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Richard Attenborough
(Filmways Pictures)
In 1944, a woman was gassed, strangled and ravished by John Reginald Christie, the first of several victims of a seemingly quiet, respectable man living in a drab London district.
Timothy Evans was an illiterate who, with his young wife and baby, was Christie's lodger. Mrs Evans and their daughter became death victims of Christie. The bewildered Evans, conned by Christie, confessed and was executed. Several years later, and only after Christie moved away from the scene of his crimes that he was arrested for the murder of his own wife, confessed to the murder of seven womn, including Mrs Evans, but vigorously denied strangling the child. Some 12 years later Evans was pardoned.
Talk about method acting, Attenborough's performance makes the Brandos and De Niros of this world look like amateurs. This is the mother of all screen performances. Attenborough is Christie, it's impossible to say where Attenborough ends and Christie begins. That's not to accuse Attenborough of being a mass murderer; rather he fits Christie like a glove.
Witnessing Attenborough as the seedy killer boasting openly of his ability to perform "minor operations" is excruciating.
Brilliant. Mind-numbingly sinister. Make no mistake: if you watch every perfomance in the history of British Cinema you will not see a better performance than Attenborough's. As a study of the evil mind this is an acting tour de force.
Mention must also go to John Hurt, who is excellent as the pathetically stupid and weak Evans.
The film superbly captures the atmosphere of late-forties' London.
The director, Richard Fleischer, must also take credit for creating an authenticated documentary-feature which is a totally absorbing and disturbing picture.
Unmissable.
Based on Ludovic Kennedy's investigative book.
A few things bug me about the actual events of the case. How much did Mrs Christie actually know about her husband's activities. She must, surely, have known alot; at the very least she must have had suspicions. And whatever she did know about the murderers she never told anyone in authority.
Quite a scary thought when you think about it.
Why didn't the police do a more thorough search of the garden when looking for the body of Beryl? It was a small garden and one of the bones of a victim was propping up a fence? If they had only done that then they would have quickly realised that there were more victims and they predated the arrival of the Evans to 10 Rillington Place.
Why did the police come to the conclusion that Evans was guilty so early in the case? Why was there such a rush to convict him without even doing a routine investigation.
How did Christie get away with it for so long? He was hardly the most careful of mass murderers. He left clues everywhere.
How many victims were there really? There must have been so many more than the eight we know of. And over what period?
6 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London, England, UK
Electric Cinema, Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK
Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
(interiors)
Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
(interiors)
Dec. 16: back in stock. 'New'.
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