Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

10 Rillington Place

 10 Rillington Place
type
TVTItem
 10 Rillington Place
label
10 Rillington Place
 10 Rillington Place
page
TenRillingtonPlace
 10 Rillington Place
comment
10 Rillington Place is a 1971 British crime film directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Richard Attenborough and John Hurt. Attenborough portrays John Christie, one of England's most notorious Real Life Serial Killers.Following a prologue set in 1944, the film skips ahead to 1949 and the arrival of Timothy Evans (Hurt), his wife Beryl (Judy Geeson), and their infant daughter Geraldine to the seedy London flat which Christie sublets at the titular address. Evans is a brutish, illiterate factory worker who beats his wife, and the family has severe money problems. When Beryl discovers that she's pregnant again, this less-than-promising situation leads her to look for a way to get an abortion—which is illegal in 1949 England. In desparation she turns to Christie, who claims to have had medical training and tells her he knows how to perform abortions. Tragic consequences ensue for the entire Evans family.
 10 Rillington Place
fetched
2023-10-29T02:30:56Z
 10 Rillington Place
parsed
2023-10-29T02:30:56Z
 10 Rillington Place
isPartOf
DBTropes
 10 Rillington Place / int_14bfa98
type
Freeze-Frame Ending
 10 Rillington Place / int_14bfa98
comment
Freeze-Frame Ending: Right as Christie is being taken into custody by the bobby who passed him on the street, the film pauses on a blurry shot of his face.
 10 Rillington Place / int_14bfa98
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_14bfa98
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_14bfa98
 10 Rillington Place / int_19851b86
type
The Sociopath
 10 Rillington Place / int_19851b86
comment
The Sociopath: Christie seems to regard everyone as either a potential victim or a useful asset to help him get away with his murders, and shows no remorse for his crimes.
 10 Rillington Place / int_19851b86
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_19851b86
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_19851b86
 10 Rillington Place / int_217a1adf
type
I Love the Dead
 10 Rillington Place / int_217a1adf
comment
I Love the Dead: Christie rapes his victims after rendering them unconscious.
 10 Rillington Place / int_217a1adf
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_217a1adf
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_217a1adf
 10 Rillington Place / int_2534ee67
type
In Medias Res
 10 Rillington Place / int_2534ee67
comment
In Medias Res: The film opens with Christie murdering a woman. His practiced demeanor and the fact that we get a glimpse of the remains of another victim make it clear that he's been at this for sometime.
 10 Rillington Place / int_2534ee67
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_2534ee67
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_2534ee67
 10 Rillington Place / int_269e82c1
type
Death of a Child
 10 Rillington Place / int_269e82c1
comment
Death of a Child: Geraldine becomes one of Christie's victims.
 10 Rillington Place / int_269e82c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_269e82c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_269e82c1
 10 Rillington Place / int_2764d432
type
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 10 Rillington Place / int_2764d432
comment
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Christie comes off as a mild-mannered, kind and friendly older man to most people. He's actually a cold-blooded Serial Killer and Soft-Spoken Sadist who hides behind this facade while also manipulating other people to satisfy his murderous urges.
 10 Rillington Place / int_2764d432
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_2764d432
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_2764d432
 10 Rillington Place / int_28114487
type
Bald of Evil
 10 Rillington Place / int_28114487
comment
Bald of Evil: Christie's baldness adds to his overwhelming creepiness.
 10 Rillington Place / int_28114487
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_28114487
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_28114487
 10 Rillington Place / int_2d363f63
type
Frame-Up
 10 Rillington Place / int_2d363f63
comment
Frame-Up: Christie strangles Geraldine with Tim's tie in order to make him look responsible.
 10 Rillington Place / int_2d363f63
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_2d363f63
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_2d363f63
 10 Rillington Place / int_31df118
type
Attention Whore
 10 Rillington Place / int_31df118
comment
Attention Whore: Christie derives satisfaction from the Evans affair. Towards the end, when he's a penniless bum living in a flophouse, he tries to show another bum his press clippings.
 10 Rillington Place / int_31df118
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_31df118
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_31df118
 10 Rillington Place / int_33987735
type
Disposing of a Body
 10 Rillington Place / int_33987735
comment
Disposing of a Body: Christie does this several times.
