Eskimo Nell (1975)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers:

Michael Armstrong (writer)
Stanley A. Long (idea)

Release Date:

17 January 1975 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Inspired by the bawdiest ballad ever written...

Plot:

Three young men, a scriptwriter, a producer and a director are called in by Benny U Murdoch, an exotic movie producer...

Plot Keywords:

Virgin | Penguin | Spoof | Script Writer | Female Nudity

Cast

Michael Armstrong	...	Dennis Morrison
Terence Edmond	...	Clive Potter
Christopher Timothy	...	Harris Tweedle
Roy Kinnear	...	Benny U. Murdoch
Rosalind Knight	...	Lady Longhorn
Lloyd Lamble	...	The Bishop
Jonathan Adams	...	Lord Coltwind
Christopher Biggins	...	Jeremy
Katy Manning	...	Hermione
Diane Langton	...	Gladys Armitage
Gordon Tanner	...	Big Dick
Beth Porter	...	Billie Harris
Max Mason	...	Dave
Christopher Neil	...	Brendan (as Chris Neal)
Richard Caldicot	...	Ambrose Cream
Stephen Marsh	...	Rudolph
Prudence Drage	...	Millicent Bindle
Jeremy Hawke	...	Vernon Peabody
Raynor Burton	...	Johnny
Stephen Riddle	...	Simon
Sheila Bernette	...	Casting Girl (as Sheila Burnette)
Tony Sympson	...	Grandfather
Beatrice Shaw	...	Grandmother
Jenny Short	...	Maggie
Michael Worsley	...	Charlie (as Mike Worsley)
Nicholas Young	...	Deadeye Dick
Lewis Barber	...	Mexican Pete
Anna Quayle	...	Reverend Mother
David Toguri	...	Kung Fu Artist
George Moon	...	Nightwatchman
Dave Carter	...	Laboratory Man
Connie Brodie	...	Royal Personage
Bill Maelor-Jones	...	Cinema Manager
Graham Ashley	...	Projectionist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Derek Martin	...	Floor Manager (uncredited)
Mary Millington	...	Traffic Warden Stripper (uncredited)
Charles Pemberton	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Martin Campbell

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Armstrong		writer
Stanley A. Long		idea

Produced by
Berry Jacobs	....	executive producer
Stanley A. Long	....	producer

Cinematography by
Peter Hannan

Film Editing by
Pat Foster

Production Management
Don Carmody	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roger Simons	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Stan Phillips	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Paul Weston	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
'Bumble' Lloyd	....	electrician

Music Department
Simon Park	....	musical director

Other crew
David Toguri	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Salon Productions

Distributors

• Eagle Films (1975) (worldwide) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Kay Laboratories  processing

Also Known As:

The Ballad of Eskimo Nell

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

UK:18

Company:

Salon Productions

Trivia:

Stephen Riddle receives an "introducing" credit.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Goldstein/Saucy British Cinema/A Moment with... Lou Paget (#6.23)" (2004)

Nell does well

In the artistic wasteland of 1970s' British sex comedies (and arguably a good deal of British cinema at that time altogether) Eskimo Nell shines out as a modest beacon of wit, satirical in a way that still strikes a refreshing note. These days no doubt, Morrison and Tweedle would be assigned to work on several cheap UK gangster films at once, as that's the genre which has lately shown the greatest lack of nerve in the home grown industry. Back then, with UK's business in worse decline, it was such dire products as Come Play With Me (1977), that exemplified a depressing wave of home grown 'sex' films, neither sexy or arguably, real cinema at all: just the sad, exploitative effects of a restrictive lack of investment, and censorship. Together with the slightly more family orientated Confessions... series and the even softer saucy postcard world of the Carry On... series, this is what represented the officially sanctioned 'adult' industry at the time.

Eskimo Nell's satire therefore had in its sights a ripe and obvious target, although it is still frequently overlooked as just another sex film of its time. Its a perception not helped by its small budget, mediocre (if enthusiastic) acting as well as a lingering air of titillation characteristic of the genre. Real life actor-screenwriter Michael Armstrong, whose previous film was the more predictable It Could Happen to You (aka: Intimate Teenage Secrets, 1975) - which would never the less make an interesting double bill with his Nell - made the hard to see crime factional drama Black Panther (1977) after this, before disappearing into TV and the humdrum. Greater things have come of the director Martin Campbell however, as he has since made such films as GoldenEye, Vertical Limit, as well as just being engaged on Casino Royale.

The present film falls into three main parts. First there is the setting up of the project, a period of the narrative dominated by the avuncular, disreputable Murdoch - a professional performance by Roy Kinnear, the sort of role at which he shined. Once he disappears and matters move onto the complicated matter of the filming, then character comedy is swapped for situational, the change bringing probably the funniest moments of the film. Finally, there is the anticipated premiere, the chase after film canisters and so on, providing a suitable wrap up. As others have pointed out, this last section changes the emphasis of the satire somewhat, from one focusing purely on the sex film industry as such to mimicking the strategies of the caper film.

Much of the pleasure of Nell comes from the incidentals, which have a real feeling of time and place, as well as a feeling that some of the principals had had first hand experience of the industry they spoof. As the guileless Morrison, Michael Armstrong makes an impression as a hopeful but little else; his pretentious cineaste-speak sounds hollow even as satire, especially when compared to the gloating, tit-centred obsessed speeches of Murdoch. Morrison's fazed expressions, to be replaced by that of creative concentration during the actual production, remind me of a similar innocent: that of Dennis Barlow, at the centre of Richardson's underrated The Loved One (1965). Both Barlow and Morrison share an initial bewilderment at encountering a strange society, and one tinged by aberrant sexuality. But while Morrison remains detached and never opportunistic (as well always slightly surprised at the brave new world in which he's suddenly found himself) Barlow is able, initially at least, to make headway of sorts. In fact one of the weaknesses of Nell is that its central trio contain no central dynamic, other than being desperate to salvage the situation in which they have been trapped. Even the penguin obsessed and virginal Tweedle, the most eccentric of the three, pales in significance compared to the outrageous characters surrounding him the sex film world.

Nell follows in the tradition of the British sex comedy in never being erotic, merely naughty. It gains an edge for us today from being so self referential, with an intelligence missing from other productions of the time, and some have compared it to Truffaut's Day For Night (1973). In truth it is far less accomplished than that, bearing more of a resemblance to Confessions Of A Blue Movie Star (1978), being less about cinema itself than the practical bluntness required for the production of porn. And its best moments appear as part of that production: the gay cowboy ripping a succession of skin tight jeans as he gets off his horse; the kung fu religious school with the bizarre juxtaposition of Sound Of Music with Bruce Lee, or just Christopher Biggins' cherubic face as he raises up a suggestively wrapped umbrella into our line of sight - with equally suggestive dialogue, naturally. The British DVD is barer of extras than a starlet's soliliquy.