Ex-gangster stars in LCC film short

by Harriet Byzcok

A short film starring a former London gang member made by students and alumni from the London College of Communication, has reached the semi-final of a national competition.

The film, A Man Alone, features ex-gangster ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser, a member of the notorious Richardson gang who, along with the Kray twins, dominated London in the 1960s.

The film is one of 14 semi-finalists in the ‘Fourteen Islands Film Challenge’, and is competing for the chance to win a trip to film in the Bahamas.

The director of the film Cat Taylor, a BA Film and Video graduate, described the piece as fictitious, but based on many biographies.

She said the story explores: “How much is chance and coincidence, and how much is integrity?”

Explaining the plot, Taylor said it centres around the character of George, who accidentally kills his beloved wife Mary.

Competition

Ageing gangster Martin, played by Fraser, begins to exploit George financially, but the story twists as George begins to realise he just wants his wife back. 

Fraser, who is currently having a film made about his life, told Arts London News why he agreed for the role, saying: “It’s an interesting role that I don’t mind doing; I love Elephant and Castle. There never used to be universities in South London - apart from borstals (rehabilitation centres for ‘delinquent’ boys) of course - it’s good to see universities there.”

LCC student and assistant director Nikolai Cedraeus described working with Fraser: “It’s pretty amazing; he’s a legend of the UK gangster underground in a way, so it’s pretty exciting and it’s nice to have him down.”

Speaking about the filming, Chris Bearne, who plays George, said: “Everyone knows what they’re doing, which isn’t always the case, and the enthusiasm is enormous.”

Producer of the film Rose Hancock, who has recently worked on films in India, spoke of her plans for the Bahamas if the group win the competition: “We’d like to do something that isn’t too obvious. They have a mermaid cove with underwater passageways. Kat’s done previous underwater work, so it should be a good experience.”

Taylor said that her inspiration came from: “Watching a lot of dramas, I began to think about how horrible it is on TV when someone kills somebody; they only think of themselves. The idea behind it, was to make it different.” 

She added: “LCC really prepared me for the industry and working with actors.”