SEVERIN UNEARTHS ‘50s B-MOVIE
CONTROVERSY WITH RESTORATIONS OF UNKNOWN WORLD & JACK THE RIPPER
Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere of Cold War Sci-Fi UNKNOWN WORLD Reveals HUAC Blacklist Connections; UHD Premiere of JACK THE RIPPER Includes Two Versions
Los Angeles, CA (March 24, 2025) Severin Films today announced the restoration and release of two ‘50s B-movies with disturbing legacies: The 1951 Cold War sci-fi saga UNKNOWN WORLD is strongly rumored to have been scripted by blacklisted 2x Academy Award® winner Dalton Trumbo and stars an uncredited Victor Kilian, who was declared a hostile witness by The House Un-American Activities Committee and whose name was summarily removed from the film’s credits and advertising. The 1958 UK shocker JACK THE RIPPER was heavily edited for release in America by legendary showman Joseph E. Levine, yet its distribution here was halted when audiences were horrified by its grisly violence and graphic nudity. Severin’s UHD Premiere of JACK THE RIPPER will include the European and U.S. versions, now restored uncut from newly discovered elements. Both JACK THE RIPPER and UNKNOWN WORLD will be available for pre-order at the Severin Webstore on March 24th.
UNKNOWN WORLD
“A MUST-WATCH FOR ANY SCI-FI COMPLETIST…
The first full-length feature to tackle the Hollow Earth genre remains deadly serious and never relents its bleak cynicism.” Scifist
In this Cold War variation on Journey To The Center Of The Earth scripted by Oscar nominee Millard Kaufman (BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK) – and possibly by blacklisted 2x Academy Award winner Dalton Trumbo – ‘50s sci-fi took a startling turn into a grim abyss: As the world teeters on the brink of nuclear annihilation, a renegade scientist (veteran character actor Victor Kilian, uncredited due to his own blacklisting) assembles a team of experts to drill deep into the earth’s core in search of a new ecosystem where humanity can survive. Otto Waldis (ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN) and Marilyn Nash (MONSIEUR VERDOUX) co-star in this unjustly forgotten classic produced by visual effects artists Jack Rabin & Irving Block (ROCKETSHIP X-M, KRONOS), directed by Terry O. Morse (GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS!) and filmed in Carlsbad Caverns, now scanned uncut in 4K from the protection inter-negative for the first time ever.
UNKNOWN WORLD Special Features:
- Audio Commentary With Film Writer Stephen R. Bissette
- Victor Kilian: A Blacklist Legacy – Interview With Crawford Kilian, Actor Victor Kilian's
Grandson
- The Unknown World Of Terrell O. Morse – Interview With Film Historian C. Courtney
Joyner
- Special Effects Maestros Of The 1950s – Video Essay By Comic Book Artist Stephen R.
Bissette
- Trailer
UNKNOWN WORLD Feature Specs:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: English Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: 75 mins
- Region: A/B/C
JACK THE RIPPER
“AN EFFECTIVE AND GRISLY SHOCKER…
It demands an audience for not only Ripper scholars,
but fans who’ve crossed his cinematic path throughout the years.” Daily Dead
In 1958, legendary showman Joseph E. Levine unleashed this grisly UK thriller on American moviegoers. But when audiences were horrified by the film’s startling violence, graphic nudity and bloody Technicolor climax, it became one of Levine’s most infamous failures. Today – in its notorious European version and the re-scored American cut – it remains among the more provocative shockers of its time. Eddie Byrne (THE MUMMY) and Lee
Patterson (TV’s Surfside 6) star in “one of the most underappreciated films in the Ripper canon” (Daily Grindhouse), produced/directed by Robert S. Baker & Monty Berman (BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE) and written by Hammer Films’ legendary Jimmy Sangster (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HORROR OF DRACULA), both now scanned uncut in 4K from a newly discovered internegative and fine grain protection print for the first time ever.
JACK THE RIPPER Special Features:
Disc 1: UHD (Film + Special Features):
- Audio Commentary With Co-Director/Co-Producer/Co-Cinematographer Robert S. Baker, Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster And Assistant Director Peter Manley, Moderated By British Horror Historian Marcus Hearn
- Trailer
Disc 2: Blu-ray (Film + Special Features):
- Audio Commentary With Co-Director/Co-Producer/Co-Cinematographer Robert S. Baker, Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster And Assistant Director Peter Manley, Moderated By British Horror Historian Marcus Hearn
- The Reel Jack The Ripper – Interview With Denis Meikle, Author Of Jack The Ripper:
The Murders And The Movies
- Gentleman Jack – The Whitechapel Murders Revisited
Z Choice Cuts: The Two Faces Of Jack The Ripper – Interview With Alain Petit,
Ripperologist Extraordinaire
- Trailer
- Poster And Still Gallery
JACK THE RIPPER Feature Specs:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- 4K Video: HDR10
- Audio: English Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Runtime: European Version: 85 mins / U.S. Version: 85 mins
- Region: A/B/C
Trailer for both films: https://vimeo.com/1068231136/5fc019aef1?share=copy
About Severin Films
Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring and releasing the works of Oscar ® nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006, their distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Mike
Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish & Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco. Severin has also produced the award- winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”..
