Let Him Have It

This just wasn't right. A 16 year old is given a 10 year sentence for shooting and fatally wounding a police officer while his friend who was IN POLICE CUSTODY at the time of the shooting gets death by hanging. All because he was 19 at the time and shouted "let him have it." First, there is no malice aforethought to justify murder. He did not want the police officer to be killed; in fact after the officer was killed he told his friend to give up the gun and surrender. At MOST he could be faced with an involuntary manslaughter charge with up to 10 years in prison (maybe not in 1952 Europe). This film was shocking. I urge anyone who has any interest in the law to watch this film. It was amazing well done and kept to the point that the law is the law even when it is wrong.

The case of Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig is perhaps one of the most famous miscarriages of justice in the UK. 'Let Him Have It', directed by Peter Medak tells the whole story in full, right up to the terrible death of Bentley. The film is predominantly set in the year 1952. Derek Bentley, aged nineteen, has had a difficult life from the beginning. The film begins by telling us a little about Derek's early life. We see that he suffers from learning difficulties and epilepsy, and often falls prey to temptation, getting into crime and gangs. He is caught, and spends most of his teenage years in an approved school. The film then jumps forward a further four years, and we finally meet the main Derek, aged nineteen, played by Christopher Eccleston. He soon meets Christopher Craig, and joins him as a friend. Throughout the first half of the film, we follow Bentley as he is drawn into a life of petty crime. This leads up to the grand climax of the film, the famous break-in which eventually turned into a murder scene. What follows, is a long and emotional journey through the weeks after Bentley is sentenced to death. As part of the English GCSE syllabus, we have been watching this film as part of our media review project. I can't say I enjoyed it - it has a very depressing and upsetting plot line - but it was a very well made and interesting portrayal of the story.

A shocking portrayal of the use of the Death Penalty in the United Kingdom during the 1950's. A mentally unstable young man with epilepsy called Derek Bentley faces the gallows for a crime he did not commit, While the accomplice, Christopher Craig, who did fire the fatal shot, only serves time at Her Majesties Pleasure. In reality Christopher Craig only served 10 years while Derek Bentley had his life taken away. A gritty drama telling of Bentley and Craig's criminal exploits in South London shortly after the war.

This movie is one of the saddest pictures ever made. Made even more sad by the fact that this is based on a true story. I couldn't believe this was Christopher Eccleston's 2nd movie; I hadn't seen him in anything before JUDE. I'm utterly speechless to talk about this movie. I noticed someone commented saying this is like DEAD MAN WALKING; that movie does not compare to this. Bare in mind that LET HIM HAVE IT WAS MADE 4 years before DMW. I felt this one was much, much, much more rendering and mournful. God bless you Brits for making films on social content with such potency; American audiences could take a lesson from you: SCUM, LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, ALFIE, ...if, TRAINSPOTTING (best movie ever made)

In the 50's, in the post-war London, Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston) is a mentally retarded teenager with mentality of a child. He lives with his family and spends most of his time inside his room, with his cats, dogs and a turtle. When he buys a compact vinyl in a store with his sister, he befriends the delinquent teenager Chris Craig (Paul Reynolds), whose older brother is a notorious thief, and dresses like American gangsters. This friendship leads Derek to one of the most famous cases of unfair trial of the England history.

"Let Him Have It" is a 1991 film based on a true story of a mentally deficient nineteen-year-old teenager that was sentenced to the gallows in 1953 for a crime that he did not commit. The film shows manipulation of the testimonies, a strange behavior of the judge that gives directions to the jury and disregards the request of merci from the jury. The performances are top-notch, highlighting Christopher Eccleston, but this film is very unpleasant. In Brazil, "Let Him Have It" was released o VHS only and it was worthy watched it again after so many years. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Segredo de Uma Sentença" ("The Secreto of One Sentence")