Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
Humble man. Loyal husband. Feared Executioner.
Based on a True Story.
Albert Pierrepont delivered groceries - and was a hangman. Following his father's footsteps he quickly became known for his efficiency and compassion, rising to become 'the best in the land'. From the early 1933 until the end of his career in 1955 he executed some 608 people including 47 of the Nuremburg Nazis for which he earned the gratitude of a nation. But by the time he hanged Ruth Ellis, the last women to be executed in Britain, public sentiments had changed.... and so had Pierrepont.
Member Reviews
Dark, very very dark - RobBC
Dark and disturbing biopic of Albert Pierrepoint who was a nondescript deliveryman by profession but, like his father before him, moonlighted as one of England’s most prolific hangmen dispatching over 600 condemned criminals in a career spanning 22 years. In the lead role Timothy Spall puts in a powerfully understated performance as a man of some honour who finds himself going from celebrated hero for hanging evil Germans to reviled pariah for the execution of a single mother. His desperate belief that the people he killed have “paid the price” and are now innocent once more gives him little solace; in one touchingly macabre scene he gently washes the nude body of a woman he executed minutes beforehand, as if washing her dead flesh will somehow remove the blood from his own. In the able hands of director Adrian Shergold Albert’s own personal dilemma finds some reflection in English society at large as we catch glimpses of an unyielding morality and the hypocrisy it engenders. Even his own wife proves her somewhat duplicitous nature when, drunk and in tears, he pleads for some reassurance that he is a good person only to have her pull away in revulsion unable to discuss his “other” job despite the fact she has no problem accepting the extra money it puts in their coffers. Grim, depressing and presented in sombre funereal colours, Pierrepoint is both a fascinating character study and an unflinching look at a form of punishment which, in Albert’s own words, was “nothing but revenge.”Well made - rnhaas
This is a well made biopic (especially for a TV movie). The score doesn't work very well, especially in the "climax." The acting is good and the story is compelling. A more original approach to such compelling matieral would have been welcome, but it is a TV movie. The "twist" actually happened so don't see it as contrived as I did before I checked the real story.At The End Of A rope - kelgs13
Albert Pierrepoint's story has been well documented and from what I have read from his autobiography this movie follows his career as an executioner to the tee. Timothy Spall was excellent as Albert Pierrepoint and the rest of the cast was superb as well. This is a great film about the rights and wrongs of capital punishment and shows both sides of Pierrepoints emotions well on the job and when at home.
Member Reviews
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Dark, very very dark - RobBC
Dark and disturbing biopic of Albert Pierrepoint who was a nondescript deliveryman by profession but, like his father before him, moonlighted as one of England’s most prolific hangmen dispatching over 600 condemned criminals in a career spanning 22 years. ...Well made - rnhaas
This is a well made biopic (especially for a TV movie). The score doesn't work very well, especially in the "climax." The acting is good and the story is compelling. A more original approach to such compelling matieral would have been welcome, but it is ...At The End Of A rope - kelgs13
Albert Pierrepoint's story has been well documented and from what I have read from his autobiography this movie follows his career as an executioner to the tee. Timothy Spall was excellent as Albert Pierrepoint and the rest of the cast was superb as well. ...