01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

[ Woman vocalising ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ Door opens, closes ]

[ Keys jingle ]

♪♪

I want to look my best...

for David.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ Camera shutters clicking ]

[ Indistinct shouting ]

♪♪

Bickford: The defence rests on
a single word... provocation.

And we all know that's risky.

Stevenson: Not a single applicable
precedent in an English m*rder trial.

Blakely beat Ruth
black and blue.

He humiliated her, took her
for every penny she had.

I believe, if we can show
that, then this isn't m*rder.

It's manslaughter.

You must get the
Crown's witnesses

to reveal what they
know... like Cussen,

who by all rights should
be a-a witness for defence.

They may have got
to him, somehow,

may have some rabbit in a hat.

You must push him in the cross.

Well, if that's
all, Mr. Bickford.

♪♪

Ruth, this is Mr. Stevenson,
QC, Lead Counsel.

He'll take you through
the defence strategy.

I just want those malicious
snobs to pay for what they did.

Malicious snobs?

The Findlaters.

If it weren't for them,
David would still be alive.

Dr. Whittaker's theory...

the effects of jealousy
on hysterical women.

I think we should lean on it.

Ruth isn't hysterical.

She shot Blakely because
he was unfaithful.

You heard her... her
anger at the Findlaters

because they tried to
tempt him with other women.

She was consumed
by sexual jealousy,

which provoked her
uncontrollably to m*rder.

She was provoked by
Blakely's violence.

She'd miscarried a child.

She has hardly mentioned that.

Because she's traumatised.

It's a question of what
the jury will understand.

[ Door opens, closes ]

You should never have
let her bleach her hair.

Does she look like a
beaten woman to you?

♪♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

♪♪

♪♪

Man: Blonde tart!

♪♪

Ooh! God, hold it still,
for Christ's sake!

Oi! Stop looking
up her skirt, you!

- Vicki!!
- Hello.

- Hello.
- Hello.

What do you think?
A bit vulgar?

Bloody ridiculous. I love it.

[ Vicki laughs ]

Been reading all about
you in the gossip columns.

Oh, yes, snotty
b*stards can't believe

a girl from Staines
could marry a prince.

There's a revolution
coming, girls.

Class and what school you went
to... no one'll give a toss,

long as you know how
to have a good time.

Look at you and David.

- Oh, yes, huh?
- Ooh!

Mm. What's he doing here?

He's restful, compared to David.

Hm.

One of those who
just wants a cuddle?

It's not like that.
We haven't actually...

He probably follows
you upstairs,

watches through a
crack in the door.

- Creepy old b*stard.
- Stop! Shh! You're terrible!

Someone's coming up.

- Ooh!
- That'll be David. Alright.

Everyone, positions, quickly!

Humphreys: Mrs. Ellis is
a woman of 28, divorced,

and the story you are
going to hear is this...

that in 1954 and 1955,

she was having simultaneous
love affairs with two men,

David Blakely, the deceased,
and another man called Cussen,

whom I shall call before you.

Blakely was trying to
break off the connexion,

and the accused woman
was angry at this,

even though she had
another lover at the time.

She therefore took a loaded g*n,

found David, and shot him by
emptying that revolver at him.

[ g*nsh*t fires ]

Now, you are not here in the
least concerned with adultery

or sexual misconduct.

You are not trying
her for immorality...

but for m*rder.

- Surprise!
- Surprise!

Oh, aren't you sweet?

I'm so sorry, darling.

David asked me to let you
know he can't make it.

He's tied up with work.

Well, it's about time
he bloody did some. Hmm?

Jackie: More cake for us.

♪♪

Carole: Oh, darling.
Look, I'm sorry.

I'm sure if he'd realised
the effort you'd gone to...

We both know he's not
working. Were you with him?

Carole: [ Exhales
sharply ] Of course not.

Look, David's engaged to
be married to Mary Dawson.

He's been living here
with me for months.

You've been a lovely
friend to him.

Bless you.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Bottle unscrews ]

Man: The prosecution
calls Desmond Cussen.

