MovieChat Forums > Longford (2007) Discussion > Did I miss something?

Did I miss something?

posted 11 years ago by Clyburn
4 replies | jump to latest

When Longford (and later, his wife) were campaigning for Hindley's parole knowing she was involved in 3 child murders, they were public and outspoken and reasonably proud of themselves.

Then the info comes out about 2 (??) more murders and it becomes a matter of shame and embarrassment.

In my mind, the principle is still the same. You're campaigning for a mass child murderer either way. Do you believe in it or not?

Was there some detail of the new murders that I missed that made them worse?

I understand that the legal situation changes - but I'm just talking about Longford's reaction. I get that he would suffer some embarrassment and look like a gullible sap for falling for a lie. But is that really the tipping point here? She was a mass murderer - which he can proudly work with - but she is a liar - and that's the game-changing scandal for the guy?

(Certainly the fact that the Longfords didn't acquaint themselves with the contents of the audio tape sooner is to their great discredit, but it doesn't have anything to do with the revelation of more bodies. If I'm not mistaken, that was evidence at the original trial.)

I felt like the movie was trying to manipulate me into some emotional reaction that the facts didn't warrant. Or did I miss something?

[–] Brennan-8 11 years ago

Before he went public with his campaign for her to be considered for parole, Longford asked her very gravely if she had told him absolutely everything about her case. He specifically said he didn't want anything additional coming out that would put him in a bad light. Hindley claimed she had told him everything. She lied to him.

[–] Princess_Ashmi 11 years ago

Yes, as Brennan said it was more to do with the fact she lied. If she was lying about this then what else was she lying about? She could quite easily have been lying about every single thing shes told him in her defence.

Ashmi any question

[–] crissttigaldames 9 years ago

Or maybe what bothered him was that it made him look bad. Sometimes it's as simple as that, even with people who support some sort of cause. I've known the type.

[–] Thats_Racist 9 years ago

He asked her to tell him the complete truth and she told him that she had.

When the further murders came to light and Longford realised that she had lied to him it changed everything.

Had she lied about her role in the crimes? Her newfound faith? Her wish to be forgiven? He had to accept that everything she had told him could be a manipulation.