 10 Rillington Place / int_33987735
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_33987735
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_33987735
 10 Rillington Place / int_33f1c576
type
Not Helping Your Case
 10 Rillington Place / int_33f1c576
comment
Not Helping Your Case: Tim's numerous lies about what happened to Beryl shoot him in the foot when he tries to claim that he didn't kill her.
 10 Rillington Place / int_33f1c576
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_33f1c576
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_33f1c576
 10 Rillington Place / int_3f0b2f50
type
Make It Look Like an Accident
 10 Rillington Place / int_3f0b2f50
comment
Make It Look Like an Accident: How Christie conceals his murder of Beryl. Even worse, he gets poor Tim convinced that he's just as responsible.
 10 Rillington Place / int_3f0b2f50
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_3f0b2f50
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_3f0b2f50
 10 Rillington Place / int_40bb59d0
type
Blatant Lies
 10 Rillington Place / int_40bb59d0
comment
Blatant Lies: Christie relentlessly perjures himself during Tim's trial. Tim as well is known for making up ridiculous lies. This ends up seriously damaging his credibility and making it easy for Christie to frame him.
 10 Rillington Place / int_40bb59d0
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_40bb59d0
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_40bb59d0
 10 Rillington Place / int_40c57041
type
Manipulative Bastard
 10 Rillington Place / int_40c57041
comment
Manipulative Bastard: On top of everything else, Christie is very shameless in the way he gains other people's trust, sympathy, or uses guilt trips to get them to do what he wants.
 10 Rillington Place / int_40c57041
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_40c57041
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_40c57041
 10 Rillington Place / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 10 Rillington Place / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Christie is finally caught and brought to justice for his crimes at the end of the film. But since Tim's long since been executed and Christie's managed to kill several other people in the interim, it's difficult to view it as a happy ending.
 10 Rillington Place / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_40cc0c7e
 10 Rillington Place / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 10 Rillington Place / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: Christie kills Geraldine, who's just an infant, after he'd murdered her mother.
 10 Rillington Place / int_479d4e5a
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_479d4e5a
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_479d4e5a
 10 Rillington Place / int_49f20c6a
type
Gory Discretion Shot
 10 Rillington Place / int_49f20c6a
comment
Gory Discretion Shot: We are mercifully spared the sight of Christie killing Geraldine, only seeing him go upstairs with a length of rope.
 10 Rillington Place / int_49f20c6a
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_49f20c6a
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_49f20c6a
 10 Rillington Place / int_53d45fa8
type
Back-Alley Doctor
 10 Rillington Place / int_53d45fa8
comment
Back-Alley Doctor: Actually, Christie isn't one, not even a back-alley version. But he pretends to be one to lure victims into his clutches. He convinces one woman that he can fix her chronic cough, he convinces poor Beryl that he can give her an abortion, and he convinces another woman that he can cure her migraines.
 10 Rillington Place / int_53d45fa8
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_53d45fa8
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_53d45fa8
 10 Rillington Place / int_590eb583
type
Domestic Abuse
 10 Rillington Place / int_590eb583
comment
Domestic Abuse: Tim Evans gets violent when his wife pisses him off. Christie's wife Ethel becomes one of his victims.
 10 Rillington Place / int_590eb583
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_590eb583
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_590eb583
 10 Rillington Place / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 10 Rillington Place / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: When investigating the Beryl Evans murder, the cops manage to miss the bodies Christie has buried in the backyard. (In Real Life it was even worse—the police missed a human thigh bone that was supporting a fence post, and failed to connect the dots when a skull from one of Christie's victims was found in a nearby bombed-out building.)
 10 Rillington Place / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_59907e4f
 10 Rillington Place / int_5d6db368
type
Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 10 Rillington Place / int_5d6db368
comment
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Christie wears thick glasses and is absolutely evil.
 10 Rillington Place / int_5d6db368
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_5d6db368
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_5d6db368
 10 Rillington Place / int_5fcb9ad1
type
Time Skip
 10 Rillington Place / int_5fcb9ad1
comment
Time Skip: The opening scene wherein Christie kills a woman is set in 1944. The film then skips forward to 1949 and dramatizes the Timothy and Beryl Evans story. Then it skips ahead again to 1953, with Christie unemployed and broke, and his wife knowing the truth about him.
