The Last Hangman (2005)

Director:

Adrian Shergold

Writers:

Bob Mills (writer)
Jeff Pope (writer)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific hangman

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Cinema | War Crimes | Pub | Prison

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Simon Armstrong	...	Minister
Ann Bell	...	Violet Van Der Elst
Nicholas Blane	...	Governor of Strangeways
Clive Brunt	...	Warder at Strangeways
Cavan Clerkin	...	George Cooper
James Corden	...	Kirky
Marie Critchley	...	Woman in Pub
Neil Fitzmaurice	...	Cliff the Scouser
Keiran Flynn	...	Neville (as Kieran Flynn)
Clive Francis	...	Field Marshall Montgomery
Christopher Fulford	...	Sykes
Frances Shergold	...	Alice
Elizabeth Hopley	...	Dorothea Waddingham
Peter Jonfield	...	Mr. Andrews
Bernard Kay	...	Uncle Tom
Dominic Kemp	...	Medical Officer
Claire Keelan	...	Jessie Kelly
Rodney Litchfield	...	Sellers
Jack Lord	...	Jack Ellis
Eddie Marsan	...	James 'Tish' Corbitt
Tobias Menzies	...	Lt. Llewelyn
Ben McKay	...	Timothy Evans
Christopher Newland	...	Warder at Pentonville
Maggie Ollerenshaw
Jacqueline Pilton	...	Lady Shopper
Mary Jo Randle	...	Mrs. Corbitt
Paul Ready	...	Anthony David Farrow
Mark Roper	...	Man Shopper
Kate Rutter	...	Woman in Pub
Ian Shaw	...	Percy
Sheyla Shehovich	...	Irma Grese
Robin Soans	...	Governor Paton-Walsh
Timothy Spall	...	Albert Pierrepoint
Juliet Stevenson	...	Annie Pierrepoint
Mary Stockley	...	Ruth Ellis
Tim Woodward	...	Governor of Holloway
Warren Bertram	...	Fritz Klein
David Davies	...	Nazi Prisoner
Joyia Fitch	...	Elizabeth Volkenrath (as Joy Fitch)
Marie Gawthorpe	...	Old Woman
Kenny Greenfield	...	Nazi Prisoner
Jo Gould	...	Goss
Owen Jennings	...	Protestor
Michael Norton	...	Josef Kramer
Suzie Sackie	...	Juana Bormanns
Sarah-Jane Silverton Andrews	...	Market Shopper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Pogson
Peter Ryder	...	Protester
John Warman	...	Prison Warder (uncredited)

Directed by
Adrian Shergold

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bob Mills		writer
Jeff Pope		writer

Produced by
Andy Harries	....	executive producer
Christine Langan	....	producer
Jeff Pope	....	executive producer
Paul Trijbits	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Martin Phipps

Cinematography by
Danny Cohen

Film Editing by
Tania Reddin

Production Design by
Candida Otton

Production Management
Layla Evans	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sean Guest	....	first assistant director
James Haven	....	second assistant director
Sarah MacFarlane	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Simon Bailey	....	dressing props
Noel Cowell	....	stand-by props
Katrina Dunn	....	art department assistant
Simon Riley	....	stand-by props
Sarah Stuart	....	stand-by art director

Sound Department
Philip Barnes	....	dialog & adr editor
Nick Cox	....	sound effects editor
Nigel Edwards	....	dubbing mixer
Nigel Edwards	....	sound mixer
Mark Hackett	....	foley mixer
Reg Mills	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Hugh Goodbody	....	special effects senior technician

Visual Effects by
James Clarke	....	visual effects
William Foxwell	....	film recorder operator: Lip Sync Post (as Will Foxwell)
Scott Goulding	....	digital lab operator
Daniel Tomlinson	....	digital lab operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Leal Ignatius	....	camera trainee
Paul McGeachan	....	gaffer
Zac Nicholson	....	director of photography: second unit
Dan Shoring	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Andy Morgan	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nicole Young	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Steven Forrester	....	first assistant editor
Selina Jones	....	assistant editor
Maya Maffioli	....	assistant editor
Kevin Phelan	....	head of post-production: Lip Sync Post

