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:

stripper | jazz | beatnik | letter opener | face slapping | 

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Taglines:

SEE: Chicken on the Rails. Here comes the train. Let's play.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Barry's first musically scored movie.

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Quotes

Jennifer: Next week - boom! - the world goes up in smoke. And what's the score? Zero!

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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

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

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Soundtracks

It's Legal
(uncredited)
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Hyam Maccoby
Performed by Shirley Anne Field

User Reviews

Campy movie about bad girl who wants to be a stripper as her sexy step-mother was!

Fun movie proves that even British film makers could do a trashy juvenile delinquent film - with added bonus of cool, jazzy, rock'n'roll sound track.

Sixteen-year old beatnik art student rebels when her "square" middle-aged dad brings home a "French poodle" 24-year-old stepmom. She and her beatnik pals discover that her blonde bombshell step-mommy was once a Parisian stipper!

A few hysterical scenes later the girl realizes the error of her ways and returns to her architect dad and step-mother.

A must-see for any camp, bad movie film buffs!