The Rise of the Krays is a 2015 low-budget biographical film about the Kray twins who terrorised London during the 1950s and 1960s. [1] The film was funded by Terry Brown and David Sullivan and was in development before the production team learned of Legend , the larger-budgeted studio film scheduled for release the same year. [2]
The film focuses on the early life of the Krays before their downfall. In comparison with Legend it aims for a gritty authenticity with less glamorising, portraying The Twins as "horrible pieces of work". [2]
Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and Reginald "Reggie" Kray were English gangsters or organised crime figures and identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were prominent from the late 1950s until their arrest in 1968. Their gang, known as the Firm, was based in Bethnal Green, where the Kray twins lived. They were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets, gambling and assaults. At their peak in the 1960s, they gained a certain measure of celebrity status by mixing with prominent members of London society, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television.
Brian Thomas Helgeland is an American screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is best known for writing the screenplays for the films L.A. Confidential and Mystic River. He also wrote and directed the films 42, a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and Legend, about the rise and fall of the infamous London gangsters the Kray twins. His work on L.A. Confidential earned him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
William Albert Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, and Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
The Blind Beggar is a pub in Whitechapel Road in the East End of London, England, at the junction with Cambridge Heath Road.
John George Pearson was an English novelist and an author of biographies, notably of Ian Fleming, of the Sitwells, and of the Kray twins.
The Krays is a 1990 British biographical crime drama film directed by Peter Medak. The film is based on the lives and crimes of the British gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film stars Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, and real life brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, both of whom were members of the band Spandau Ballet.
Jack McVitie, best known as Jack the Hat, was an English criminal from London during the 1950s and 1960s. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. He had acted as an enforcer and hitman with links to The Firm, and was murdered by Reggie Kray in 1967.
Eileen Elizabeth Sheridan (1936–2018) was a British beauty pageant contestant who was also known for her association with the London underworld 'firm' headed by the Kray twins; notably attending the funeral of their elder brother, Charlie, in 2000, as well as the funerals of Ron and Reg Kray. Eileen was a character witness at Charlie Krays' drug trail, and provided the famous "Legend" wreath at Reg Kray's funeral. Miss Sheridan became friends with the Krays after becoming the first winner of the Miss United Kingdom title in 1958. Her future husband persuaded her to enter the new Miss UK competition in Blackpool. Later she was placed in final six of 1958 Miss World Contest, held at the Lyceum.
Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End. There is an electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough.
Sam Spruell is a British character actor, known for playing mostly villain roles.
The Ivy House is a Grade II listed public house at 40 Stuart Road, Nunhead, London. It was the UK's first co-operatively owned pub, and first purchased on behalf of a community using the right to bid provisions in the Localism Act 2011.
Legend is a 2015 biographical crime drama thriller film written and directed by American director Brian Helgeland. It is adapted from John Pearson's book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins, which deals with their career and the relationship that bound them together, and follows their gruesome career to life imprisonment in 1969.
David Litvinoff was a consultant for the British film industry who traded on his knowledge of the criminal elements of the East End of London. A man for whom there are few truly reliable facts, it is unclear how genuine his expertise really was, though he certainly knew the Kray Twins and was particularly friendly with Ronnie Kray, according to a biography published in 2016. He entertained his showbiz friends with stories of the Krays' activities and his niece Vida described him as "the court jester to the rich, smart Chelsea set of the sixties".
Leonard Ernest "Nipper" Read, QPM was a British police officer and boxing administrator.
The Royal Oak is a Grade II listed public house at 73 Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2.
The Fall of the Krays is a 2016 low-budget British crime film directed by Zackary Adler and written by Ken and Sebastian Brown based on the true story of Ronnie and Reggie Kray. The film serves as the sequel to The Rise of the Krays.
Anthony Thomas Lambrianou was an English criminal known for his association with the Kray Twins. He was born to a Greek Cypriot father and English mother from Consett.
Charles James Kray was an English professional boxer and convicted criminal. He was the elder brother of Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
The Krays' Mad Axeman is a 2019 film directed by William Kerley and starring Diarmaid Murtagh, Morgan Watkins and Elen Rhys. It is based on the play Jump to Cow Heaven by Gill Adams, itself based on the true story of Frank Mitchell, a convict and associate of the Kray Twins, who facilitated Mitchell's escape from prison in 1966.
The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins is a 1972 biography of the Kray twins by John Pearson. It details the life of the twins from their births, childhood, criminal careers, and eventual arrest. It was nominated for the 1974 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime. It was followed by The Cult of Violence: The Untold Story of the Krays in 2001 and Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins in 2010.