10 Rillington Place (1971)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Ludovic Kennedy (book)
Clive Exton (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1971 (West Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The true story of John Christie - the serial killer.

Plot:

After subletting his upstairs London flat to a mentally deficient young man named Timothy Evans and his pregnant wife Beryl...

Plot Keywords:

London | 1940s | Abortion | Rape | London England

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Richard Attenborough	...	John Reginald Christie
Judy Geeson	...	Beryl Evans
John Hurt	...	Timothy John Evans
Pat Heywood	...	Mrs. Ethel Christie
Isobel Black	...	Alice
Miss Riley	...	Baby Geraldine
Phyllis MacMahon	...	Muriel Eady
Ray Barron	...	Workman Willis
Douglas Blackwell	...	Workman Jones
Gabrielle Daye	...	Mrs. Lynch
Jimmy Gardner	...	Mr. Lynch
Edward Evans	...	Det. Inspector
Tenniel Evans	...	Detective Sergeant
David Jackson	...	Constable
George Lee	...	Constable

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (1971) | West Germany:18 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

6 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

Filmways Pictures

Trivia:

According to the commentary by John Hurt on the DVD, real life retired executioner Albert Pierrepoint was a technical advisor for the execution scene. This scene was the first British people had seen in a cinema of a British hanging, and as it was still Government Official Secrets Act, no details regarding the scene was available. This is where Albert Pierrepoint came in, under an assumed name, and was able to re-create the harrowing scene to maximize the true terror of what it must have been like

Goofs:

Factual errors: The caption '1949' appears on the screen as the Evans family come to view the top floor of 10 Rillington Place, but in fact they moved in in 1948.

Quotes:

Timothy John Evans: Don't you worry, Mr Christie, you'll get your money back. I'll be getting a new job shortly I shouldn't wonder. They've asked me if I want to train as a manager or as a managing director or something, you know.
John Reginald Christie: Won't you have to read and write for that?
Timothy John Evans: Oh no, no - you have secretaries, things like that, see.
John Reginald Christie: Yes, as long as I get my 10 shillings back.

Excellent film version of a true crime

There's a whole host of films from the great decade that was the seventies that have gone on to not get the praise that they so rightly deserve, and if one were to make a list of those films; 10 Rillington Place would feature in a prominent position. The film follows the true story of serial killer John Christie, who murdered a series of women in the late forties. His modus operandi is to murder his victims with gas, shortly before having sex with the corpse. Despite this shocking premise, the film always sees fit to focus more on the reality of the situation than the actual murders themselves. Despite not being graphic, this actually makes the film more shocking as we are constantly reminded of the things that go on behind what people allow us to know about ourselves. The murderer in this story is just a normal man. A nice man, in fact. People trust him, and even respect him; yet despite all this, the man is a stone cold killer. The realistic way that the story is approached, combined with the fact that these are real events ensures that 10 Rillington Place is a morbidly fascinating watch.

Richard Attenborough takes the lead role and does fantastically well with it. His calm mannerisms and nonthreatening demeanour clash well with the underlying evil of his character and we really can believe that this man is a maniac. The film was made in the United Kingdom, I'm proud to say, and this is obvious throughout. UK films have a certain atmosphere about them, and although I didn't know that this movie was homegrown before watching it; it soon became apparent. This style bodes well with the theme of the film, as it's downtrodden and makes sure that the film is firmly planted in the land in which the story took place. The idea of an innocent man not only going down, but being killed, for a crime he did not commit is shocking and the cold way that it is presented in this film reflects the fact that it actually happened and also gives it more of a degree of shock. On the whole, 10 Rillington Place is a film that shouldn't be missed by anyone. It's not all that well known, but this is unfair considering the quality of it and I wont hesitate to recommend this movie to people in the future.