Details

Release year: 1964

Storyline

A drab little English seaside town tries to improve its image--and increase its revenues--by holding a film festival. When a famous continental star agrees to attend, things get out of hand.

Top credits

Directors

Ken Russell

Writers

Cast

James Booth — Jim Stephens
Roy Kinnear — Henry Liggott
Marisa Mell — Françoise Fayol
Alita Naughton — Judy

See all 23 credits →

Did you know

• A number of writers worked on the script, which was constantly being rewritten during the making of the film. When the TV presenter Robert Robinson agreed to play himself in a brief cameo, he told Ken Russell he would have to write his own lines as he wasn't an actor. Russell agreed and added that he could also rewrite everyone else's lines if he felt like it.

• Ken Russell had a miserable time making the film, later saying that the title was "just about the dirtiest word in the business" and fully expecting that he would never be asked to direct for the cinema again. He admitted that it wasn't very funny, but said that it did have a quality of poetic melancholy which he was quite pleased with.

• The producer Kenneth Harper had felt disappointed throughout the production and Elstree all but wanted the film to disappear following completion. Even the studio projectionists were overheard by Ken Russell to criticize the film with only a positive affection for the music. With the sudden popularity of James Booth following the release of Zulu, Elstree agreed to put the film out on a small circuit in 1964. Ken Russell attended the premiere in London with pride but quickly discovered that the audience were not pleased with the film. He sat through the after party isolated and left to spend the night drinking between the local bars before passing out and being moved on from the steps of Lloyds Bank by a policeman. He later announced that he never wanted to do a feature film again and returned to working with the BBC.