THE KRAYS: GANGSTERS BEHIND BARS Review – An Insightful Examination Of London’s Most Notorious Gangsters
Starring Steve Wraith, Charles Bronson, Maureen Flanagan, Dave Courtney, John Altman
Directed by Richard John Taylor
As someone who was only vaguely familiar with the story of the Kray twins, I have to admit that I found the documentary The Krays: Gangsters Behind Bars to be an engrossing and insightful examination of London’s two most notorious gangsters. But make no mistake, unlike many other accounts of the Krays, this is not a film that glamorizes a criminal lifestyle in any way, because in real life, crime never pays.
The main interviewee throughout the documentary is Steve Wraith, a successful writer and actor who grew up idolising the Krays. As a boy, he even had pictures of the notorious gangsters displayed throughout his room alongside posters of rock stars and soccer players. Being such a hardcore fan of the twins, Wraith eventually decided to write a letter to Reginald Kray, who was incarcerated at the time, before visiting him in prison. The two then developed a strong and friendly relationship over the years, with Wraith also occasionally visiting Ronald Kray, who was being detained at Broadmoor Hospital. As well as becoming friends, Wraith also became a kind of business partner with the Krays, and he even entered into an agreement with them which allowed him to sell shirts featuring their likenesses.
Wraith has to be commended for his honesty, as he openly admits during his interviews that he was a naive young man who did not know what he was getting into. It was only when the brothers began to demand a share of the profits from so-called Krays-themed ‘charity’ events they told him to organise in their names that he began to realise that doing business with a pair of notorious convicted gangsters may not have been such a good idea after all. In other words, you should make sure you trust a person completely before embarking on any kind of financial endeavour with them, something Wraith clearly learned the hard way.
The convicted criminal known as Charles Bronsan, who was played by Tom Hardy in the acclaimed 2008 film Bronson, was also interviewed throughout The Krays: Gangsters Behind Bars, although his dialogue had to be recorded over the phone as he is still incarcerated in HMP Wakefield. For someone who has now spent over four decades of his life behind bars, Bronson still managed to come across as being relatively sharp and articulate, but there was something unsettling about how he describes the Krays as having the “hearts of lions”. However, Bronson also delivers some words of wisdom throughout the film, with his line “One day in prison is one day too long. One day you’ll never get back” being particularly memorable.
However, as well as describing the more notorious details about the Krays, Gangsters Behind Bars did not shy away from highlighting the human side to the brothers. For instance, due to their old school traditional values, neither of them ever used profanity around women, something which is highlighted in great detail. A former model and lifelong friend of the Krays named Maureen Flanagan even mentions how Reginald told her companion to leave after he accidentally dropped the F-bomb while the two were visiting him in prison.
Similarly, we also learn how Ronald used to be allowed to order an expensive meat pie into his psychiatric cell every Friday, which he would always generously share with other patients in Broadmoor. Perhaps the most shocking detail from the film was how Ronald absolutely despised the convicted killer Peter Sutcliffe, who had been dubbed the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ by the British press. The two were both incarcerated in Broadmoor, with Reginald not allowing any of his visitors to sit anywhere near Sutcliff whenever they happened to be in the day room together. It was suggested by the interviewees that Ronald had also ordered the numerous attacks which on Sutcliff by other inmates, although this obviously could not be confirmed. The Krays certainly were not good people, but they still clearly lived by their own sense of morality.
It must also be said that Gangsters Behind Bars was critical of the way in which the Krays have become icons of British culture over the decades, with alleged former gangster Dave Courtney even proclaiming that the brothers would never have achieved their legendary status had they been released and people had been able to see them as ageing men with health issues rather than mythical figures. Keep in mind that these were two individuals who were ultimately nothing more than violent, murderous thugs, so it really does not speak highly of our society to know how they were idolised and viewed as popular celebrity icons.
Overall, Gangsters Behind Bars teaches us that crime never pays, with the last few minutes being dedicated to describing how there is no reward for breaking the law and how anyone feeling attracted towards a criminal lifestyle should immediately stop and reconsider the path they want to go down. Despite being a documentary about London’s most notorious gangsters, this is not a film which idolises crime in any way, and hopefully it will discourage viewers from even considering breaking the law to earn a quick buck. If there’s one thing you should take away from this documentary, it’s that even the Krays advised people not to follow in their footsteps. An honest living will always be more rewarding than a life of crime, which is truly something we should all do well to remember.
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THE KRAYS: GANGSTERS BEHIND BARS
Summary
The Krays: Gangsters Behind Bars presents an honest and insightful picture of the two notorious brothers without romanticising them or idolising them for their crimes, making it one of the most genuine documentaries on the Krays you’re ever likely to see.
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