 10 Rillington Place / int_5fcb9ad1
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_5fcb9ad1
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_5fcb9ad1
 10 Rillington Place / int_6627695f
type
Author Appeal
 10 Rillington Place / int_6627695f
comment
Author Appeal: Despite his initial reluctance to play such an evil character, Richard Attenborough agreed to play Christie as he was a staunch opponent of capital punishment and saw the film's portrayal of the Evans case as reflecting his views.
 10 Rillington Place / int_6627695f
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_6627695f
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_6627695f
 10 Rillington Place / int_7301ae04
type
Serial Killer
 10 Rillington Place / int_7301ae04
comment
Serial Killer: As established in the opening scene. Christie gasses, rapes, and strangles a woman who came to him thinking he would cure her cough. Christie starts digging a grave for her in the backyard—and uncovers the protruding foot of a previous victim. The Real Life Christie is believed to have killed at least eight people.
 10 Rillington Place / int_7301ae04
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_7301ae04
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_7301ae04
 10 Rillington Place / int_7a143509
type
Shell-Shocked Veteran
 10 Rillington Place / int_7a143509
comment
Shell-Shocked Veteran: It's implied that Christie's service in World War I seriously unhinged him, or at least emphasized an existing personality disorder. His thin voice and breathing problems are ascribed directly to a poison gas attack, and Evans' defense attorney suggests that the experience also affected his mental health.
 10 Rillington Place / int_7a143509
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_7a143509
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_7a143509
 10 Rillington Place / int_7aa858c1
type
Consummate Liar
 10 Rillington Place / int_7aa858c1
comment
Consummate Liar: The one trait Christie and Evans have in common, but leading to drastically different results.
 10 Rillington Place / int_7aa858c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_7aa858c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_7aa858c1
 10 Rillington Place / int_8387bb18
type
Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 10 Rillington Place / int_8387bb18
comment
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Tim clearly thinks this, given his anger when he learns of Beryl's plan, even though he's just as upset about her pregnancy in the first place.
 10 Rillington Place / int_8387bb18
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_8387bb18
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_8387bb18
 10 Rillington Place / int_95b7c400
type
Faux Affably Evil
 10 Rillington Place / int_95b7c400
comment
Faux Affably Evil: On the surface, Christie seems a perfect gentleman, if perhaps a bit stern, and he has Richard Attenborough's famous paternal warmth and charm. Beneath it though lurks an absolute monster.
 10 Rillington Place / int_95b7c400
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_95b7c400
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_95b7c400
 10 Rillington Place / int_9b5a308c
type
Crocodile Tears
 10 Rillington Place / int_9b5a308c
comment
Crocodile Tears: Christie at Tim's trial after he's convicted and sentenced to death. He also pretends to be saddened and devastated by Beryl's death and Tim's supposed murder of Geraldine.
 10 Rillington Place / int_9b5a308c
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_9b5a308c
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_9b5a308c
 10 Rillington Place / int_a8660c25
type
Soft-Spoken Sadist
 10 Rillington Place / int_a8660c25
comment
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Christie is very calm and mild-mannered, and uses this to reassure his victims, further luring them into his traps. This was a major reason why Christie was able to elude capture for so long, and makes his story all the more frightening.
 10 Rillington Place / int_a8660c25
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_a8660c25
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_a8660c25
 10 Rillington Place / int_a90fff3
type
Based on a True Story
 10 Rillington Place / int_a90fff3
comment
Based on a True Story: "This is a true story. Whenever possible the dialogue has been based on official documents" (opening title card).
 10 Rillington Place / int_a90fff3
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_a90fff3
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_a90fff3
 10 Rillington Place / int_ad1db87c
type
Oh, Crap!
 10 Rillington Place / int_ad1db87c
comment
Oh, Crap!: We twice see Christie's victims have this reaction when he's drugging them and they realize too late that something sinister is happening. Christie himself a few times, most notably when he looks out the window and sees the police opening the manhole cover.
 10 Rillington Place / int_ad1db87c
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ad1db87c
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ad1db87c
 10 Rillington Place / int_b58b4e3c
type
Too Dumb to Live
 10 Rillington Place / int_b58b4e3c
comment
Too Dumb to Live: Tim trusts Christie and ends up with a dead wife, daughter, and on death row. He also leaves his infant daughter in the Christie's care, leading to her death. Despite knowing that her husband's a killer and clearly being afraid of him, Ethel doesn't leave him... and ends up as one of his victims.
