Once Upon a Time in London is a 2019 British crime drama film directed by Simon Rumley, written by Rumley, Will Gilbey and Terry Stone, and starring Stone, Leo Gregory, Holly Earl, Geoff Bell and Jamie Foreman. The film is about the notorious London Gangsters Billy Hill and Jack Comer.
The film provides example of:
- Anachronism Stew: The band plays authentic jazz and swing music from the '30s and '40s. However, it then starts playing 1950s rockabilly... in 1945!
- Adolf Hitlarious: Billy and his gang wear Hitler masks while robbing a Royal Mail van.
- Ax-Crazy: Billy's henchman Mad Frankie Frazer is a Psycho Knife Nut with a Slasher Smile and a fondness for Cold-Blooded Torture.
- Black Comedy: Billy is told that Frankie is playing darts with their captive. On entering the room, we see The Dragon Frankie literally throwing darts into the bound victim's face For the Evulz.
- Cool Car: Jack picks up Billy in a brand new Chevrolet Fleetline when he is released from jail in 1945.
- Conveniently Cellmates: Billy befriends Frankie in solitary after admiring his work on the screws.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Deconstructed in a very brutal way to show that Being Evil Sucks. Billy is beaten, stabbed and shot before rising to the top, and Jack sees his crime empire collapse and is forced to go straight.
- Evil Versus Evil: Jack and Billy are equally sociopathic.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Billy may be a violent gangster, but he Wouldn't Hurt a Child. He criticises Psycho for Hire Frankie for butchering the three teenagers sent by Jack to murder him.
- Evil Is Hammy: Jack's rant while Chewing the Scenery:
"I'm the king of the underworld! Not Billy Hill! Me! Jack Spot!"
- Fame Through Infamy: Jack loves the notoriety of being described in the newspapers as the King of the Underworld. When Billy challenges his claim, Jack believes It's Personal and starts a gang war.
- The Fagin: Jack isn't above paying kids to take out his rivals (see below)
- Greaser Delinquents: Jack hires three Teddy Boys to murder Billy.
- Guns Are Useless: Due to the scarcity of pistols in interwar Britain, the gangsters favour knives, bludgeons and razors.
- Groin Attack: Jack gets drafted during the war, and within a few weeks is dishonorably discharged for kicking a drill instructor in the balls.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Affably Evil Jack loves a joke over a few beers... unless the joke is antisemitic in nature, in which case he will hand out a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to the Asshole Victim responsible.
- Historical Domain Character: Jack, Billy and Frankie were Real Life figures in the criminal underworld.
- Impersonating an Officer: Jack's crew carry out a daring Bank Robbery disguised as policemen.
- Kosher Nostra: Jack is Jewish, and takes part in the Battle of Cable Street.
- "Mister Sandman" Sequence: Done twice in the film. We'll Meet Again signifies the outbreak of the war as Jack is drafted, and Shake Rattle and Roll heralds the return to prosperity during The '50s.
- The Mob Boss Is Scarier: Subverted. The Don Billy is relaxed and friendly unless you want to kill him. His Eviler than Thou underling Mad Frankie Frazer is the most dangerous of the two.
- Mugging the Monster: The guards think Frankie is an easy target, but he turns out to be a Blood Knight who enjoys fighting the screws and being put in solitary.
- Police Brutality: The prison guards inflict brutal beatings on the convicts, but they meet their match in Mad Frankie who sees Rage Against the Legal System as an opportunity to assert his dominance in the First Rule of the Yard.
- Red Right Hand: Jack has a long scar beneath his eye.
- Siblings in Crime: Ronnie and Reggie Kray make an appearance as Billy announces his retirement.
- Sinister Switchblade: Frankie's preferred weapon in a Knife Fight.
- Torture Technician: Frankie comes up with some very creative ways to extract information from his victims.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: Jack is released from jail in 1939 for army service. He doesn't even finish basic training before he is kicked out for assaulting the Drill Sergeant Nasty.
- Villain Song: While Billy and his gang are beating and stabbing their enemies, Jenny Knowles sings the song East End:"I love those cheeky chaps from East London
They're always there with a smile
I love those cheeky chaps from East London
They always go the extra mile"- The verses have a Double Meaning as it's played when Billy and his cheeky chaps break into their rivals' hideout, Frankie gives one victim a Glasgow Grin, and gang don't stop beating their rivals until they are passed out.
- Wretched Hive: The East End is full of slum housing, derelict buildngs, factories and warehouses that the gangsters use to conceal their contraband.
