A.Cruel.Love.The.Ruth.Ellis.Story.S01 E04
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00:00You
00:30are due to hang at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, 22 hours from now.
00:52You wish to make a new statement about the murder of David Blakely, one that may materially
00:56affect your legal situation?
00:57Yes.
00:58I had been ill for two weeks.
00:59A miscarriage?
01:00David had been so sorry.
01:01Are you watching me sleep?
01:02Listening to you snore.
01:23I don't snore.
01:31I want to be woken up by your snoring for the rest of my life.
01:38So be little fool.
01:49Is your stomach still painful?
01:53It's fine.
01:55The doctor says it's healing well.
01:57Good.
01:59Because I'm taking you out tonight.
02:02Clean slate. No more fighting, no more...
02:05Cinema cleaning girls?
02:07She was an usherette.
02:09I do have some self-respect.
02:13Neither one of us has been perfect.
02:15From now on, we're going to be a boring, old married couple.
02:20You in a housecoat, me in slippers.
02:24And occasionally, we'll talk about how young, foolish...
02:28...we used to be.
02:30Promise?
02:37Yes.
02:48See you tonight.
02:51You ready a date?
02:58No.
03:29Findlayters residence.
03:31Is David there?
03:33No.
03:42Hello?
03:44And who was that girl?
03:46Look, David isn't here, alright?
03:49I got Desmond to drive me to the Findlayters.
03:52Wait here.
03:59I want to speak to David.
04:01He's not here.
04:02His car's outside.
04:04I know he's in there with some girl.
04:06That's our nanny.
04:07You did this, didn't you?
04:08You threw her at him.
04:10David! David!
04:11He's left you, Ruth.
04:12You won't see him ever again.
04:14You're lying.
04:15I have only ever told you the truth. You've never wanted to hear it.
04:18You can't just walk away.
04:20With everything in ruin.
04:23I know you need someone to blame for the way your life has turned out.
04:26I had you down as a dangerous sort of woman.
04:29A predator who set a trap for a naive boy.
04:31But I was wrong. You're just...
04:34A mess.
04:36A wretched, ungovernable, emotionally incontinent mess.
04:41A whirlwind of shabby destruction bringing everyone else down with you.
04:46My job.
04:48My savings.
04:50My daughter.
04:52My unborn child.
04:54Are all gone because of him.
04:57He does not get to walk away without saying a word.
05:00He doesn't!
05:01I have to speak to him!
05:02David!
05:03There's nothing to say.
05:04Then I want my key back.
05:05Virgin Dick Gardens, I want my key back.
05:07I'll have it sent to you.
05:09You cannot do this!
05:10You can't do this!
05:11David!
05:13David, I know you're in there!
05:15David!
05:17I felt I had to do something.
05:20Anything.
05:22To make him listen.
05:24Ruth!
05:25Ruth!
05:26David!
05:27That's enough!
05:28She's in there with a girl!
05:30She's laughing at me!
05:31Does he have a key to Edison Gardens, a place I rented for you, your new start?
05:36Has he been there all along?
05:39What are you looking at?
05:40David!
05:41Get in the car!
05:42David!
05:43In the car, Ruth!
05:44I had to go back the next day.
05:45I was determined to make David speak to me.
05:48Their plan, what they had wanted all along, to get David away from me,
05:52without looking back, without acknowledging what he had done to me, it had worked.
05:56Are you all in?
05:57Are you all in?
05:59All night I sat there and thought about the last two years.
06:03When I first met David, I was managing a successful club.
06:07I had two beautiful children.
06:11I had money in the bank, admirers.
06:14A lovely flat.
06:16And now all I had was a bed sitting room.
06:19No money.
06:20No job.
06:22And a man who swore he loved me one day, and then beat and abused me the next.
06:29A man who was relieved when I lost the child he fathered.
06:34I thought, and I thought, all the things he had said to me, all the things he had done to me,
06:39I thought, and I thought, all the things he had said to me, all the things he had done to me,
06:44and I just felt pure rage.
07:03I don't know what to do.
07:05Make some coffee.
07:07I don't want any coffee.
07:08Make some tea then.
07:09I don't want any fucking tea.
07:19I just wish he was dead.
07:21I wish he was dead.
07:22I wish he would jump in the lake and drown and I could just be free.
07:27We could be free.
07:29We could be free.
07:33I just want to be done with all of it.
07:36Do you?
