Review of 10 Rillington Place (1971) by Gary T — 11 Sep 2014

WOW.....FANTASTIC.....GENIUS.....VERY VERY VERY UNDERRATED.....MAN I HAVE JUST SEEN THIS SHOCKING MOVIE 4 THE 1ST TIME N THINK THAT THIS IS SUCH A FANTASTIC MOVIE 2 WATCH, its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie.....i think that richard attenborough (.R.I.P.), judy geeson, john hurt (From the brilliant tv series Dr Who), pat heywood, isobel black, play good roles/parts throughout this movie.....i think that the director of this mystery/suspense/drama movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie.....man this is such a really really sad movie 2 watch as it is a real - life story but it is such a fantastic movie 2 watch, its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that richard attenborough was absolutley fantastic throughout this movie......

The film was adapted by Clive Exton from the book Ten Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy. Most of the script, narrative and character development of it was drawn up in the 1960s.

In 1954, the year after Christie's execution, Rillington Place in Notting Hill, west London was renamed Ruston Close, but number 10 continued to be occupied. The three families living there in 1970 refused to move out for the shooting of the film, so filming was moved to the empty number 7. The house and street were demolished later, and the area has changed beyond all recognition. Filming also took place at Merthyr Vale railway station; Merthyr Vale was Timothy Evans's hometown and where he made his confession to the police. The pub scenes were filmed at the Victoria Hotel on Burdett Road in east London. The pub was subsequently demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area in 1972-73.

Richard Attenborough, who played Christie in the film, spoke of his reluctance to accept the role: "I do not like playing the part, but I accepted it at once without seeing the script. I have never felt so totally involved in any part as this. It is a most devastating statement on capital punishment". The film was produced by Leslie Linder and Martin Ransohoff. Hangman Albert Pierrepoint, who had hanged both Evans and Christie, served as an uncredited technical advisor on the film to ensure the authenticity of the hanging scene.

At the time of the film's release, reviews were mixed. Variety's critic wrote "Richard Fleischer has turned out an authenticated documentary-feature which is an absorbing and disturbing picture. But the film has the serious flaw of not even attempting to probe the reasons that turned a man into a monstrous pervert." Praise went to John Hurt for his "remarkably subtle and fascinating performance as the bewildered young man who plays into the hands of both the murderer and the police." Vincent Canby of The New York Times described 10 Rillington Place as "a solemn, earnest polemic of a movie, one with very little vulgar suspense ... The problem with the film is very much the problem with the actual case, which involved small, unimaginative people.".

The film has since risen in stature with critics. In a 2009 review, J. Hoberman wrote, "More highly regarded these days than when it was released in 1971, Richard Fleischer's 10 Rillington Place is a grimly efficient treatment of a once-notorious case". The same year, Keith Uhlich of Time Out gave the film a 5-star review and described it as an "underseen gem".

In an interview with Robert K. Elder in his book The Best Film You've Never Seen, director Sean Durkin states that 10 Rillington Place "depicts this story the way that a piece of journalism might, as opposed to worrying about preconceived notions of what a film should achieve."[10] Tom Hardy of the British Film Institute has noted Attenborough's ability at "getting into the flesh of the paranoid and the distressed", describing the film as a "detailed account of life under the shadow of World War II [which] is powerful and compelling".

John Hurt received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Its got a great cast throughout this movie....man this is such an underrated movie 2 watch, but it is such a thrillingly brilliant movie 2 watch, its got a great cast throughout this movie....

The whole cast::

Richard Attenborough as John Reginald Christie.

Judy Geeson as Beryl Evans.

John Hurt as Timothy John Evans.

Pat Heywood as Ethel Christie.

Isobel Black as Alice.

Phyllis MacMahon as Muriel Eady.

Ray Barron as Workman Willis.

Douglas Blackwell as Workman Jones.

Gabrielle Daye as Mrs. Lynch.

Jimmy Gardner as Mr. Lynch.

Edward Evans as Detective Inspector.

Tenniel Evans as Detective Sergeant.

David Jackson as Constable.

George Lee as Police Constable.

Richard Coleman as Police Constable who arrests Christie.

André Morell as Judge Lewis.

Robert Hardy as Malcolm Morris.

Geoffrey Chater as Christmas Humphreys.

Basil Dignam as Member of the Medical Board.

Sam Kydd as Furniture Dealer.

Rudolph Walker as West Indian man 1.

Tommy Ansah as West Indian man 2.

Reg Lye as Tramp.

Norma Shebbeare as woman in cafe.

Man this is such an underrated movie 2 watch but it is so so so fantastic movie 2 watch, with a great cast throughout this movie.....