10 Rillington Place

"10 Rillington Place" is a chilling true crime drama that follows the story of serial killer John Christie, who committed a series of heinous murders in London in the 1940s and 1950s. Starring Richard Attenborough and John Hurt, this film explores how Christie's innocuous appearance and demeanor masked his dark secret: a violent obsession with murder, rape, and necrophilia. The film opens with Christie murdering an acquaintance, Muriel Eady, in his flat at 10 Rillington Place by luring her there with the promise of curing her bronchitis. He then strangles her with a piece of rope and buries her in the communal garden. When Tim and Beryl Evans move into the same building with their baby daughter, Geraldine, Christie sees an opportunity to continue his killing spree. Beryl becomes pregnant again and attempts an abortion, which fails. Christie offers to help her terminate the pregnancy, but his intentions are far from pure. He strangles and sexually assaults her, and when Tim returns home, Christie convinces him that Beryl died of complications from the procedure. Tim wants to go to the police, but Christie persuades him to leave town and abandon his daughter. Christie disposes of Beryl's body by burying it in the communal garden and strangles Geraldine with a tie. When Tim's relatives send a letter to Beryl's father, who responds saying he has not seen her in months, Tim confesses to disposing of Beryl's body in the sewer after a botched abortion attempt. The police find the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine in 10 Rillington Place, where Christie had hidden them. Tim is charged with both murders, despite being innocent; Christie is brought as a key witness against him. During the trial just before Tim is found guilty before being sentenced to death, it is revealed by Tim's lawyer that Christie has a history of criminal activity, which shreds his credibility as a witness. However, despite this, justice is not served, as innocent man Timothy Evans is hanged, while Christie is released. Two years later, Ethel begins to fear her husband and informs him she will move out; Christie eventually kills Ethel too when she implies he should be imprisoned for his crimes instead of her leaving him. Sometime later, after meeting a woman in a café suffering from migraines under the pretense of being an ex-doctor offering a cure for her ills, he offers to help her back to his flat. It is implied that he hides this woman' s body in space behind new wallpaper on a wall in his kitchen, unaware unknown to him, one of these crimes will be what brings about his eventual downfall four years later. In 1953 new tenant Beresford Brown moves into the now-vacant space in 10 Rillington Place, pulls off the same wallpaper years later, discovering three of Christies' victims hidden behind it. He is arrested, and later hanged for the multiple murders committed. The film ends with intertitles explaining that Tim was posthumously pardoned while also reinterred in consecrated ground.. This intense drama explores themes such as violence against women, capital punishment, false accusations, miscarriage of justice, ability, and mental health. It highlights how a killer can hide in plain sight and how the justice system can sometimes fail the innocent victims caught in its web.

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Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as 10 Rillington Place include Chinatown, Bullitt, Dog Day Afternoon, The Italian Job, The French Connection, Branded to Kill.