07:38Whose idea was it to get the gun?
08:09I wouldn't know how to use it.
08:14I wouldn't know how to aim it.
08:17I'll show you.
08:24I need the permanent undersecretary of state.
08:27He's at Ascot.
08:28Well, get him bloody back from Ascot.
08:30What message should I give him?
08:31Tell him Ruth Ellis isn't going to hang tomorrow.
08:35Mrs. Ellis is accusing Desmond Cusson of conspiracy to murder.
08:38Yes.
08:40The execution will have to be postponed while he's interviewed.
08:43If charges are brought against him, Ruth Ellis will be the principal witness.
08:47She will be needed to give evidence.
08:49And that's to say nothing for her own conviction, which can now be regarded as unsafe.
08:52She was drunk. She was influenced by this man.
08:55I anticipate a retrial at the very least.
08:57You are not in fact a criminal lawyer, Mr. Mishcom.
09:01You are a divorcee.
09:02Yes.
09:04Well, the undersecretary is on his way back from Ascot.
09:06I will brief him and doubtless he will wish to speak to the home secretary.
09:10But the execution will be postponed while all this is investigated.
09:13I can give no such assurance, not on the strength of this alone.
09:17Then what would you need?
09:18We could do nothing until Cusson is interviewed at the very least.
09:21We must have some corroborating evidence.
09:24Until then, I'm afraid, these are just words.
09:27Then call him.
09:28Until then, I'm afraid, these are just words.
09:31Then call Scotland Yard and instruct them to find him now.
09:34As I say, I will inform my superiors.
09:36We have 16 hours until she is due to die.
09:42You're right.
09:43I know little of criminal law, but I know how long it takes to divorce someone.
09:47Six months, minimum, between the degrees nicae and absolute,
09:52to ensure the grounds are correct that the marriage is truly unsalvageable.
09:56Because a divorce is an absolute that cannot be undone.
09:59Your government passed that law.
10:01And you give this woman, between conviction and killing her, 22 days?
10:07Call the bloody police.
10:16Cusson left his office 20 minutes ago.
10:18He's on his way home.
10:20He said it himself, sir.
10:22She pulled the trigger.
10:24Doesn't matter where she got the gun.
10:27You did everything right.
10:33Let's go.
10:43Thank you for coming back.
10:44I know I wasn't the most gracious hostess last time.
10:48I deserved it.
10:50You're many things.
10:54But you're no coward.
10:56I wasn't when there was no hope.
11:00Now I'm bloody petrified.
11:10I remember when you and Vicky came to visit me in hospital.
11:13And you brought gin and a gramophone.
11:18Matron told us not to turn the place into a bordello,
11:20but I meant like she was absolutely smashed and dancing with us.
11:23I remember Vicky flashing the geriatric ward,
11:27and three of them proposing to her.
11:31And we sat up on the roof and watched the sun come up.
11:42I wish we could do that tomorrow morning.
11:45Before Mr. Peerpoint.
11:47Or the hangman can sod off back to his pub.
11:51Your statement changed everything.
11:57You do know what his pub is called?
12:00Help the poor struggler.
12:04Joy told me.
12:09Listen.
12:11I can try to find Desmond.
12:14Get a confession.
12:15Take it to the police.
12:17We don't have to.
12:19DCI Davis has been at the Home Office getting a rocket up his arse.
12:24They're going to find Desmond, Jackie.
12:27He's going to be arrested and charged.
12:29Tonight.
12:43So you want to know if I have anything else that might help you?
12:47As you can see, I'm in no fit state to help anyone.
12:50But you knew.
12:54You clearly knew about the gun.
12:57I made certain suppositions which have proved to be true.
13:00And you told her to stay quiet?
13:02You advised her to lie, to perjure herself and crown court?
13:05I was bound by client confidentiality, as I still am.
13:10Mrs. Ellis made me swear not to say anything.
13:14You may say I made the wrong decision and perhaps I did.
13:17My aim was to show that she was provoked.
13:20Not that she conspired with anyone.
13:23Premeditated the whole thing.
13:24Well, that was very convenient for Desmond Cusson.
13:28That you took that route.
13:31Did you make a deal with him?
13:33Certainly not, my friend.
13:36I suppose my problem is that I'm not brave enough to stand up to them all.
13:41To stand up to it.
13:44It?
13:45The English machine.
13:47The whole thuddering weight of it.
