A Is for Acid (2002)

John George Haigh, the notorious "acid bath murderer" in 1940s England, becomes the subject of this dramatization.

Director:

Harry Bradbeer

Writer:

Glenn Chandler

Stars:

Martin Clunes, Keeley Hawes, Richard Hope

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Clunes	...	John George Haigh
Keeley Hawes	...	Gillian Rogers
Richard Hope	...	Dr. Archie Henderson
Celia Imrie	...	Rose Henderson
Rowena Cooper	...	Mrs. Olive Durand-Deacon
John Flanagan	...	Arnold Burtin
Terence Beesley	...	DS Heslin
Matyelok Gibbs	...	Mrs. Constance Lane
Barbara Marten	...	Emily Haigh
Geoff Holman	...	John Haigh Senior
Neil McKinven	...	Donald McSwan
Christopher Town	...	John George Haigh (as a boy)
Claire Nielson	...	Amy McSwan
Donald Douglas	...	William McSwan
Christopher Ettridge	...	Steven Rogers (as Chris Ettridge)

Storyline

Dramatisation of the true story of the notorious "acid bath murderer" John Haigh, who murdered women and disposed of their bodies in vats of acid in the 1940's. He was only caught when the gallstones of one of his victims, Mrs Durand-Deacon, failed to dissolve in the acid and were detected by the pathologist who examined the residue from the acid bath.

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Plot Keywords:

acid | acid bath | 1940s | murderer | sergeant | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 2002 (UK)

Also Known As:

Crimes Quase Perfeitos

Filming Locations:

7 South St., Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Haigh meets the Hendersons at the seaside and comments "splendid weather for February!" (it was in fact 12 February 1948 when he killed them). He is then seen driving Archibald Henderson to his workshop down a road with trees in full leaf; this must have been filmed in May or early June.

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Connections

Referenced in Psychoville: Joy (2009)

User Reviews

Wonderful 1940's factual drama ... of a serial killer!

A highly entertaining telling of a real life drama about a glamourous British serial killer. Not the most likely subject to tempt an audience but the production was put together with great attention to detail, perfectly capturing Britain in the 1940's, the props, clothes, cars and atmosphere all seeming perfectly genuine. Martin Clunes was superb as Haigh and the supporting cast all played their parts wonderfully well too. A rather unusual subject portrayed with a balanced perspective and having read accounts of the events surrounding Haigh I thought it was a great visualisation of the words I had read. Very interesting indeed.