Richard Attenborough

BRIGHTON ROCK (1947)

Brighton Rock

“People don’t change. It’s like those sticks of rock, bite one all the way down, you’ll still read Brighton. That’s human nature.”

24 years before he was quietly murdering women inside his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Richard Attenborough came up hard on the seedy boardwalks of Brighton Rock. Based on Graham Greene’s 1938 novel of the same name, Brighton Rock is considered by many to be the exemplary British noir. I haven’t seen nearly enough of the Brits’ output during the classic noir period to comment on that, but I can say that Brighton Rock is one powerful portrait of evil and Catholic anguish. Not to mention that Attenborough’s performance as adolescent psycho Pinkie Brown will make your knickers quake.

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10 RILLINGTON PLACE (1971)

10 Rillington Place Based on the true story of UK serial killer John Christie (Richard Attenborough), who during the 1940s and early 1950s murdered at least eight women, 10 Rillington Place is a mercilessly dark and unconventional film. Christie would rent out rooms in his building as a front for his murders and also hire prostitutes to bring back and dispose of. The film focuses on one particular killing, that of Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson), and the subsequent trial that wrongfully condemned her husband Tim (John Hurt) to death. If you’re looking for a feel-good movie, stay the hell away from 10 Rillington Place. (more…)