Wild for Kicks (1960)

An impetuous teenage girl, resentful of her father's new wife, tries to wreck the marriage regardless of the consequences.

Director:

Edmond T. Gréville

Writer:

Dail Ambler (story and screenplay)

Stars:

David Farrar, Noëlle Adam, Christopher Lee

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Farrar	...	Paul Linden
Noëlle Adam	...	Nichole (as Noelle Adam)
Christopher Lee	...	Kenny
Gillian Hills	...	Jennifer Linden
Adam Faith	...	Dave
Shirley Anne Field	...	Dodo (as Shirley-Ann Field)
Peter McEnery	...	Tony
Claire Gordon	...	Honey
Oliver Reed	...	Plaid Shirt
Michael Kayne	...	Duffle Coat
Anthony Singleton	...	Green Pants
Robert Raglan	...	F.O. Official
Nade Beall	...	Official's Wife
Margot Bryant	...	Martha
Nigel Green	...	Simon

Storyline

Paul, a divorced architect, marries Nichole, a woman from Paris. His teen daughter Jenny has fallen in with the English beatnik scene and likes to hang out in cave-like clubs to listen to jazz and rudimentary rock'n'roll. Jenny takes an immediate dislike to her step mother, who is not that much older than she, and goes out of her way to make life miserable for Nichole. When Jenny discovers that Nichole is a friend of one of the strippers from the dance hall across the street, she investigates and uses Nichole's sordid past to embarrass her father. Meanwhile Jenny attracts the lecherous eye of Kenny, the owner of the dance hall.

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Plot Keywords:

teensploitation | psychotronic film | stripper | jazz | beatnik | 

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Taglines:

This could be your teenage daughter!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was David Farrar's last movie where he had a top-billed, lead role after a career as a leading man stretching back to the mid 1940s. After this, he appeared in two supporting roles and then retired.

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Quotes

Kenny: Well, somebody down there likes me.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was described by the BBFC as "the product of squalid and illiterate minds" and the film suffered extensive cuts to all striptease/dancing sequences and the scene where the teenage gang lies on a railway line. Later UK releases and TV showings were fully restored and uncut.

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Connections

Featured in Talkies: Shirley Anne Field (2019)

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Soundtracks

Esméralda
interprété par Benny Bennett
disque ou enregistrement VOGUE PARIS

User Reviews

Sexy Gillian Hills Makes This JD Film Worth Watching!

First and foremost, who is Gillian Hills? And second, why didn't she become a major star? After looking for this film for some time, I finally got a chance to check it out the other night. As JD films go, it wasn't a classic, yet it wasn't a clunker either. However, what compelled me to write a review of the film was the sexy young star of the film, Gillian Hills. Going by her bio, she was born in 1946, making her all of fourteen when she made Beat Girl. Well, this has got to be the sexiest fourteen year old ever! Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, Sue Lyons, even Tuesday Weld can't hold a candle to Ms. Hills. Her performance is the glue which holds the bare thread plot together. Gillian plays Jennifer Linden, spoiled, rich teenager who, along with her beatnik friends, rebel against British society and it's rigid rules and traditions. If one thinks that Jennifer is being led astray by her friends, think again. If anything, it's Jennifer who is leading her friends down the dark and tawdry path. Jennifer is no one's puppet, and proves this in a game of "Chicken" on a railroad track. When her father brings home a much younger Parisian wife Nicole (Noelle Adams), Jennifer makes the woman's life a living hell. She tries to turn her father against Nicole when she finds out that the woman once danced as a stripper in Paris. Jennifer's scheme quickly turns against her and soon she finds herself being manipulated and lusted after by the sleazy strip club owner (played by the always villainous Christopher Lee). The ending to the film was a disappointment, wrapped up rather conveniently despite the fact a murder is committed. Still, Gillian Hills is a vamp on par with some of the best the screen has ever offered. I would assume that maybe it's her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot that may have stymied her career. I would love to see a film of her as an adult, and see if she still possessed that smoldering sexuality she displayed as a teen.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wild for Kicks

Filming Locations:

Old Compton Street, Soho, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Willoughby Film Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1