♪♪

[ Sighs ]

♪♪

Give you a hand clearing up?

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Humphreys: You had known
the accused, Mrs. Ellis,

for around two years?

Did you become a
close friend of hers?

Yes.

You will not mind if
we use plain words.

Were you her lover?

For a short time, yes.

On Sunday, the tenth of April,
the day of the alleged m*rder,

did she and her son
spend most of the day

at your flat with you?

Desmond: Yes.

Humphreys: That evening, did you
drive her back to Egerton Gardens?

Yes.

Humphreys: About what time?

Er, about 7:30.

About 7:30 on
the Sunday night,

and that is the
last you saw of her?

♪♪

♪♪

Yes.

♪♪

Thank you.

They're trying to convict
her of immorality.

That's why they've
called Cussen.

They want the jury to
see it in the flesh.

He instructed them not to
consider sexual misconduct.

And that's why he raised
it, to draw attention to it.

Judge Havers: Mr. Stevenson?

Stevenson: [ Clears throat ]

Mr. Cussen...

were you very much in love
with this young woman?

♪♪

♪♪

Yes.

Stevenson: At the time, you
were begging the defendant

to marry you if she could?

[ Georgina crying in distance ]

Do you need to go to her?

George wants to take her.

Desmond: George, your husband?

Some rich, childless colleague
of his, a woman dentist,

wants Georgina to go
and live with her...

wants to adopt her.

George says he'll give me
a divorce if I say yes.

You don't need to give
up your child, Ruth.

Let me look after you all.

Marry me.

Or don't marry me.

I don't care.

What about David?

Oh, forget him.

I can give you
everything that you need.

Just let me be with you.

Please God, let me be with you.

Stevenson: Have you ever
seen marks or bruises on her?

[ Sighs ]

Yes.

Stevenson: Were
they bad bruises?

Yes.

I do not want to
press you for details,

but how often did you see
that sort of mark on her?

[ Sighs ]

Must be on... half
a dozen occasions.

♪♪

Thank you, my Lord.

Judge Havers: Thank
you, Mr. Cussen.

You may step down.

♪♪

♪♪

I heard two bangs... shots.

Humphreys: And then
what did you see?

I saw David lying on the ground

and Mrs. Ellis pointing
a g*n into his back.

Why did you have to k*ll him?

♪♪

♪♪

No questions.

Leslie Davies, Detective
Chief Inspector, my Lord.

Humphreys: You saw the
accused woman detained

at Hampstead Police Station?

Davies: I did, my Lord.

Did you form any impression
of her emotional condition

at the time of the arrest?

I did, my Lord.

I was most impressed by
the fact she seemed very...

...composed.

♪♪

No questions.

[ Door closes ]

Why aren't you
cross-examining them?

I didn't see there was
anything useful to be added.

He broke her down
piece by piece.

You must get Findlater to...
to... to reveal what he knows,

what he and his
wife saw her suffer.

Mr. Bickford, my
job is to show

what made the accused
so morbidly jealous

that she was provoked to k*ll.

Now, if Blakely was
merely a nasty thug,

she'd hardly mind if he went off
with another woman, would she?

It won't work.

As a defence, it's not enough.

- I know who gave her the g*n.
- [ Sighs ]

She didn't carry out
this crime alone.

She instructed me
not to mention it,

but we must overrule her,
in her own best interest.

Keep your voice down,
for Christ's sake.

Drag someone else into it now,

and it becomes premeditated
conspiracy to m*rder.

No hope of manslaughter.

What if she was
persuaded, coerced even?

We have a defence!

She was provoked by
uncontrollable sexual jealousy,

and you should never breach
your client's confidence again.

Is that understood?

Yes, Mr. Stevenson.

Man: The defence calls
Anthony Findlater.

I swear by almighty God that
the evidence I shall give

shall be the truth,
the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth.

♪♪

♪♪

-Andre: [ Imitates airplane ] -Carole:
David, darling. Hello, you two.

Georgina: Give it
here! It's my turn!

- Carole: Perfect timing.
- Oh, no. Watch out.

