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Once upon a Time in London

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Once upon a Time in London

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Summary

During the 1930s, two of London's most notorious gangsters, Billy Hill and Jack 'Spot' Comer, vie for power in the criminal underworld. Drama, starring Terry Stone and Leo Gregory

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

David Parkinson

BritCrime has a lot to answer for, as the shadow of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrelshas hung over all UK underworld movies since 1998. In charting the real-life rivalry between London kingpins Jack "Spot" Comer (Terry Stone) and Billy Hill (Leo Gregory), writer/director Simon Rumley boldly invokes the spirit of such sinister Mob pictures as Brighton Rock (1947) and No Orchids For Miss Blandish (1948). However, he spends so long setting the scene that he finds himself pressed for time when it comes to Hill and Comer's increasingly brutal 1950s contretemps. As several other outfits keep muscling on to their manors, it becomes tricky to follow who's who, especially as Rumley also tries to focus on the women in Hill and Comer's lives. The performances are solid, the visuals slick and the pastiche score catchily effective. Yet Rumley simply doesn't have the resources or the scope to do justice to his ambition.

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5.2/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameBilly HillLeo GregoryJack "Spot" ComerTerry StoneAlf WhiteJamie ForemanDarky MulleyGeoff BellFrankie FraserRoland ManookianAggie PickettHolly EarlSonny the YankAndy BeckwithHarry WhiteJustin SalingerBelgian JohnnyDominic KeatingAlbert DimesDoug Allen

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Crew

rolenameDirectorSimon Rumley

Details

Theatrical distributor

Signature

Released on

2019-04-19

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing.

Available on

DVD

Formats

Colour

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