10 Rillington Place
1970
London, 1944. John Reginald Christie (Richard Attenborough) is digging in his backyard when he comes across a woman's leg. Without being bothered at all, he covers up the leg and continues to bury the woman he just strangled in his kitchen. Three years later, Timothy Evans (John Hurt), along with his wife, Beryl Evans (Judy .. Read more
| Starring | Richard Attenborough, John Hurt, Judy Geeson, Isobel Black |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard Fleischer |
| Genres | Drama |
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10 Rillington Place
London, 1944. John Reginald Christie (Richard Attenborough) is digging in his backyard when he comes across a woman's leg. Without being bothered at all, he covers up the leg and continues to bury the woman he just strangled in his kitchen. Three years later, Timothy Evans (John Hurt), along with his wife, Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson), and their baby, rents a flat in the same building--10 RILLINGTON PLACE. The young couple struggles to live on Timothy's minuscule pay while Christie insidiously inserts himself into their lives. He manipulates the pregnant Beryl and the illiterate Timothy until they believe he will perform an abortion on Beryl. However, Christie has other plans...
This chilling account of the notorious Timothy Evans case is the fourth in director Richard Fleischer's series of movies based on real-life murder cases, following THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING, COMPULSION, and THE BOSTON STRANGLER. Fleischer makes potent use of his unnerving, off-kilter camera set-ups in the cramped interiors of 10 RILLINGTON PLACE. Hurt gives a fine performance as the simple Timothy, and Attenborough is riveting as the unctuous and manipulative Christie.
| Starring | Richard Attenborough, John Hurt, Judy Geeson, Isobel Black, Pat Heywood, Geoffrey Chater, Andre Morell, Robert Hardy |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard Fleischer |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 46 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 29 Mar 2004 Production year: 1970 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Three years after Timothy Evans went to the gallows for the murder of his daughter Geraldine, John Reginald Christie, the family's landlord and a wartime special constable, was convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering his wife and was also shown to be responsible for the deaths of five other women, and, by his own admission, for the death of Mrs Evans. Although Christie denied killing the infant, Evans was found not to have killed his child in a subsequent inquiry. Based on the book by Ludovic Kennedy that helped secure Evans's posthumous pardon in 1966, Richard Fleischer's film is nowhere near as visually audacious as his Boston Strangler two years previously. But it does contain an acting tour de force from Richard Attenborough as the seedy killer, who boasted openly of his ability to perform “minor operations”. Superbly re-creating the atmosphere of late-forties London, this is a chilling study of an evil mind.
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Agreeably seedy reconstruction of a cause célèbre, carefully built around the star part of a murderous aberrant landlord. Too long, however, and finally too lacking in detail.
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Most helpful member's review
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22 out of 26 people found this review helpful
Great Uncle Reggie
This is the story of my great uncle Reggie (yes really!) who, though commonly referred to as a serial killer, was convicted of just one murder though it is fairly clear that he could be credited with more.
It's not the greatest of films and though Reggie was a Yorkshireman by birth, Attenborough's portrayal is inaccurate in so far as he would not have spoken with any pronounced Yorkshire accent and was not as timid ? this is a man who in his earlier days had been done for GBH, fraud etc. It is commonly believed that he was born in 1898, in fact it was 1899 and I understand this was so he could participate in World War I. Perhaps he did have a decent side to him.
He earned himself a couple of nicknames, Reggie no Dick and Can?t Do It Reggie from some early unsuccessful encounters with girls. However, I have a copy of the Post Mortem report from which it is evident that physically he was quite normal. Another gruesome comment is that after his execution he had a two inch gap in his neck
His mother?s family were quite wealthy. His father had a lust for status and respect - he was involved in charity work and St John's Ambulance (he was the first Superintendent of the Halifax branch) and through this involvement he did earn the recognition and respect he craved and he once received a gold medal personally from Baden-Powell. In reality he was a tyrrant and his children feared him. His mother actually spent her final years at our family home in Cheshire. His siblings, of which my grandmother was one, had their secrets and weaknesses. One was a prostitute, another died from blood poisoning possibly after an illegal abortion, another had an illegitimate child conceived six months after her marriage whilst her husband was fighting in war torn France, and the only other boy who was a bank manager in Leeds misappropriated the remaining family wealth though this is largely hearsay.
To get back to the film, watch it for what it is. A story of a sick and dangerous man. If you have any questions and comments you can reach me at stevedelves@bigfoot.com -
Most recent members' review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Still Chilling after all these years
With stories such as the West’s and Harold Shipman more recently in our minds the story of John Reginald Christie seems quite far away, but 10 Rillington Place is still a gripping story with Richard Attenborough giving one of his most creepy and chilling performances.
John Hurt is fantastic as the wrongly accused Timothy Evans and the moment he realises what has happened as the executioners hood is placed over his head still horrifies when you remember that he was sent to his death knowing who had committed the crime.
It may be slightly dated now and certainly less gratuitous than more modern equivalents but the gritty realism brings home the fact that this is a true horror story -
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London, 1944. John Reginald Christie (Richard Attenborough) is digging in his backyard when he comes across a woman's leg. Without being bothered at all, he covers up the leg and continues to bury ... -