Music Department
Peter Fuchs	....	music scoring engineer
Steve Parr	....	music mixer
Steve Parr	....	music recordist

Other crew
Jeremy Angel	....	runner
Kate Brontë-Stewart	....	floor runner
James Clarke	....	digital laboratory supervisor
James Grant	....	location manager
Polly Jefferies	....	production coordinator
Marigo Kehoe	....	head of production
Jennifer Lambert	....	unit nurse
Vicky Mills	....	researcher
Kieron O'Keefe	....	consultant
Martin Roberts	....	runner
Caroline Sanders	....	production accountant
Jo Sanders	....	assistant production accountant
Sarah Turner	....	researcher
Zell Wakwella	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Granada Television

Distributors

• Redbus Film Distribution (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Granada Television (2005) (UK) (TV)
• IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent Television (ITV) (2005) (UK) (TV)
• Lionsgate (2006) (UK) (all media)
• Odeon Films (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Video Film Express (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Fatts  post-production script services
• Lip Sync Post  video to film transfer
• Offline Editing Company, The  post-production facilities
• Radio Orchestra of Bratislava  music performed by

Also Known As:

Pierrepoint (UK) (new title) (USA)
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (Australia) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing images, nudity and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

Argentina:90 min | UK:90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

Despite the title Pierrepoint was not Britain's last hangman. He retired in the mid 1950s, shortly after executing Ruth Ellis - (see Dance with a Stranger (1985)). Britain never had a "last hangman", as the last two executions before suspension of capital punishment were carried out in different cities at the same time. As the last two people executed were both guilty of the murder of John West, it was decided to carry out sentence at the same time in Aug 1964. In Nov 1965 People were still being sentenced to death.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Hamelin war criminal hangings took place in an execution chamber at the end of a cell corridor within the old prison itself, not in an aircraft hangar. Pierrepoint described this very clearly in his memoirs.

Quotes:

Albert Pierrepoint: I did a lot of jobs in Germany. More than were really good for me. Too many really. I get so bloody tired now...

Soundtrack:

Jealous Heart

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

The Last Hangman Review

Mike Reynolds

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. The clock strikes nine and the hangman goes to work, getting rid of criminals the old fashioned way. At the end of the day he puts on his cap and heads home to his wife like any other man. But what goes on in the head of an ordinary person who's job it is to kill? This is the question asked by Adrian Shergold, the director of The Last Hangman.

The film follows the true story of the rise of Britain's most prolific executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, and his struggle to be a lead a normal life. Pierrepoint is played by Timothy Spall, most noted for his great supporting roles in Vanilla Sky and The Last Samurai. Spall shines in this film, becoming both a calculating, intense killer and a jolly pub mate. As the film progresses, he literally transforms as his burden becomes greater. Juliet Stevenson plays Annie, Albert's arguably supportive wife. She portrays the guilt and paranoia of an English housewife painfully well. Through her, we see the full story of the couple's social and moral difficulties.

Pierrepoint's only real drive is that of any honest, hard working man. He just wants to be good at what he does. This keeps the audience in a emotionally conflicting state. The viewer desperately wants Albert to resign from his chilling career, while cheering on his incredible success.

The film is very nice to look at. What a feat. One can only imagine the difficulty of shooting a period piece independently. It was very interesting seeing the gritty grey streets of a wartime London recorded on 16. It seemed to give it a charming modern context, though there were jarring out of focus shots here and there. One memorable scene is brilliantly spliced with actual footage of a capital punishment protest.

Aside from the physical shooting of the film, there were strong symbolic devices at use. In order to hang someone efficiently, Pierrepoint would calculate the prisoner's height and weight. To do this he would look through a small peephole in the heavy cell door. Whenever anyone is shown through a crack, or a hole, it's a hint of grizzly foreshadowing. The method of passing time was artfully portrayed as well. Pierrepoint kept a logbook of all the people who he killed, their names written in perfect script. The stack of logbooks got bigger and bigger as years went by.

Films like The Last Hangman are important because they challenge our choices. This story makes us think of what we're responsible for in our lives and careers. Is the success worth the death of your inner self? That decision is up to us. Because the saddest thing about Albert Pierrepoint is that he applied for the job.