The Krays (1990)

This fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's 60's underworld.

Director:

Peter Medak

Writer:

Philip Ridley

Stars:

Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, Gary Kemp

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billie Whitelaw	...	Violet Kray
Tom Bell	...	Jack 'The Hat' McVitie
Gary Kemp	...	Ronald Kray
Martin Kemp	...	Reggie Kray
Susan Fleetwood	...	Rose
Charlotte Cornwell	...	May
Kate Hardie	...	Frances
Avis Bunnage	...	Helen
Alfred Lynch	...	Charlie Kray
Gary Love	...	Steve
Steven Berkoff	...	George Cornell
Jimmy Jewel	...	Cannonball Lee
Barbara Ferris	...	Mrs. Lawson
Victor Spinetti	...	Mr. Lawson
John McEnery	...	Eddie Pellam

Storyline

The life of a pair of twins (Ronald and Reginald Kray) who were born in London in 1934 and when they grew up became gangsters selling protection.

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Plot Keywords:

twin | gangster | sword | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | grandfather grandson relationship | 

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Taglines:

Bonded by Blood

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Kray fivérek

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$2,060,847 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fugitive TV Productions, Fugitive Features, Parkfield Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The East End of London had been extensively redeveloped since the Krays' heyday so the company filmed across the River Thames in Greenwich, especially in Caradoc Street.

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Goofs

Frances' parents' 1960s living room has wall-to-wall carpeting which was not common in ordinary British homes (especially of the middle-aged generation) until the 1970s.

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Quotes

[the Kray twins have been called up for National Service in the Army]
Drill Sergeant: You are not people any more. You are not human beings. You are part of a machine. You do not wear what you want to, think what you want to - you wear what we tell you, think what we tell you, eat when we tell you, sleep, shit and fuck when we tell you!
[a soldier giggles]
Drill Sergeant: Someone stick a feather up your arse, lad?
Soldier: Sarge?
Drill Sergeant: You're grinning like a bloody Cheshire cat!
[Ronnie and Reggie start walking away]
Drill Sergeant: And where do you little ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Celebrity Big Brother: Day 3 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Balling the Jack"
Performed by Jimmy Jewel
Written by Chris Smith and Jim Burris (as James Burris)
Published by Frances Day and Hunter Ltd

User Reviews

Lots to keep fans of the genre happy, even if it flails at certain, critical points.

I can vividly remember sitting in the audience and watching Martin Kemp giving an interview during a live, daytime TV show broadcast. The programme in question was 'Today with Des and Mel' and I can tell you it aired on the 6th of October, 2003 – I know because I still have the entrance ticket they give you that permits you to enter the studio and yes, they allowed us to keep them afterward; I didn't steal it. I remember the interview but the link between this and the film The Krays is what happened afterwards: since I was sitting to the side of the audience seating area, I had a good look at the floor exit to the side of the set; I distinctly remember seeing Martin walk off past the camera and toward that entrance/exit; he had a look on the face of "job done"; a "nothing brilliant but what d'ya want?" expression – such is the feeling I got after seeing The Krays.

I'll be frank; The Krays is not a brilliant film but where it falls into a little groove on mediocrity and indifference, it compensates in other places thanks to its fast pacing and (this'll make me sound like a torture porn fan) its bloody violence. One fine way to shed any tag you may have thanks to 80s fashion, hair styles or any career you might have had is to do the opposite of what you're afraid people may solely remember you for. When we say 'The Kemp Brothers' now; do we recall this film or the new-age romantic band Spandau Ballet and such hits as the mellow 'True' and 'Through The Barricades' or the up-and-at-'em 'Gold'? It's a simple question made difficult.

The Krays is a film that forced me to do a little further research after seeing it. Turns out both Kray brothers are dead after stretches in prison, fair enough you say; it also turns out Ronald Kray (Gary Kemp) was mentally ill – suffering from schizophrenia and other such psychological illnesses. The film may teach us about and show us the Kray's rise and rise through London's gang world but it never touched on Ronald's mental illness – oh how different the film would've been if we had been told Ronald was somewhat insane; psychotic if you like. So there's me thinking he's a gangster; a hard as nails mobster who kills in cold blood but that's what the film would like you to think – had the film shown Ronald as a psychopath and not a criminal, 'The Krays' would've resembled a horror thriller rather than a gangster crime drama. I feel it was a little selfish to tiptoe around such a matter when it is clearly so pivotal to one of your protagonist's mindsets.

So if Ronald is the crazy one, Reggie (Martin Kemp) is the calmer one, right? I guess so. But then again, no. Certainly he is presented as more humane; crying when he suffers his tragedy at the hands of an unhappy newlywed wife but then again, he beats people up for looking at his car and instigates the film's nastiest example of violence toward the end on someone who, from what I recall, didn't seem to do an awful lot wrong – but going from pub to pub brandishing a shotgun yelling you're going to "kill the Krays!" is a sure fire way to getting yourself noticed. There is some dark irony in the pub being named 'The Blind Beggar' bearing in mind what Reggie does to the guy. But the film is smart enough to engage and entertaining on the level crime films are to remain interesting. The Krays as children are given crocodiles and a little speech by the aunt about the crocodiles being feared by all others, echoing what will come; interesting how in a really quite violent film the first instance of bloodshed would come in a boxing match: an organised boxing match when Ronald calls up Reggie for a fight.

There are several other incidences such as the monologue in the jail cell after they walk out of the army in a somewhat unnecessarily comical fashion: "Keep a look out for the right guys, the right guys that need protection" says a fellow inmate himself no doubt connected. Ironic then how the Army would be the reason they'd get connected in the first place; the state help create the Krays by giving them National Service that they would reject. If the build up to their menace and evilness seems obligatory, then that can be excused to a degree; the scenes of violence at the snooker club and outside the nightclub shock us because the film has been calm and somewhat obligatory so when we get hit with those scenes, we have a 'grim and bear it' reaction. But unlike most other gangster films, this is not one in which a male dominated world sees its characters drip with ego. The women are strong and know what's what; they are not object nor are they stupid and the scene in the hospital in which Mrs. Krays takes one of the boys home is a good example.

Despite being written by someone who usually writes children's books and completely ignoring Ron's issues with mental illness (but still finding room to let us know he is homosexual), The Krays hit and missed with me; a good film that shocks and has its moments but one that lacks any real punch or interesting narrative. Indeed, toward the end it all becomes a bit fabricated but as a gangster film; it works and until The Krays is remade, it'll remain the definitive story of the notorious twins.