 10 Rillington Place / int_b58b4e3c
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_b58b4e3c
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_b58b4e3c
 10 Rillington Place / int_c02a3bf2
type
Imperiled in Pregnancy
 10 Rillington Place / int_c02a3bf2
comment
Imperiled in Pregnancy: That she's pregnant does not deter Christie from killing Beryl. If anything, he seems quite pleased that her situation has given him this opportunity.
 10 Rillington Place / int_c02a3bf2
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_c02a3bf2
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_c02a3bf2
 10 Rillington Place / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 10 Rillington Place / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: Beryl manages to get the mask off... but Christie knocks her unconscious before she can scream or break free.
 10 Rillington Place / int_c3c18143
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_c3c18143
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_c3c18143
 10 Rillington Place / int_cf92fea8
type
Cassandra Truth
 10 Rillington Place / int_cf92fea8
comment
Cassandra Truth: No one believes Tim by the time he finally admits what really happened, nor the multiple times he insists that "Christie done it!"
 10 Rillington Place / int_cf92fea8
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_cf92fea8
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_cf92fea8
 10 Rillington Place / int_ddeaea82
type
Miscarriage of Justice
 10 Rillington Place / int_ddeaea82
comment
Miscarriage of Justice: One of the most notorious in British history. The execution of Timothy Evans for two murders later discovered to have been committed by John Christie helped bring about the suspension of the death penalty in the United Kingdom in 1965 (it was finally abolished in 1969).
 10 Rillington Place / int_ddeaea82
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ddeaea82
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ddeaea82
 10 Rillington Place / int_e9a3a1ed
type
Never Learned to Read
 10 Rillington Place / int_e9a3a1ed
comment
Never Learned to Read: Tim Evans can't read. His ignorance makes it that much easier for Christie to manipulate him.
 10 Rillington Place / int_e9a3a1ed
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_e9a3a1ed
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_e9a3a1ed
 10 Rillington Place / int_ead0869d
type
Acquitted Too Late
 10 Rillington Place / int_ead0869d
comment
Acquitted Too Late: The closing titles note that Timothy Evans got a posthumous pardon.
 10 Rillington Place / int_ead0869d
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ead0869d
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ead0869d
 10 Rillington Place / int_ed503b22
type
Match Cut
 10 Rillington Place / int_ed503b22
comment
Match Cut: From Evans being dropped through a gallows to Christie straightening up and wincing with back pain.
 10 Rillington Place / int_ed503b22
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ed503b22
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ed503b22
 10 Rillington Place / int_f2097aef
type
Finally Found the Body
 10 Rillington Place / int_f2097aef
comment
Finally Found the Body: New tenants moving in to the building find the remains of several of Christie's victims.
 10 Rillington Place / int_f2097aef
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_f2097aef
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_f2097aef
 10 Rillington Place / int_ff7f34c5
type
Pet the Dog
 10 Rillington Place / int_ff7f34c5
comment
Pet the Dog: Tim is an abusive drunk, but is genuinely devastated by Beryl's death, and clearly adores his daughter.
 10 Rillington Place / int_ff7f34c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ff7f34c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ff7f34c5
 10 Rillington Place / int_ffad4e9f
type
Shown Their Work
 10 Rillington Place / int_ffad4e9f
comment
Shown Their Work: Exteriors were shot in the actual Rillington Place (or Ruston Close, as the street was called after 1954). Interiors were shot in 7 Rillington Place after the occupants of 10 refused to allow filming. Not long after this movie was released, the entire neighborhood was demolished to make way for new construction. Albert Pierrepoint, the actual hangman who executed both Evans and Christie, was an uncredited consultant on the hanging scenes.
 10 Rillington Place / int_ffad4e9f
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_ffad4e9f
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_ffad4e9f
 10 Rillington Place / int_name
type
ItemName
 10 Rillington Place / int_name
comment
 10 Rillington Place / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 10 Rillington Place / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
10 Rillington Place / int_name
 10 Rillington Place / int_name
itemName
10 Rillington Place

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
Back-Alley Doctor / int_9c8eea1c
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
Docudrama / int_9c8eea1c
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
Soft-Spoken Sadist / int_9c8eea1c
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
The '40s / int_9c8eea1c
 10 Rillington Place
hasFeature
True Crime / int_9c8eea1c