Kray Twins(Ronald, October 24 (1933-10-24 ) - March 17, and Reginald, October 24 (1933-10-24 ) - October 1) are criminals, twin brothers who controlled most of the organized crime in the East End of London at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. Together with their gang, known as the Firm, they committed a wide variety of crimes: robberies, armed attacks and murders, arson, racketeering. In London and beyond, the twins were real stars - their interview in 1965 was shown live on one of the central channels. The Krays worked with the Gallo Brothers, and plans were made to build a casino with Meer Lansky, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Ronald, better known as Ronnie, is believed to have had a paranoid personality disorder and was openly homosexual.
The twins were born into a middle-class family, both had severe diphtheria in early childhood, but survived. The twins were raised by Violet's mother and her sisters, May and Rozzie, and two grandfathers, Jimmy Cray on the paternal side and Jimmy Lee "Cannonball" on the maternal side. The twins' father, Charlie Cray Sr., worked as a scrap gold dealer and often traveled around the country. In adolescence, Ronald and Reginald were engaged in amateur boxing, but they could not become professional athletes due to problems with the law and discipline, although both were predicted to have a great sports future. In 1952, they entered the service in the regiment of the Royal Riflemen of the British Army, but for a fight with the officer who drilled them on the very first day and constant riots, they were exiled to the guardhouse. There, Ronnie and Reggie burned mattresses and made uniform chaos. In a military prison, the twins acquired the necessary connections in the criminal world, which later served them well. Ronnie and Reggie made it clear to those around them that in this world only the authorities of each other and no one else recognize. Having suffered enough, it was decided to expel the twins from the orderly ranks of the royal shooters. Upon returning home, in the mid-1950s, the twins borrowed money from their older brother Charlie to start their own business. This is how the billiard room "Regal" appeared - the starting point for the beginning of the "career" of the twins. Reggie tried to combine racketeering with more legal and legal ways of fishing. Ronnie, apart from protecting gangs, stealing cars, arson and robberies, did not recognize any ways to earn money. The explosive character of Ronnie soon bore fruit - in a quarrel, he shot one onlooker in the knee, for which he was arrested in 1960 and went to prison for 18 months. There, he was diagnosed with a paranoid personality disorder, including megalomania, persecution and identification with a historical figure - Ronnie Kray considered himself the embodiment of Attila.
The brothers also had a legal business in the early 1960s - they owned a popular nightclub in the East End, whose guests were many celebrities, including actors and politicians. The brothers were very feared in the British criminal environment, everyone knew about them. The twins made friends with famous actors, including Judy Garland (they say that she and Reggie had a short-term affair), Barbara Windsor and others.
Everything seemed to go like clockwork, if not for the conflict with the Richardson gang. On May 9, 1966, in front of 30 people, in a pub, in broad daylight, Ronnie Cray shot one of the Richardsons' people, George Cornell. This event stirred up all of London, they wrote about it in the newspapers and spoke in lines, nevertheless, none of the witnesses agreed to testify and Ronnie remained at large.
On October 29, 1967, Reggie shot and killed Jack "The Hat" McVitty, whose body was never found. In Scotland Yard, the twins had a "fan" - a young and promising investigator, Leonard Reid, who, after a series of failures, was still able to carry out his plan. On May 9, 1968, Ronnie and Reggie were arrested, and in 1969 they were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with the right to appeal the sentence only after 30 years. Ronald, having been declared insane, ended up in custody at Broadmoor Hospital, where he died in 1995, and Reginald was released in 2000, eight weeks before his death from bladder cancer on October 1 of that year.
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Each person is trying to leave a mark on history so that their existence on earth is not aimless. In these 16 photos you will see ordinary people, hardened criminals, famous actors, great people and presidents with their little weaknesses and secrets.
1. The famous Kray twins, Reginald and Ronald
British criminals who controlled much of the organized crime in the East End of London at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. By the way, recently the film “Legend” was released on the big screens, based on the book “The Art of Cruelty: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins” by John Pearson.
2.
New York, 1939
Girls in self-defense courses.
3. Azerbaijan, Baku, 1925
4. Lost and Found, Rome, Italy, 1964
Department of Lost Umbrellas.
5.
London, UK, January 17, 1939
Workers clean horse statues at the top of Wellington Arch.