13:51Are you talking about a conspiracy?
13:54Nothing so vulgar.
13:56The machine is bigger than any one man.
13:58It's bigger than any gentleman's club, court room or police station.
14:07It is concerned with self-preservation above all.
14:10And it is ruthless, you may say.
14:12To the point of savagery to anyone who threatens it.
14:16And Ruth threatens it in every possible way.
14:19And that is why the machine is determined to get her.
14:21It has been from the start.
14:25You're drunk, man.
14:27And this is dangerous nonsense.
14:30This is the law.
14:31The justice system.
14:32The finest in the world.
14:34And you say I'm talking nonsense.
14:37I was like you, you know.
14:39I thought I was one of the good ones.
14:42Fighting the machine.
14:45Until I realised I'm just a cock being ground in it.
14:50If you know something that could help her, we have hours to save her life.
14:56It's too late.
14:57It's too late.
14:58It's too late.
14:59Why didn't you say anything about Desmond Cusson before?
15:29It seemed traitorous.
15:33Until I realised he betrayed me worse.
15:36He promised to look after Andre.
15:39Nothing. Not a visit. Not a single penny.
15:43What does Andre know?
15:45He's been told you're in Italy, modelling swimsuits.
15:49The MP, Mr Rogers and his wife, they've been very kind.
15:54Offered to take him to the country for a few days.
15:56Get him away from all this.
15:59But now, we might not need to.
16:02They've tannoyed the Under-Secretary of State at Ascot.
16:06The press heard it.
16:08Reporters camped out of the house.
16:10One from bloody New Zealand.
16:12Evening papers all saying the same thing.
16:15A last minute reprieve.
16:17And there's been money sent in by well-wishers.
16:20Enough for you and Andre to get away somewhere.
16:23A new life.
16:24Well, you'll never need to work again.
16:26Talk shows.
16:28After-dinners. Speeches.
16:30You're a flaming celebrity.
16:50There's hundreds of them.
16:55Campus Betty Ellis!
17:11Campus Betty Ellis!
17:24Hundreds of people have gathered this evening outside Holloway Prison in support of Mrs.
17:54Ruth Ellis, who is due to hang tomorrow morning for the murder of her lover, David Blakely.
17:59A nightclub hostess, Mrs. Ellis, was sentenced to death at the Old Bailey on the 21st of
18:03June this year for killing Mr. Blakely.
18:06Lawyers for Mrs. Ellis claim that new evidence has surfaced implicating an unnamed person
18:11and placing them at the scene of the crime.
18:14A newly appointed solicitor, Mr. Victor Mishkon, has submitted evidence to the Home Office.
18:23This heat, it's hellish.
18:27Let's get out of London, pack some things.
18:47It's nine o'clock, twelve hours until she hangs.
18:50Why aren't you out looking for Desmond Cusson?
18:53She shot him in the back, right? Point-blank range. An innocent bloke.
18:57Could have been any one of us. She deserves the bloody swing for it.
19:00Oh, shut up, Peter.
19:04We look for him, all right?
19:06There's no answer at Cusson's flat, and we've driven round the West End for hours.
19:10Probably given two men and half a day to search the whole of bloody London.
19:15Does it really seem like anyone wants him to be found?
19:24Lucia, where is he?
19:26Upstairs.
19:27Thanks.
19:29Desmond, do you know how we can find him?
19:33You know me, Jackie. I'm no gross.
19:36No police. They've given up.
19:40Please, tell me, Maurice, is he with one of your girls?
19:46She should have asked me.
19:49To take care of him, Blakely.
19:59I'd have taken pleasure in it.
20:02Ruth is in there, waiting to die, while you're here enjoying yourself.
20:10Down! Hurry up!
20:19I've got reporters chasing me night and day, customers deserting me,
20:24and you want me to grass up one of the only punters I've got left.
20:33Ruthie wanted everything.
20:35A big job, a big posh bloke, a big rock in her finger.
20:41She went too far, took too much.
20:46She ruined all of us.
20:54I know you're not a bad man.
20:57But you've done some bad things.
21:00To Ruth.
21:03To me.
21:06This is your chance to fix it. All of it.
21:10Help me find him.
21:13Please.
21:20Open the door, Desmond.
21:23There's no police here.
21:43You've been here all along.
21:48I've come here as a friend, to ask you to do the right thing.
21:51The police know you helped kill Blakely.
21:53You may not have pulled the trigger, but he is dead because of you.