- Carole: Anthony, darling.
- Anthony: Carole, my love.

[ Conversation
continues indistinctly ]

David, how are you?

[ Conversation
continues indistinctly ]

I'm so sorry...
about last night.

I was humiliated, David,
in front of everyone,

by your friend, Carole.

Yes, well, I think
she was a bit upset.

Why?

I told her I was breaking
it off with Mary.

I'm not marrying someone just
because they approve of her.

I don't care what they think.

I don't care what
any of them think.

I want to be with you.

Well, poor Mary.

You might have chosen a
better day than your birthday,

you heartless b*stard.

[ Chuckles ]

I wondered if I might get
an advance on my wages.

Been sponging again, has he?

Gonna have to start charging
you rent on the flat.

You can't do that.

That flat is a place of
business, not a love nest.

You think he'll make you happy?

I'm not asking him to leave.

Rent will be £12 a week then.

♪ I still believe ♪

♪ We were meant for each other ♪

What's this?

The children are asleep,

and dinner will be
served in five minutes.

♪ That you're mine
and no other ♪

What are we having?

The only thing I
know how to cook...

egg and soldiers.

- Ah.
- Nanny taught me.

Course she did.

And I always serve
my boiled eggs...

with Pol Roger.

[ Chuckles ]

♪ Our love... ♪

What will your mother think

about you breaking
it off with Mary?

[ Sighs ]

Not very happy, I
shouldn't think.

Hm.

She likes to pretend
we're a model family,

which is...

frankly, delusional.

Your parents divorced?

[ Inhales sharply ] Mm.

I was 11.

What happened?

Er, my father had an affair...

...with a waitress half his age.

And she got pregnant,
had an ab*rtion,

and... she died.

Christ.

They accused him of
procuring the drugs.

You know, he was a GP.

They tried him for m*rder.

He was acquitted.

The judge said there
was no case to answer.

Yeah, he went back to
his medical practise,

his... his golf,

but our family...

it was poisoned.

I'm so sorry.

[ David breathing raggedly ]

Are these... love bites?

Who? Who is she?

David: Jealousy doesn't
suit you, darling.

For God's sake, Carole?

David: She's married
to my best friend.

Which is exactly why
you'd both do it.

David: You've got it in
for her, haven't you?

Because you're an imitation,
and she's the real thing.

When you're cross the
accent slips, darling.

I used to think your
sort had manners!

- What a fool I was!
- [ Door closes ]

[ Birds chirping ]

[Scoffs] There's nothing
going on with me and David,

hasn't been for years.

You expect me to believe that,
the way you are with him?

Both of you, actually.

- Now look here...
- Stay out of this, Ant.

Take her.

[ Baby cries ]

You're like leeches,
both of you,

the way you follow him
around, fawning over him.

It's em... embarrassing.

How dare you come to my
house with my child here?

Now you might have dragged David
into your seedy, little world,

but you will not drag me.

And to talk about leeches?

You have been a parasite on
David since the day you met him,

thinking you could drag
yourself up in the world,

drag your whole
squalid family up.

David is naive. I'm not.
His friends are not.

We know what you're up to.

It is not... It
is not like that.

And you know what he's
like. You know what he does.

[ Groans ]

He never did it to me.

This is of your own
making, Ruth... all of it.

And you will be stopped
before you destroy David, too.

Sooner or later, I
will make him see

who and what you are...

that you are...

well, a predator, and
this is all a trap.

Then you will have my
blood on your hands.

Don't come here again.

Stevenson: Mr. Anthony
Findlater...

in the days before
Mr. Blakely's death,

while he was staying with you,

you received several telephone
calls from Mrs. Ellis.

Yes.

Stevenson: Was it quite plain
to you when you spoke to her

on the telephone that she was
in a desperate state of emotion?

Er, no.

Stevenson: Did you observe
no indication that she was

a very desperate
woman at the time?

David, I know you're in there!

David!

No.

Stevenson: Was it obvious to
you that she was in a state

of considerable
emotional disturbance?

Anthony: I didn't
get that impression.

She might've been.

