6.2
Two young women arrive in London to make it big in show business, and become corrupted by money and fame in the process.
Rita Tushingham
Brenda
Lynn Redgrave
Yvonne
Michael York
Tom Wabe
Anna Quayle
Charlotte Brillig
Irene Handl
Mrs Gimble
Ian Carmichael
Bobby Mome-Rath
Jeremy Lloyd
Jeremy Tove
Toni Palmer
Toni
George A. Cooper
Irishman
Peter Jones
Dominic
Arthur Mullard
Cafe Boss
Ronnie Stevens
1st Waiter
John Clive
Sweeney Todd Manager
David Lodge
Caretaker
Murray Melvin
1st Exquisite
Paul Danquah
2nd Exquisite
Sydney Bromley
Tramp
Mike Lennox
DJ
Cardew Robinson
Custard Pie Vicar
Amy Dalby
Demolished Old Lady
Valerie Leon
Tove's Secretary
Geoffrey Hughes
Builder
Veronica Carlson
Actress at Movie Premiere
Howard Marion-Crawford
Hall Porter (uncredited)
David Essex
Beatnik (uncredited)
Bruce Lacey
Clive Sword
Ray Mackin
2nd Waiter
Sam Kydd
Workman in Café
Brenda Kempner
Director
Desmond Davis
Writer
George Melly
November 26, 2024
6
The timid "Brenda" (Rita Tushingham) and her more brash mate "Yvonne" (Lynn Redgrave) arrive in London determined to make it big. Pretty quickly, though, they find themselves at odds with each other as success visits the latter whilst the former ends up working in a greasy spoon. Several food fights later, they realise that perhaps it's better to work together, but after some brief success fleecing the wealthy - like the posh "Mone-Rath" (Ian Carmichael) a real opportunity presents itself. "Yvonne" wins £10,000 on one of those "you have to laugh" television shows where they demolish your house as a surprise for you coming home from work, and then you're meant to giggle about it. She decides to invest the cash in a record deal, and with her pal in tow as her assistant, she finds herself with an hit on her hands and the talk of the town. It's this bit that rather livens the film up as it delivers an entertainingly savage swipe at the whole faux nature of show-business. The endless spongers and hangers-on, the executives - in this case the smarmy "Jeremy" (Jeremy Lloyd) - who are out for themselves, and the party-goers who live their lives for the moment. It all comes to an head in the revolving restaurant of London's Post Office tower where, yep, more food gets flung. Musical impresario George Melly was behind quite a lot of this, and you can appreciate his jazzy-style on the soundtrack as the story stays just about on the right side of farce. The two women work quite well together and though the script isn't much to write home about, the film works better than I was expecting as a piece of 1960s satire on the working class, sexuality, fashion, aspiration and the fickleness of the music business. There are some fun scenes around Carnaby Street too!
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00