21:57She's lying.
21:59To save her own skin. I don't blame her, but I...
22:02Nothing to do with any of it.
22:05You have one chance to save the woman you loved.
22:10She never loved me.
22:12Is that why you did it?
22:14To punish Ruth and David together?
22:17You knew she would be arrested.
22:20She came to you when she was desperate.
22:23You could have helped her. You should have helped her.
22:26But instead you gave a broken woman a loaded gun.
22:29You know, they haven't even told Andre yet about what is happening to his mother.
22:34But soon they will have to.
22:37You have to tell him that she isn't in Italy modelling swimsuits.
22:42That she's dead.
22:46Hanged.
22:49And they will not even be able to visit her grave.
22:53Because she will be buried with murderers in the prison pit.
22:56What you have done to that child is unforgivable.
23:00I told Ruth, he should have been at her mother's that day.
23:03Was Andre there?
23:06Did he see something?
23:10Well, make sure he gets this.
23:16We're leaving.
23:21Wait. He was...
23:31He's gone.
23:33Of course he has.
23:35I told the police, but he could be anywhere by now.
23:40He talked about Andre.
23:43Was Andre there when Desmond gave you the gun?
23:47Did he see Desmond give it to you?
23:51Right hand on first, left hand supporting.
23:55Legs shoulder width apart.
24:00Elbows straight, not locked.
24:02Now this little blade is the sight.
24:05Get that on your target.
24:07Then squeeze the trigger.
24:09Most importantly, don't hold your breath.
24:11Or you'll tense up.
24:13And you won't hit the target.
24:17Breathe.
24:21In and out.
24:24Nice and calm.
24:33I can't do it.
24:36Yes, you can.
24:54You see?
24:58I told you to wait in the car. Go back now!
25:04How much does he know?
25:06He knows enough.
25:08He's a witness.
25:10The police need evidence to support your statement.
25:14We thought only Desmond could give that, but Andre could.
25:17I won't. I will not use him like that.
25:19I will not ask that of him.
25:21I think he knows you're here.
25:24Of course he does.
25:28He's a smart boy. He doesn't believe that nonsense about swimsuits in Italy.
25:32Then let him talk to the police.
25:37If he gives his statement to the police and it fails,
25:44he will blame himself.
25:46But you still have a chance.
25:48If you ask him to do this,
25:52he needs to tell them and the police what he knows tonight.
26:04I won't be long.
26:10You will look after him.
26:12You promise.
26:13Whatever happens.
26:16I swear it.
26:47You're quite well there, dear.
26:49Yes, she's quite all right, thank you.
26:53Are you all right?
26:58I don't know.
27:03I'm here. I'm with you. I love you.
27:11I know.
27:17I don't think I can.
27:21Of course you can.
27:42Four bottles of light ale, please.
27:45Oh, and two packs of cigarettes.
27:50Come on, because we're having a party around the corner.
27:53Leave the poor girl alone.
27:55It would have been rude not to invite her.
27:57Leave the poor girl alone.
27:59David.
28:02David.
28:05David.
28:08Leave the poor girl alone.
28:09David.
28:11David.
28:23Jesus, Ruth, what are you...
28:25No, guys, she's gonna...
28:39Ruth, she's gonna...
29:01Get help. Someone get help.
29:05No.
29:09I won't be long.
29:15Why did you have to kill him?
29:30Yes?
29:34I found your statement this morning.
29:36It appears that another version was recorded, too, by the prison officer who sat with us.
29:41In his version, you ask Cussin for the gun.
29:45I didn't say that.
29:47I'm asking myself why they're focused on this version, why they might be favouring it.
29:53Because they want it all to be over.
29:55The protests, the noise, the fuss, the newspapers, the petitions.
29:59All these people talking about what a mess it is, it's an embarrassment.
30:01They want it over and done with.
30:03They have every reason to ignore what I told them.
30:05To say that Desmond's part doesn't matter, and they found it.
30:07They can't ignore it. There are legal procedures.
30:10Mr. Pickford was right all along.
30:12He said they wouldn't let me get away with it, and they won't.
30:16Right.
30:18No matter what anyone says or does now, it won't do anything.
30:24They are determined to put an end to this, and they will.
30:27Tomorrow at 9am.
30:30I want you to call my parents and say that Andre is going to go away with the MP, Mr. Rogers, and his wife has plans.