Stevenson: On the Saturday
night, did you and Blakely

come out of the house
with a young woman?

I believe she was your nanny.

I do not remember.

You will appreciate what
is being suggested...

that there is some reason
for Ruth Ellis being jealous

of some new woman on the scene.

I did not even know that Mrs.
Ellis knew we had a nanny.

♪♪

♪♪

Mr. Stevenson?

No further questions.

Ruth: So that's it?

That's all they're
going to ask him?

Put Carole up there.

It's... It's too late.

Put Carole in the witness box

and ask her about the weeks
leading up to David's death.

Ask her what she did to my baby.

♪♪

What did she do?

We can't call Carole,
but you can tell them.

This jury... they...
they want your blood.

To them, you're...
you're not a-a person,

you're a character in a story,

a cold-blooded murderess

in a cheap thriller
they've read before.

And they know the
ending. Change the story.

Give them a different ending.

Make them want to
save your life.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Stevenson: David Blakely was
living with you in a flat

which you occupied
above the Little Club?

Yes.

Stevenson: Were you at
that time doing your best

to build up the, er,
business of the club?

My one concern was to
build up the business,

which had been a
failure beforehand.

And at that time, were you
very much in love with him?

♪♪

Oh!

♪♪

Did you tell him that you wanted

to break off the
relationship with him?

David!

Yes.

Stop. Stop.

I want you to go.

I want you to pack your
things and go tonight.

[ Fabric tearing ]

Stop! God, it's not even the
cheating and the violence.

That's nothing new.

It's that you let
those malicious snobs

think that I'm the one
taking advantage of you!

Stevenson: How did he
treat you physically?

I want you to leave! I
want you to get out now!

He was violent on occasions.

I found this...

in your bedside table.

It's his.

Isn't it?

[ Ruth screaming ]

Stevenson: And how did that
violence manifest itself?

Ruth: He only used to hit
me with his fists and hands.

But I bruise very easily.

[ Sobbing quietly ]

♪♪

What effect did all
this have on you?

I began to feel ill
about the whole thing.

[ Sobbing quietly ]

Stevenson: While this was
going on, what was happening

to your own earnings
at the club?

David?

Ruth: They were deteriorating,
and so was the business.

Morris: Don't you ever come down
here looking like that again.

No wonder this place
is bloody empty!

♪♪

David! David!

David, step away from the road!

I'll do it, I swear!

If you leave me, I'll do it.

David, step away from
the road, please! Please!

Mike: Now, all this time you
and he were living at the club,

had he any money?

Ruth: I had to give him
money all the time...

bought his clothes and things.

I paid his drinks
bills and things.

My stepfather's
threatening to cut me off!

It'll be over for me!

The racing.

There's nothing else I can do.
It's not like I haven't tried.

I'm just... I'm just useless!

- Alright.
- [ Horn honking ]

- My father's inheritance is gone!
- It's alright. It's alright.

-My... My family are gone! My mother hardly speaks to me!
-It's alright. It's alright.

Stevenson: How did David
then behave toward you?

He was possessive and jealous.

He seemed... I thought
he seemed devoted to me.

Please don't leave me.

[ Breathing raggedly ]

Look at you.

What happened to your
feelings from then on?

He was a very likeable person,
and I got very attached to him.

Marry me.

I'm already married.

Then divorce him.

- What about your family?
- I don't care about them.

I will never have any
happiness unless you marry me.

Stevenson: This is a photograph
that Blakely gave you.

Yes?

♪♪

Yes.

Stevenson: Did he write
on it in your presence?

Yes.

"To Ruth.

All my love.

David.'

[ Sobbing quietly ]

My Lord, I wonder if
she might sit down?

Judge Havers: Yes, certainly.

I'm quite alright.

Judge Havers:
Do, by all means.

I don't need to sit down.

Stevenson: And then, two
weeks before David's death,

did you find that
you were pregnant?

Yes.

Stevenson: What
happened about it?

Well, we got into a fight
and David got very violent.

[ Thudding ]

[ Gasping ]

He thumped me in the tummy.

