‘That Emotional Moment’: The Execution of Ruth Ellis in Pierrepoint (2005)

Journal article


Robinson, M. 2020. ‘That Emotional Moment’: The Execution of Ruth Ellis in Pierrepoint (2005) . Journal of Popular Film and Television. 48 (2), p. 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2019.1682505
AuthorsRobinson, M.
Abstract

In 1955, Ruth Ellis became the last woman hanged in Britain. A 2003 appeal, which sought to revise her murder conviction to manslaughter, was dismissed on the grounds that “battered woman syndrome” was unknown at the time of her trial. In representing her hanging in slow motion, with an exchange of POV shots between Ellis and her executioner, Pierrepoint (2005) visualizes facets of Ellis’ contested legacy: the continued refusal to recognize the suffering of women caused by abusive men, and the extent to which Ellis’ conviction was shaped by prevailing cultural stereotypes which identified her as degenerate on grounds of her appearance and lifestyle. Pierrepoint recreates Ellis’ death but suggests her legacy remains “alive”: an ongoing injustice yet to be remedied.

KeywordsPierrepoint; Ruth Ellis; biopic; femininity; execution; hanging; Britain
Year2020
JournalJournal of Popular Film and Television
Journal citation48 (2), p. 90–102
PublisherRoutledge - Taylor and Francis
ISSN 0195-6051
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2019.1682505
Web address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.2019.1682505?journalCode=vjpf20
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online31 Aug 2022
Publication process dates
Accepted11 Oct 2019
Deposited04 Aug 2022
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https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/9812x/-that-emotional-moment-the-execution-of-ruth-ellis-in-pierrepoint-2005

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