Girly (1970) Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly (original title)

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writers:

Brian Comport (screenplay)
Maisie Mosco (play)

Release Date:

12 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

Tagline:

Everyone is dying to meet girly.....

Plot:

A wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnaps bums and hippies and forces them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape are ritualistically murdered.

Plot Keywords:

Rules | Nanny | Fur Stole | Psychopath | Sexual Manipulation

Cast

Michael Bryant	...	New Friend
Ursula Howells	...	Mumsy
Pat Heywood	...	Nanny
Howard Trevor	...	Sonny
Vanessa Howard	...	Girly
Robert Swann	...	Soldier
Imogen Hassall	...	Girlfriend
Michael Ripper	...	Zoo attendant
Hugh Armstrong	...	Friend in No. 5

Directed by
Freddie Francis

Writing credits
Brian Comport		(screenplay)
Maisie Mosco		(play "Happy Family")

Produced by
Ronald J. Kahn	....	producer
Peter J. Thompson	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Bernard Ebbinghouse

Cinematography by
David Muir

Film Editing by
Tristam Cones

Casting by
Rose Tobias Shaw		(as Rose Tobias-Shaw)

Art Direction by
Maggie Pinhorn

Set Decoration by
Dimity Collins

Makeup Department
Gladys Leakey	....	hairdresser (as Gladys Leaky)
Philip Leakey	....	makeup artist (as Phil Leaky)

Production Management
Jilda Smith	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Stoneman	....	assistant director
Graham Fowler	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Brommage	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Moray Grant	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dulcie Midwinter	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Bernard Ebbinghouse	....	arranger
Bernard Ebbinghouse	....	conductor

Other crew
Michael Bastow	....	title designer
Pamela Davies	....	continuity
Katherine Haber	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Brigitte
• Fitzroy Films Ltd.
• Ronald J. Kahn Productions

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinerama Releasing UK (1969) (UK) (theatrical)
• Prism Entertainment Corporation (USA) (VHS)
• Scorpion Releasing (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly" - UK (original title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 (2010) | Norway:16 | USA:R | UK:X

Filming Locations:

London Zoo, Regent's Park, London, England, UK

Company:

Brigitte

Trivia:

The original poster art for the film was an eerie black and white family portrait of "The Family," dressed in traditional British attire (six form uniforms for Girly and Sonny, a maid's outfit for Nanny, and a World War II era dress for Mumsy). Though this iconography would have struck a chord with British viewers, it was deemed that US audiences wouldn't understand the image. For the US release, the distributor commissioned a poster of an anonymous girl standing in for Vanessa Howard, wearing a cutoff skirt and clutching a doll in one hand and a bloody axe in the other.

Quotes:

Girly:Nasty Nanny is no good! Chop her up for fire wood! When she's dead, boil her head, make it into gingerbread!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010) (V)

Playfully Violent and Darkly Silly

Girly (for short) is a very fun movie. I need a fix from it once in a while, and love the deranged, kiddy teenage duo of Sonny and Girly. Girly's innocent school-girl charm, along with school-girl uniform makes for an ultra-hip, sexy horror film. The photography was done nicely, and the characters are loved and hated, and most take a personal liking to New Friend, who has turned the family against itself, and is a grown man held prisoner as a playmate for Sonny and Girly, just as other prospects have been trapped in this world of fun before.