I do not know if that's
what caused the miscarriage

or not, though.

[ Spectators gasp ]

[ Man clears throat ]

You, er...

had a...

a miscarriage?

Yes.

[ Man clears throat ]

And we've heard the evidence
about you taking a revolver

and getting a cab to
Hampstead and sh**ting him.

Is that right?

♪♪

♪♪

Quite correct.

Why did you do it?

I don't really know,
quite seriously.

I was just very upset.

Judge Havers: "I do not
really know why I shot him."

Is that right?

Yes.

♪♪

♪♪

Mrs. Ellis...

when you fired that
revolver at close range

into the body of David Blakely,

what did you intend to do?

It is quite obvious, when I shot
him, I intended to k*ll him.

[ Spectators
gasping, murmuring ]

♪♪

I hope they
appreciated the suit.

It's real Astrakhan, you know.

What was that?

What was what?

Bickford: In the witness box.

You looked embarrassed.
Y-You looked bored.

It became perfectly clear none
of this is going to do any good.

What were you going to tell them
about what the Findlaters did,

about the miscarriage?

Thank you for securing
my hair appointment.

I know the prison were
rather difficult about it.

I think they thought I was
going to drink the bleach.

No chance, not at least
before I got my roots done.

Oh, for God's sake, Ruth!

Make these people understand
what you've been through!

Tell them about whatever
it was the Findlaters did,

or... or tell me, at least.

No one wants to hear
about my insides.

The jury don't, Stevenson
certainly doesn't,

and you... I know you think
you do, but you don't.

No one wants to hear
about women bleeding

and what men do to
make them bleed.

It's all a little bit
embarrassing for everyone.

It's certainly not going to
get me off a m*rder charge.

They believed Ant, you see...

and his lies.

We should have told the police
about Cussen's involvement.

You've perjured yourself
in the witness box,

and I allowed it.

♪♪

You've condemned yourself.

[ Knocking on door ]

[ Door opens ]

[ Door closes ]

Humphreys: So, what
follows, Dr. Whittaker,

as to the effect of infidelity

by the male partner
on the female mind?

Well, women are more prone to
hysterical reactions than men.

They are inclined to lose some
of their inhibitory capacity

and solve their
problems on a more...

primitive level.

[ Georgina crying ]

♪♪

George Ellis, please.

Stevenson: In your
view, had the accused

considered the consequences
of what she was doing?

Well, I asked her if she
thought about her children,

and she said she did not
think of them at all.

[ Spectators
gasping, murmuring ]

♪♪

Alright. Now, you be
good for Daddy, okay?

♪♪

I'll call tonight to see
how she's settling in.

Give it a few days, eh? My
solicitor will be in touch.

About the divorce proceedings.

♪♪

Judge Havers: Thank
you, Dr. Whittaker.

You may step down.

That is my case, my Lord.

Judge Havers: Before you address
the jury, it would be as well

if we had a short
discussion as to the law.

You may release the jury
until tomorrow morning.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

I gather you wish
to address the jury

as to the question
of provocation.

I do, my Lord.

There has to be some
conduct, has there not,

on the part of the deceased man

which caused this
unfortunate result?

What is the evidence of
conduct on Blakely's part

which is considered to
amount to provocation?

May I be absolutely frank
about that, my Lord?

The answer is that [scoffs]
there is no authority...

no authority that
has ever considered

the effects on the female
mind of infidelity.

Judge Havers: Does your
proposition come to this...

if a man associates with a woman

and then leaves her suddenly

and she is a jealous woman,
emotionally disturbed,

and goes out and shoots him,
that is sufficient grounds

for the jury to reduce the
crime of m*rder to manslaughter?

[ Spectators
gasping, murmuring ]

[ Sighs ]

♪♪

Mr. Bickford?

A single day to hear all the
evidence in a m*rder trial?

Why did nobody
ask about the g*n?

I'm sorry?

Well, I know she lied
about how she got it.

There was never any g*n left
at the club as security.

I told the police, but
nobody seemed to care.

And what about that black
cab that was never found?

