← Back to Reviews
in
10 Rillington Place (1971)
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast overview: Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson
Running time: 111 minutes
10 Rillington Place is a dramatisation of the murders committed by John Christie in 1940s and 1950s London. It's a bleak film, made even more bleak by both its subject matter and by the way in which it is filmed. Not only was it filmed in the actual house in which Christie committed the murders, but Attenborough's realistic performance is so lifelike that you actually forget you're watching an actor plying his trade.
It depicts post-war London in a grim manner, showing the dirty, rain-lined streets and the poor working classes who live on them. As mentioned, Attenborough is good as Christie, though I couldn't help but feeling that he was underplayed - in fact, I had a similar feeling about Hurt as Timothy Evans, the dim-witted father who becomes hanged in error for murders he didn't commit. Don't get me wrong, the performances were competent, but I was expecting more. Having said that, Attenborough's resemblance to Christie was uncanny, and he had a chilling quality that perhaps is more authentic than an over-the-top portrayal of your typical Hollywood serial killer. Let's be honest, Christie was a reasonably ordinary guy on the outside at least - odd, but then you could say the same about many. Attenborough's allure here is perhaps a result of his plain appearance. I actually think Judy Geeson's performance is underrated here.
As mentioned, it's a bleak film. There are no special effects, no over-the-top reactions. It feels very much like a documentary or a docudrama rather than a cinematic piece. It's a slow film, but that didn't bother me too much. I often enjoy these slow-burning, methodical pieces rather than action-filmed films, and I enjoyed - as much as you can enjoy such a chilling film - the tale unravelling.
10 Rillington Place isn't a perfect film - in my opinion - but it's a competent look at one of Britain's most chilling serial killers (I'd recommend reading up about John Christie himself if you don't know much of the background) with some good performances by both Attenborough and Hurt (and also Geeson).
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.
John Reginald Christie: Won't you come in a minute...?
Beryl Evans: Well, I've got...
John Reginald Christie: I've just put the kettle on.
Beryl Evans: Oh.
John Reginald Christie: I do know people, medical people, who could help you out.
Beryl Evans: But that would cost money, wouldn't it?
John Reginald Christie: Yes, that's true I'm afraid. They're very eminent men. One particularly I had in mind, I used to assist him in his earlier days, studied with him, its quite a simple matter.
Beryl Evans: You mean you know how to do it, Mr Christie?
Trivia
The picture was filmed at the real-life Rillington Place, at Nos. 7 (for interiors) and No. 10 (but only for exteriors). The street had previously changed its name to Ruston Close in 1954, the year after Christie's execution. Filming took place at No. 7 when the occupants of No. 10 refused to move out to allow filming to take place there. The street was later demolished at the end of 1970 and the area later redeveloped, completed in 1977 as Bartle Road and St Andrew's Square, it now being totally unrecognizable to the way it looked at time John Christie and the other characters in the film (and real life) were residents there.
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 covered under the government's Official Secrets Act, no details regarding the scene were available. This is where 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.
Richard Attenborough's make-up, mainly consisting of a bald pate, took three hours to apply every morning.
Trailer
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast overview: Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson
Running time: 111 minutes
10 Rillington Place is a dramatisation of the murders committed by John Christie in 1940s and 1950s London. It's a bleak film, made even more bleak by both its subject matter and by the way in which it is filmed. Not only was it filmed in the actual house in which Christie committed the murders, but Attenborough's realistic performance is so lifelike that you actually forget you're watching an actor plying his trade.
It depicts post-war London in a grim manner, showing the dirty, rain-lined streets and the poor working classes who live on them. As mentioned, Attenborough is good as Christie, though I couldn't help but feeling that he was underplayed - in fact, I had a similar feeling about Hurt as Timothy Evans, the dim-witted father who becomes hanged in error for murders he didn't commit. Don't get me wrong, the performances were competent, but I was expecting more. Having said that, Attenborough's resemblance to Christie was uncanny, and he had a chilling quality that perhaps is more authentic than an over-the-top portrayal of your typical Hollywood serial killer. Let's be honest, Christie was a reasonably ordinary guy on the outside at least - odd, but then you could say the same about many. Attenborough's allure here is perhaps a result of his plain appearance. I actually think Judy Geeson's performance is underrated here.
As mentioned, it's a bleak film. There are no special effects, no over-the-top reactions. It feels very much like a documentary or a docudrama rather than a cinematic piece. It's a slow film, but that didn't bother me too much. I often enjoy these slow-burning, methodical pieces rather than action-filmed films, and I enjoyed - as much as you can enjoy such a chilling film - the tale unravelling.
10 Rillington Place isn't a perfect film - in my opinion - but it's a competent look at one of Britain's most chilling serial killers (I'd recommend reading up about John Christie himself if you don't know much of the background) with some good performances by both Attenborough and Hurt (and also Geeson).
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.
John Reginald Christie: Won't you come in a minute...?
Beryl Evans: Well, I've got...
John Reginald Christie: I've just put the kettle on.
Beryl Evans: Oh.
John Reginald Christie: I do know people, medical people, who could help you out.
Beryl Evans: But that would cost money, wouldn't it?
John Reginald Christie: Yes, that's true I'm afraid. They're very eminent men. One particularly I had in mind, I used to assist him in his earlier days, studied with him, its quite a simple matter.
Beryl Evans: You mean you know how to do it, Mr Christie?
Trivia
The picture was filmed at the real-life Rillington Place, at Nos. 7 (for interiors) and No. 10 (but only for exteriors). The street had previously changed its name to Ruston Close in 1954, the year after Christie's execution. Filming took place at No. 7 when the occupants of No. 10 refused to move out to allow filming to take place there. The street was later demolished at the end of 1970 and the area later redeveloped, completed in 1977 as Bartle Road and St Andrew's Square, it now being totally unrecognizable to the way it looked at time John Christie and the other characters in the film (and real life) were residents there.
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 covered under the government's Official Secrets Act, no details regarding the scene were available. This is where 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.
Richard Attenborough's make-up, mainly consisting of a bald pate, took three hours to apply every morning.
Trailer