10 Rillington Place (1971)

Pretty Good

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I am a strong supporter of the death penalty in cases of serial/thrill/sex killers, mass murderers, first degree murderers and terrorists. Although this is the the case that brought about the end of Capitol punishment in England, for me it only reinforced my support, for if ever there was a justifiable candidate for it, Christie fits the bill. It does, however, make the case for making damn sure you get it right and have 100% proof beyond a confession. A decade later, England was again rocked by the child murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and there was a huge outcry for the return of death penalty for these two monsters. If one wrong execution could end the practice, these horrific murders should have reinstated it. Don't get me wrong, it was a travesty that the wrong man paid for Christie's crimes. There is a gut wrenching, English movie called Let Him Have It (1991) that portrays the poignant injustice of Derek Bentley's hanging in the 50's for being an accessory to the killing of a police officer. It was one of the best movies I have ever seen but I will never watch it again. I am not a crier, but the tears just wouldn't stop during the final scenes of this excellent, little known film. Getting back to this movie review, Attenborough plays Christie as a soft spoken, prissy, prim and proper gentleman, yet he exudes pure evil and depravity. His performance is brilliantly bland. John Hurt, while not a totally sympathetic character, plays dazed and confused wonderfully. The story is told in an unemotional, chilling, non graphic way that makes it all the more terrifying. The sets evoke a feeling of squalor and despair, yet the cinematography is beautiful. This movie probably deserves a 10 but the feelings of sheer disgust and loathing it left me with are preventing me from going higher than 8.

There's been a lot of revisionist theories put forth by professional and amateur criminologists concerning the murders at 10 Rillington Place. People who lived at that address tended to check in, but not check out. It was more fatal to live there than at the Bates Motel.Midway between the killings attributed to John Chrystie one Timothy Evans was tried and hanged for killing his wife and infant daughter. The luckless Evans played here by John Hurt and the portion of Chrystie's killing spree portrayed here in 10 Rillington Place is when Chrystie kills Mrs. Evans played here by Judy Geeson.Watching Richard Attenborough as Chrystie he reminds me a bit of one of the heavily made up characters Kirk Douglas did in The List Of Adrian Messenger. You might remember Mr.Pithian who Dana Wynter comes across in Adrian Messenger's flat who says he's there to take care of Adrian's cat. Attenborough affects that same inoffensive mild look and voice as he lures victims to a position where he uses gas on them to paralyze them so they don't struggle while being strangled. It's chillingly effective.In his long career as an actor Richard Attenborough played a variety of parts, both good guys and bad guys. In 10 Rillington Place he stretches the limits of his considerable talents.This one will scare the pants off you.

I first saw this film when it was released, of course, the world has moved on since then and the infamous Rillington Place long demolished. However, the Director, Richard Fleischer, did use the original location when filming this. It certainly added to the atmosphere to the point that it couldn't be replicated today. Richard Attenborough is truly amazing as Christie. Quiet and creepy but you feel the underlying violence just waiting to explode from under the surface. John Hurt is quite simply brilliant as the unfortunate and illiterate Evans. His reaction when learning his wife is dead is a tour de force of acting and shows just why he is so treasured today. I will never forget him when being led to the gallows, it was the stuff of nightmares. The lovely Judy Geeson plays the unfortunate Beryl Evans at the perfect pitch. The entire cast act this cinematic gem to perfection, and many actors today will go far if they can get even halfway as good as these were. I was lucky enough to obtain a DVD of this and what a refreshing change to see a handful of actors, with no special effects, make a truly memorable film. I'd give this 10 out of 10 and would say that if you get the chance, watch this film.

Based on the true story of serial killer John Christie (Richard Attenborough) in 1944 London. It recounts his final killings involving couple Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson) and Timothy John Evans (John Hurt).I never even heard of this movie until TCM played it early in the morning a while ago. After watching it I realize why it's unknown--it's very very VERY slow, quiet and tame. The murders are never shown, there's no nudity, sex or violence (it's very PG rated) and everything moves at a snails pace. At first it was interesting but it went through a step by step examination of Christie's last killings and execution and got dull. To some this may be fascinating but I was bored silly. The only thing that kept me watching was the acting. Geeson and an incredibly young Hurt are good but Attenborough is excellent as Christie. He's soft-spoken and seems so gentle throughout the movie but you can see the evil in his eyes. I can't really recommend this movie but the acting is superb--that's why it gets a 5.