Inspired by British True Crime
A list of films and tv serials that have been inspired by and/or are based upon real-life British crimes.
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- DirectorJohn LandisStarsBill BaileyTom WilkinsonMichael SmileyA black comedy about two 19th-century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school.Set in 1828, this comedy is based on the true story of William Burke and William Hare who committed a series of 16 murders.
- StarsKeith AllenJayne AshbourneJudy CornwellThe life story of compulsive gambler and spendthrift William Palmer, nicknamed "Prince of Poisoners" who killed various friends and family members (including his own children) for financial gain without anyone so much as batting an eye.Set from 1846 to 1856 this drama is based on the true story of William Palmer, an English doctor found guilty of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsSean ConneryDonald SutherlandLesley-Anne DownEngland, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.Set in 1855, this movie is based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855.
- DirectorJames HillStarsJohn NevilleDonald HoustonJohn FraserSherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson join the hunt for the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.Set in 1888, this film features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life Whitechapel murders committed by "Jack the Ripper".
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsChristopher PlummerJames MasonDavid HemmingsSherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.Set in 1888, this film features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life Whitechapel murders committed by "Jack the Ripper".
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsJohnny DeppHeather GrahamIan HolmAfter five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.Set in 1888, this film follows the police detective who investigates the murders of Jack the Ripper.
- StarsMartin ClunesArsher AliCharles EdwardsSir Arthur Conan Doyle recaptures his zest for life by pursuing and challenging a notorious miscarriage of justice.Mainly set between 1903-1906, this drama was based on the "Great Wyrley Outrages", a series of slashings of horses, cows and sheep.
- DirectorHarry BradbeerStarsMartin KempRichard GriffithsCharlotte RandleDramatisation of the real-life case of George Joseph Smith who was hanged in 1915 for the murder of his three wives, each of whom he killed in turn by drowning them in the bath while trying to make the deaths look like accidents.Set from 1908 to 1915, the film looks at the life of George Joseph Smith, an English serial killer and bigamist, who is also known as the "Brides in the Bath Murderer".
- DirectorHarry BradbeerStarsMartin ClunesKeeley HawesRichard HopeJohn George Haigh, the notorious "acid bath murderer" in 1940s England, becomes the subject of this dramatization.Set from 1909 to 1949, it looks at the life of John George Haigh, an English serial killer more commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer.
- StarsEmily WatsonDominic WestRobert GlenisterDramatisation of the case of serial killers Fred and Rose West, focusing on the way in which they were brought to justice.Set from 1994 to 1995, this looks at the serial killers Fred West and his wife Rosemary West.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsRachel WeiszTom WilkinsonTimothy SpallAcclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving, a renowned denier, sues her for libel.Set from 1996 to 2000, this film looks at the Irving v Penguin Books Ltd case, in which a Holocaust scholar was sued by a Holocaust denier for libel.
- CreatorChris ChibnallStarsRobert GlenisterJack RothLuke EvansA two-part drama which portrays The Great Train Robbery of 8 August 1963, firstly from the point of view of the robbers and then from the point of view of the police who set out to identify and catch the robbers.Set from 1962 to 1968, this tells the story of the Great Train Robbery on 8 August 1963, first from the perspective of the robbers, and then from the perspective of the police.
- DirectorRoger BamfordStarsJames BolamJames HazeldineMichael StaintonA dramatisation of the true story of Doctor Harold Shipman, a general practitioner from Hyde, Manchester, who was convicted in 2000 of murdering fifteen of his elderly patients and is suspected of having murdered as many as two hundred others.Set in 1998, this movie looks at Harold Shipman, an English general practitioner and one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary KempMartin KempBillie WhitelawThis fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.Set mainly between 1940 and 1967, this film looks at the lives and crimes of the English gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray.
- DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsTom HardyEmily BrowningTaron EgertonIdentical twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray terrorize London during the 1960s.Set from 1961 to 1967, this film looks at rise and fall of the Kray twins, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s.
- StarsAlun ArmstrongRichard RidingsJames LaurensonTwo part ITV drama based on the long police investigation and hunt for serial killer the Yorkshire Ripper, in late 1970s Northern England. It shows the effect that it had on the health and career of ACC George Oldfield who led the enquiry.Mainly set between 1977 and 1981, this looks at the real-life investigation into the notorious Yorkshire Ripper murders.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsRichard AttenboroughJudy GeesonJohn HurtWhat happened to the women at 10 Rillington Place? The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.Set from 1944 to 1953, this film is about the case of British serial killer John Christie.
- DirectorTerry WinsorStarsCaroline QuentinGerard HoranChristine EllerbeckA team of cleaners plot to steal thousands of pounds from the Bank of England by taking it from the incinerators and hiding it in their underwear.Inspired by the Loughton incinerator thefts that occurred between 1988 and 1992 at the Bank of England's incinerator plant in Loughton, Essex.
- DirectorDavid BetonStarsMatthew GoodePhil DanielsLarry LambA criminal gang of old timers attempt to pull off the largest burglary in English history at an underground safe deposit facility with an estimated value of £200 million.Set in 2015 it is based on the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsMichael CaineFrancesca AnnisOlivia Le AndersenA true crime movie about a crew of retired crooks who pull off a major heist in London's jewelry district. What starts off as their last criminal hurrah, quickly turns into a brutal nightmare due to greed.Set in 2015 it is based on the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary.
- StarsHugh GrantBen WhishawAlex JenningsBritish Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover and forced to stand trial in 1979.Set from 1961 to 1979, this drama is based on the British political and sex scandal that ended the career of Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party. The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Josiffe (otherwise known as Norman Scott) that he and Thorpe had a homosexual relationship in the early 1960s, and that Thorpe had begun a badly-planned conspiracy to murder Josiffe, who was threatening to expose their affair.
- StarsJoanne FroggattMaxine PeakeSean HarrisA vivid drama which documents the notorious Moors murderers; Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.Set between 1964 to 1971, it tells the story of the Moors murders, which were committed during the 1960s by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, from the view of Hindley's sister, Maureen Smith, and her husband David.
- StarsMartin ClunesClaudie BlakleyMatthew GravelleDetective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton tracks down a serial killer.Set in 2004-2006, this drama follows the police investigation that caught serial killer, Levi Bellfield.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsLee BoardmanJim BroadbentTam Dean BurnA portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.Set from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, the film centres on Labour Party peer Lord Longford and his campaign for the parole of Moors Murderer Myra Hindley.
- StarsSheridan SmithSian BrookeFaye McKeeverA two-part drama about the search for missing Yorkshire schoolgirl Shannon Matthews in 2008.This drama is based on the 2008 disappearance of 9-year-old Shannon Matthews and the search for her by police and volunteers in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.