London is one of the most charming and illustrious cities in the world, with its gorgeous architecture, rich history, and a truly impressive cultural cachet that stretches back not just decades, but centuries.
Yet like any major metropolis, it has a dark side too—one that’s been well-documented in popular culture.
Is it any wonder that the city Sherlock Holmes—perhaps the most famous fictional detective in literary history—calls home has scores of sordid crime tales to provide fodder for films?
From serial killers to capers, train robberies, and elaborate heists, here are ten films based on some of London’s most notorious true crimes.
Dr. Crippen (1962)
Based on the true story of American-born Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was convicted and executed for the murder of his wife in 1910, perhaps the most intriguing part of this largely forgotten biopic is the fact that not one but three members of the cast and crew would go on to make horror history in the following decade.
Donald Pleasence, who portrays the titular doctor, would go on to play Dr. Loomis in 1978’s Halloween, while Samantha Eggar, who plays Crippen’s mistress, would star in David Cronenberg’s The Brood in 1979. Behind the camera, cinematographer Nicolas Roeg went on to direct 1973’s Don’t Look Now.
Where’s Jack? (1969)
Throwing it back three hundred years, this movie follows the elaborate evasive maneuvers of one Jack Sheppard, a.k.a. Honest Jack—an ironic name for a notorious thief who became a folk hero of sorts after escaping from prison on at least four separate occasions.
Alas, the fifth time was decidedly not the charm, and the slippery fellow was hanged for his crimes in 1724—or was he?
This movie, at least, remains open to the possibility that Jack gave the hangman the slip and started a new life in the New World.
10 Rillington Place (1971)
Serial killer and rapist John Christie was responsible for committing at least eight grisly murders at his Notting Hill flat in the 1940s and ‘50s, including the strangulation of his wife, and stashing the corpses at various locations in and around his home.
After Christie moved out, bodies were discovered in the garden, under the floorboards, and even in the kitchen alcove at the titular address.
The case also inspired a 2016 BBC miniseries titled simply Rillington Place.
The Great Train Robbery (1978)
For something a little lighter, try this comedy caper directed by novelist Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park), who also adapted the screenplay from his own book of the same name.
Based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855, the film stars Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland as thieves who conspire to steal an enormous shipment of gold from a train departing London before it can reach its destination in Paris.
Cold Light of Day (1989)
If Gacy and Dahmer are more your speed, you may find something morbidly fascinating about the heinous crimes of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, known as the Muswell Hill Murderer.
Between 1978 and 1983, Nilsen murdered at least a dozen young men and boys at his homes in north London.
At the time of its release, Fhiona Louise, then 21, was the youngest woman ever to direct a feature film. Nilsen, who was sentenced to life in prison and died in 2018, would be brought to the screen again in 2020, in a television miniseries starring David Tennant titled Des.
Another Life (2001)
Inspired by a high-profile 1920s murder case in which a young couple were convicted of murdering the woman’s husband and sentenced to death, this film offers a sordid love triangle with some flapper-era flair.
In real life, the lovers—Frederick Bywaters and Edith Thompson—were executed simultaneously, and Thompson’s hanging in particular was so traumatic that it was said to have contributed to the mental decline and eventual suicide of the hangman tasked with putting her to death.
From Hell (2001)
You can’t talk about crime in London without mentioning those three little words: Jack the Ripper.
While this is hardly Jack’s only on-screen appearance, it’s one of his most memorable.
Based on a popular graphic novel and starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, this may not be the most historically accurate portrayal of the still-unsolved nineteenth-century murders, but it is grimly entertaining, and the costumes and production design really hit the spot.
Legend (2015)
The Kray twins were—and remain—London legends.
Identical twin brothers who became two of the most notorious gangsters in England, they refused to keep a low profile and consented to photo shoots, TV interviews, and more.
Their charisma and shameless showmanship also made them a natural fit for the big screen: Legend isn’t the only film about them it isn’t even the only film about them to be released in 2015!
But it is the only one that stars Tom Hardy (yes, Bane and Mad Max himself) in a dual role as both Ronnie and Reggie.
The Hatton Garden Job (2017)
Lest you think crime is the province only of the young, here’s a film about a group of elderly thieves who decide they have just enough petrol left in the ol’ tank for a particularly ambitious heist.
Robbing an underground safe deposit facility—to the tune of tens of millions of pounds.
In real life, even though the heist was committed in 2015 and the conspirators were subsequently caught and imprisoned, less than half of the £14 million haul has been recovered.
The Duke (2020)
In 1961, retired bus driver Kempton Bunton decided to try his hand at a little art theft when he brazenly stole a Francisco Goya painting from London’s National Gallery.
Even more surprising than the crime, however, was the motive. He demanded free TV for pensioners and the poor, in exchange for the painting’s return.
The film version is decidedly comedic in tone—a welcome palate cleanser after getting a taste of some of London’s more unsavory criminals.
featured photo: Still from 10 Rillington Place via Columbia Pictures