You know Desmond Cussen used
to drive a black cab for fun?

- Is it him?
- What?

- Jackie: Did... Did he help her?
- I don't know.

♪♪

♪♪

Desmond: It's not true, is it?

It's not too late.
You can get her back.

The... The three of
you... you can all...

live with me.

I know you think
you can save me.

But it's just a sweet fantasy

to distract from
the sordid truth,

which is that you
are a lonely drunk,

and I'm a hostess whose
company you pay for.

Desmond: Why are you
doing this, Ruth?

Because I love him.

I will save you.

Whether you want me to or not.

[ Exhales deeply ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

It is my duty as a Judge,
as a matter of law,

to direct the jury that
the evidence in this case

does not support a
verdict of manslaughter

on the grounds of provocation.

Stevenson: My Lord, in
view of that ruling,

it does not seem that
it would be proper

for me to address
the jury at all.

It does not seem to me that
there is any issue left

on which you could
address the jury.

Stevenson: No, my Lord.

I am obliged.

In the circumstances, my Lord,
I have nothing more to say.

♪♪

Members of the jury...

according to our law, it
is no defence for a woman

who is charged with the
m*rder of her lover,

to prove she was a jealous woman

and had been badly
treated by her lover,

and after he left
her without warning,

she became furious with him and
formed an intention to k*ll him.

None of these facts,
individually or collectively,

afford any defence.

Shame on you!

All of you!

Get off me!

[ Speaking indistinctly
in French ]

[ Door opens, closes ]

[ Horn honking ]

Man: Hampstead Police Station.

I need to talk to you about
Ruth Ellis and Desmond Cussen.

[ Footsteps approaching ]

Jury's back.

Bickford: 14 minutes.

Members of the jury, are you
agreed upon your verdict?

We are.

Man: Do you find Ruth Ellis
guilty or not guilty of m*rder?

Foreman: Guilty.

[ Spectators
gasping, murmuring ]

♪♪

[ Sobbing ]

Man: Prisoner at the bar, you
stand convicted of m*rder.

Have you anything to say

before judgement of death
is passed according to law?

♪♪

♪♪

Ruth Ellis...

the jury has convicted
you of m*rder.

In my view, it was the
only verdict possible.

You will be taken
hence to the prison

in which you were last confined

and from there to a
place of execution,

where you will suffer
death by hanging

and thereafter your body buried

within the precincts
of the prison,

and may the Lord have
mercy on your soul.

Man: Amen.

Thanks.

♪♪

♪♪

Ah, that went very well.

Thank you, Edward. It
went better than expected.

- See you outside.
- Thank you.

♪♪

Is that man your Junior
Treasury Counsel?

That's correct.

Edward Cussen?

Is he related to Desmond Cussen?

Mm.

They are cousins.

[ Chuckles ]

That's why you called Desmond
as a witness, isn't it?

To protect him from
other accusations,

such as conspiracy to m*rder.

Do you know much about
Buddhism, Mr. Bickford?

I've practised it for 30 years,

and one of its teachings is
that we are all responsible

for our own liberation.

Ruth Ellis Knows this.

No one else... no judge
or jury, no friend...

has put her in her
present position.

It is her own actions
that have done so.

That is karma.

♪♪

I shall be starting the
reprieve case immediately.

Well, we did the best
we could for her.

No. No, we did not.

This whole process has
been a disgrace, a sham.

I'm going to fight for
her to be reprieved...

do things differently, as
they should have been done.

Desmond's cousin is in the same
chambers as Christmas Humphreys.

He's a bloody silk.

You knew... about Desmond.

Edward Cussen and I worked
together during the w*r.

Jesus Christ.

You were all in it together.

[ Chuckles ] Of course.

That's why you
didn't cross-examine.

They asked you to protect him.

Stevenson: No.

No, they didn't.

Look, dragging somebody else
into it wouldn't have helped...

wouldn't have helped at all.

A woman like her...

they were never
gonna let her off.

She deserves clemency
for what she's suffered,

and I will fight for that.

[ Door opens ]

You're to be moved.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ Lock engages ]

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