IMDb RATING
7.4/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
The life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific hangman.The life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific hangman.The life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific hangman.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
Lizzie Hopley
- Dorothea Waddingham
- (as Elizabeth Hopley)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDespite the title Pierrepoint was not Britain's last hangman. He retired in the mid 1950s, shortly after executing Ruth Ellis. Britain never had a "last hangman", as the last two executions before suspension of capital punishment were carried out in different cities at the same time. The last two people executed were both guilty of the murder of John West, so it was decided to carry out the sentence at the same time in Aug 1964. People were still being sentenced to death In November 1965.
- GoofsThe Hamelin war criminal hangings took place in an execution chamber at the end of a cell corridor within the old prison itself, not in an aircraft hangar. Pierrepoint described this very clearly in his memoirs.
- Quotes
Albert Pierrepoint: I did a lot of jobs in Germany. More than were really good for me. Too many really. I get so bloody tired now...
- ConnectionsFeatured in Adolf Hitler: The Greatest Story Never Told (2013)
- SoundtracksMakin' Whoopee
Music by Walter Donaldson
Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Performed by Timothy Spall and Eddie Marsan
Featured review
I'd just been through a run of watching many poorly made, uninspiring and disappointing films in the last year, then luckily I saw this film Pierrepoint aka The Last Hangman which restored my faith in cinema.
Like all excellent films, it a simple story, expertly performed by a very strong cast. The other great element of a quality film is that it can be interpreted in many different ways by its viewers.
It shouldn't be explained as a portrayal of a man who hanged people although that is exactly what he did, what made him famous and what he will be remembered for.
For me Pierrepoint is more about working life. The job was always going to be a vocation as his father had been a hangman before him and he wanted to live up to a man he admired. We see the ends that he goes to, to be the best in his chosen field and I must admit I thought this was shown brilliantly; his care, his attention to the task, his desire to see the job done right. In the period of time that this story is set your job was something you took pride in not something you exploited to get better money and benefits while doing as little effort as possible.
It is impossible to be completely accurate when making a biographical film as you are condensing a persons lifetime into a couple of hours of screen time so therefore the director, writers, editor and producers need to shorten, edit and take a certain amount of artistic license.
Fortunately I knew nothing about Albert Pierrepoint before I watched this film so I didn't know what had been left in and left out of this account of his life, since then I talked to my father who knew many things about the man as he had lived and worked in London just after hanging was abolished and had seen Pierrepoint interviewed. He told me about a few things that weren't shown in the film, things that would have given my father an opinion about what type of person this famous hangman was. I've asked my father to see the film as I want to know how the celluloid depiction compares to his memories of the real man; even if he believes it to be inaccurate I'll still watch it again.
It is a dark, sad film which wouldn't be a great date movie but maybe a film you should watch the next time you have a bad day at work.
Like all excellent films, it a simple story, expertly performed by a very strong cast. The other great element of a quality film is that it can be interpreted in many different ways by its viewers.
It shouldn't be explained as a portrayal of a man who hanged people although that is exactly what he did, what made him famous and what he will be remembered for.
For me Pierrepoint is more about working life. The job was always going to be a vocation as his father had been a hangman before him and he wanted to live up to a man he admired. We see the ends that he goes to, to be the best in his chosen field and I must admit I thought this was shown brilliantly; his care, his attention to the task, his desire to see the job done right. In the period of time that this story is set your job was something you took pride in not something you exploited to get better money and benefits while doing as little effort as possible.
It is impossible to be completely accurate when making a biographical film as you are condensing a persons lifetime into a couple of hours of screen time so therefore the director, writers, editor and producers need to shorten, edit and take a certain amount of artistic license.
Fortunately I knew nothing about Albert Pierrepoint before I watched this film so I didn't know what had been left in and left out of this account of his life, since then I talked to my father who knew many things about the man as he had lived and worked in London just after hanging was abolished and had seen Pierrepoint interviewed. He told me about a few things that weren't shown in the film, things that would have given my father an opinion about what type of person this famous hangman was. I've asked my father to see the film as I want to know how the celluloid depiction compares to his memories of the real man; even if he believes it to be inaccurate I'll still watch it again.
It is a dark, sad film which wouldn't be a great date movie but maybe a film you should watch the next time you have a bad day at work.
- How long is Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Pierrepoint
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $23,192
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,028
- Jun 3, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $824,856
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005) officially released in Canada in English?
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