6. White House, Washington, USA, January 2001
President Bill Clinton rides his bike around the White House.
7.
British Home Championship, Scotland-England, 1972
There are 119 thousand 325 spectators at the stadium.
8. USA, 1893
Hunters pose with a dead pterodactyl.
9. The set of the series "The X-Files", 1990
Actor David Duchovny with filmmaker Chris Carter.
10. USA, 1939
Actors from Gone with the Wind.
11. The great Walt Disney reads his grandson a bedtime story, 1955
12. Marilyn Monroe and US President John F. Kennedy
13. Richard Gere, California, 1978
This picture belongs to Herb Ritz, a close friend and then unknown Gere. On the way, the wheel of the car was punctured and they stopped at a roadside service.
14. France, Le Touquet, 1937
Participants of the beauty contest pass by the members of the jury. They are disguised and therefore incorruptible.
15. Farnsworth Art School students paint from life, 1946
16. Castries, St. Lucia, 1941
Fishermen with yellowfin tuna.
Good day everyone!
I watched the movie before the New Year, but I only got to the review now.
I can say that each film needs its own time, this film made a very good impression on me and I VERY liked the film. Apparently, I chose the most suitable time and the mood too.
Now a little about the movie itself!
The film is set in London in the 1960s. The film tells the story of twin brothers Reggie and Ronnie Kray, who led one of the most powerful crime groups in the East End.
The film is narrated from the perspective of a girl, and in the future, the wife of one of the Kray brothers, Francis Shih.
The film will tell about the struggle for power, show crimes and true love, not only for a woman, but also for a family.
The plot of the film is stated as:
Thriller, Drama
But there is also a bit of humor in the film, which makes the film even better.
Whether the film is based on real events is difficult to say.
There is little information about the real Kray brothers, and then mainly about their crimes, so you have to rely and trust the events of the film.
Now about the main characters of the film.
The cast is just perfect for me. Acting is top notch.
And of course Tom Hardy, who deserves special respect, after this film. He played simply brilliant and masterpiece.
He played two main characters, the Kray brothers. So similar, yet so different at the same time.
One of the brothers is a respected "businessman", who is known and respected by almost everyone.
And the second brother is a dangerous and unbalanced psychopath, who is feared and tried to bypass.
It seems to be clear who has achieved more success, but the characters of the brothers and their actions are so intertwined that it is very interesting to watch this. And again, special thanks for playing Tom Hardy.
Playing the main character of the film, conveying his character to the actor is not easy enough, but playing two completely different people, each with his own character and his own disposition, thoughts and habits, is doubly difficult. Tom did it 100%.
Watching the brothers, it is quite difficult to assume that the same person is playing, to be honest, at first I thought that they had found a double. But no, it's all the same actor, but to find at least a drop of similarity in the characters' characters, you have to try.
Now about the main character of the film, which tells us this story.
Frances Shea, played by actress Emily Browning.
The actress approached this role perfectly, to be honest, I can’t even imagine who would play better or which actress could replace her.
She fit into this film 100%.
Now about the heroine.
Frances, sister of one of the workers of the Kray brothers. Lives with his brother and mother.
At a chance meeting with one of the brothers, strong feelings flare up between them.
Frances has a strong influence on Reggie, trying to put him on the right path, but whether she succeeds, you can find out from the movie, plus you can see how this great love story ends!
The film conveys the atmosphere of that time. Filmed professionally. Excellent musical accompaniment. All the details of the film complement each other, the plot is quite interesting.
Not a boring movie, although there are no constant shootouts and races.
An "English style" film, so to speak.
The film is a little dark, but it does not cause negative emotions when viewing. On the contrary, the tones are exactly what this film needs.
Let's summarize!
Movie pros:
- Actor play
- Plot
- Music
- Film Atmosphere
- Tom Hardy (nowhere without him)
- fans of the genre (not for fans of action games and shootouts with racing)
- slightly gloomy
The film is worth watching. Do you think it's worth watching? Yes, it's worth it.
Wish there were more films like this. It is interesting to watch, there is no vulgarity and constant obscene words. The film is good.
No wonder English films are my priority.
I hope my review is helpful!
Have a good time everyone!
You can read my review of the movie "He is a Dragon" here:
