The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story (TV Series 2018) Poster

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8/10
Surprisingly new stuff!
Majikat768 April 2018
Not only do you look into the case of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the Uk, but also into her family and the chance of a conspiracy theory, very interesting!
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8/10
Excellent intriguing and even entertaining documentary
trimmerb123415 March 2018
An exceptional documentary driven at a fast consistent pace which nevertheless was thorough, probing and with prime interviewees. Even the novel short illustrative clips from various B&W crime films blended seamlessly. It managed to respect the subject, grieve for the injustice to Ruth Ellis yet be entertaining

The only criticism was the the film-makers imposition of a mistaken notion of '50s British morality as 19th C and Ruth Ellis as a "modern woman"..For obvious reasons men in general had a less judgemental view of night-club hostesses..It was wives who for understandable valid reasons saw such women (available willing and sexually skilled) as a real threat to marriages.(As happened in India when young English women went there as wives and promptly ended the previous regime of racial boundary-free relationships) However equally the murder was a crime of passion - Ruth Ellis shot the man who done her wrong and many women felt sympathetic.to her.

Apart from this it is an exceptional documentary which did justice to the story in a way neither earlier documentaries or the film had done. A rare thing - a documentary worth repeated viewings.
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5/10
Excellent documentary spoiled by ridiculous irrelevant film clips
greenthing-539999 March 2020
This documentary provides an excellent analysis of the evidence and raises serious questions about the police and legal procedures in the 1950s. However, it is undermined by numerous film clips, most of a whimsical nature, that are inserted throughout the programmes. Those depicting court scenes could be said to aid a viewer's understanding of how a courtroom would have looked, but the ridiculous clips from US and other movies were out of place and, for me, spoiled the documentary.
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