster coat and carrying a small black bag.

Mrs Harley's suspicions increase when she smells burning coming from Slade's attic room, and she is convinced that he is the killer when she discovers that Slade had been burning his black bag; however Mr Harley remains unconvinced, saying that he himself has hidden a small black bag he owns, as a man seen carrying one in the streets was mobbed by people suspecting him of being the Ripper.

During the night, Lily is woken and goes downstairs to find Slade burning some items of clothing, including his Ulster coat, which appears to have blood stains on it.

This version succeeds in creating something of the atmosphere of London in the eighties, but this is offset by over-much concentration on the stage life of Lily Bonner, much of which is irrelevant to the story.

An interesting newcomer, Lisa Daniels, brings life to the small part of Mary Lenihan ail"[3] Variety wrote: "It is to director Hugo Fresonese's credit that he makes so much of an old-hat tale.

Direction creates a mood that almost puts the picture over big and most of the players respond to Fregonese's guidance with performances which lift many scenes to thriller pitch. ...