30:34You don't want him to make a statement to police?
30:36No, I want him out of London and away from here immediately. Please do it now.
30:40I will be thy maid.
30:42I will be thy maid.
30:54I will be thy maid.
30:56Thy kingdom come.
30:58Thy kingdom come.
31:00Mrs. Ellis?
31:02Make them stop.
31:04Quiet.
31:06I know.
31:08I want it to be over.
31:10Rose, come with me.
31:12I want it to be over.
31:14I'll break it. I'll break it.
31:30I'll break it.
31:32I'll break it.
31:34I'll break it.
32:00I thought you might like to finally take your beer privileges.
32:03Is it allowed out here?
32:06No.
32:08But what can they do to you?
32:25Thanks.
32:27Not that much.
32:30You might not believe this, but the last few weeks have been some of the best of my life.
32:36You've all been so kind to me.
32:39Calling me Mrs. Ellis.
32:42Three square meals a day.
32:44All those jam puddings.
32:50No screaming, no fighting, no men knocking on my door in the middle of the night.
32:57I really rather like it here.
33:27Can you put me through to the governor of Holloway Prison?
33:46Mrs. Ellis.
33:47You've come to tell me there's not going to be a reprieve.
33:51It's quite all right.
33:56It's quite all right.
33:58Promise.
34:07What time is it?
34:12It's...
34:14It's...
34:16What time is it?
34:20Two a.m.
34:24Seven hours then.
34:33Would you like to sit up together?
34:35I have some brandy in my office.
34:40Actually, I'd quite like to get some sleep if you don't mind.
35:11Philip, how long?
35:12I want to speak to the Home Secretary.
35:14I insist on speaking to him personally.
35:16The Home Secretary's made his position very clear.
35:19And what is that position?
35:20He says if she isn't hanged tomorrow, she never will be.
35:27I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
35:34As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
35:43I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
35:49As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
36:12I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
36:17As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
36:19I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
36:25As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
36:27I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
36:32As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
36:34I have practiced law for twenty years and until today I would not have thought it possible that it should be used by Englishmen in this way.
36:39As a fig leaf for an act of pure savagery.
36:57No more prisons, Markson.
36:59Can't say I'm sorry.
37:02Hardy Amy's.
37:05Spent my entire first wage from Carol's on it.
37:08It's lovely.
37:10My mother was horrified.
37:12Said I should have made do with rayon like everybody else.
37:15Probably should have made do with a lot of things.
37:18Little house in Basingstoke.
37:20Job in a typing pool.
37:23Week in Bognor with a fat husband once a year.
37:26Job in a typing pool.
37:28Week in Bognor with a fat husband once a year.
37:31I couldn't.
37:33I wanted everything I could get out of this life.
37:35Every drop.
37:44And I don't regret it.
37:49Not a single moment.
37:53Jacqueline!
37:57I'm sorry.
37:59I tried.
38:01They won't let me run the story in the newspaper.
38:03You need evidence?
38:05Of what Kassin did?
38:07I need something.
38:12When all this is over you talk to Andrei.
38:14Hassan.
38:27You're lovely.
38:29Thank you, Joy.
38:56Sorry.
39:18Sorry.
39:27Sorry.
39:41It will calm you.
39:43No, thank you.
39:53Charity Taylor.
39:56Charity Taylor.
40:27I'm so sorry, Mrs. Ellis.
40:29I just need a moment with the undersheriff.
40:38There's been a call from a Miss Holmes
40:40claiming to be the Home Secretary's office.
40:42A reprieve.
40:43I've tried to verify it.
40:45No one there knows anything about it.
40:51I'm sorry.
40:53Holmes?
40:56Must be.
40:58Mustn't it?
41:01This Miss Holmes?
41:05I've tried two private secretaries.
41:08No one's heard of her.
41:24I won't be needing these anymore.
41:36One minute to, ma'am.
41:38I can't make her wait.
41:40It's torture.
41:45I mean, it's got to be a hoax.
41:53Proceed.
42:03All right, lass. All right.
42:09Follow me.
42:24Don't worry, lass.
42:26I won't hurt you.
42:53I'm sorry.
43:23I'm sorry.
43:53I'm sorry.
44:23I'm sorry.
44:53I'm sorry.
45:24I'm sorry.
45:26I'm sorry.
45:28I'm sorry.
45:30I'm sorry.
45:32I'm sorry.
45:34I'm sorry.