Rillington Place

[andy-hughes]

Finished last night - so what did we think?

I thought it was excellent.

I think Tim Roth played the part superbly, with the exact mix of charm and dead eyes that Christie most probably possessed - one to lure his victims, the other to murder them.

My only negative comparison with the wonderful Attenborough film was the length of time taken over the hanging. I know it was for dramatic effect - chance for one last blank stare before the hood went on, but it plays against historical fact, hat Mr Pierpont the executioner and his assistant had the prisoner on the trap and dropped within twelve seconds of the cell door opening - before they had time to register what was happening.

A wonderful piece of television - hopefully rewarded when Awards time comes around.

[Mamyalynne]

Very well acted as you say hard not to make comparisons - but it passed muster in the chilling stakes definitely.

[anotheoldgit]

I didn't bother to watch it as only a few weeks ago there was a dramatised documentary on the Christie murders, and of course having seen the Attenborough film, it seemed 'over done'.

Perhaps they will now make a series of the John Haigh acid bath killings and also the Neville Heath killings?

[Mamyalynne]

There's been a TV Film of the Haigh case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Is_for_Acid

[anotheoldgit]

Thanks for that Mam, must have missed that one, but Martin Clunes playing Haigh?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/37/e4/6f/37e46f1ce94e581d657e92c8a1ef5835.jpg

https://acorn.tv/am-ws-artwork/size/aisforacid_sr01_ep01_splash?w=500

[Mamyalynne]

Not sure I saw it myself so can't comment on how he fared in the role.


I don't think actors need to be lookalikes, it's the persona they should hit spot on.

[andy-hughes]

Mamya - I agree - Tim Roth had none of the thin pinched features that Christie had - but he conveyed the personality and hidden menace perfectly.

[Sqad]

I have seen both versions.
Yes, the acting in the recent version WAS good and Tim Roth did play the part well......overplayed it in my opinion....and was rather...OBVIOUS.

Richard Attenborough played the part...more "softly" but was just as menacingly and creepy as Tim Roth. Just my opinion. Also I had difficulty in following the diction of Roth, but that may have been my age, TV or bias.
Also the pictures seem to be darker than i remembered in the first film.....difficult to compare.....but I preferred the Attenborough version.

[mikey4444]

This new TV version is still on my iplayer to-do list, but it will have to be very good indeed if it comes close to Dicky Attenboroughs version.

[andy-hughes]

Sqad - there was a 'seedier' backdrop to the drama than the film - pprobably the passing of time has increased the sense of 'realism' in drama these days.

Comparisons are tricky - I enjoyed both for different reasons.

Judy Geeson said that when filming her 'murder' scenes with Richard Attenborough, he was all 'Christie' when the cameras rolled, genuinely chilling, but as soon as they stopped, he became Richard again and was gently solicitous, ensuring he hadn't hurt her during the strangulation parts when he had to lie on top of her.

[mikey4444]

The more I think about it, the more I realise what a great actor we had in Dicky A !

[Khandro]

I think the drabness of the interiors was rather overdone, I was a poor art student in London less than a decade after that time, and stayed in several cheap boarding houses, but none were anywhere near as decrepit and dingy as those, even though one, in Mornington Crescent, still in 1960 had gaslight!
I've never seen any other production and have nothing to compare it with, but I thought it was otherwise good.

[andy-hughes]

Khandro - the producers have to register an atmosphere for a generation who have not lived without bright interiors, central heating, and so on.

As is the way with any drama, people with direct experience are aware of the failures, but the average viewer is not, and it is to them that the atmosphere is aimed.

[Sqad]

Good point by Khandro and an equally good response by A-H.
Of course 95% of ABers have never experienced lighting other than electricity and this was addressed in the film.
I lived for some years in the East End of London, which was indeed "drab" and dark and this had to be reflected in the film. However I agree with Khandro, I feel that it was over -emphasised.