Ronnie and Reggie Kray remain the most notorious criminals in British history. Legends to many, their fame was built on a fearsome reputation and almost mythical celebrity-like status, but who were the real Kray twins? Now in a sensational new feature documentary The Krays: Kill Order, the true story of the men behind the myth is revealed; by those on the inside...

The Kray: Kill Order features interviews from some of the men who stood shoulder to shoulder with the fearsome brothers including Freddie Foreman, Frankie Fraser, Eddie Richardson, Albert Donoghue, Lenny Hamilton, Billy Frost, Jimmy Tippett Snr., Albert Chapman, Toby Von Judge, Maureen Flanagan and Bernard O’Mahoney plus some never heard before audio recordings.

I'm assuming that Frankie Fraser only appears briefly as he died in 2014 (which I'm assuming is when this documentary was recorded). Also Barbara Windsor is surprisingly absent, even though they manage to squeeze her in by having an old photo flash up on screen which has her in it.

The film is a fascinating insight into the Krays with quite a few surprising revelations although, the "Kill Order" of the title is one of the last things to be uncovered, as Freddie Foreman reveals that the Krays would have been assassinated if they hadn't been arrested. It was already on the cards, as the brothers were loose cannons.

It also reveals that there's a strong possibility that the Kray's mother had something to do with the death of Reggie's wife who is believed to have have committed suicide.

However, as a documentary it doesn't really introduce its interviewees in a way that puts them into historical context. Foreman, for example, served time for the murders of Frank "Mad Axeman" Mitchell and Tommy "Ginger" Marks, yet this is never revealed fully. This is more a documentary for those that are already familiar with all the major players, or who want to research them at a later date.

The presenter gives a rather odd to-camera interview on how he got to know the Kray brothers. You can see that he is repulsed by Reggie's well documented sexual abuse of young men. However, he doesn't word this very well and so (and this is especially the case if you aren't already aware of this abuse) it sounds like he just has a problem with homosexuals. I'm sure he didn't mean to come over all homophobic, especially not in these enlightened times, but that's how it sounds.

Extras include some audio interviews with the Krays talking about Judy Garland (28 sec); Ronnie's Driving (24 sec); The Green Dragon (23 sec); and The Fella Who Wanted to Shoot Me (14 sec).

7

Nick Smithson