Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill (1964)

Young, pretty and innocent Fanny Hill has lost her parents and must find her way in life amidst the perils of turbulent 18th century London. She is fortunate enough to find rapidly a place ... See full summary »

Directors:

Russ Meyer, Albert Zugsmith (uncredited)

Writers:

John Cleland (novel), Robert Hill

Stars:

Miriam Hopkins, Alexander D'Arcy, Walter Giller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miriam Hopkins	...	Mrs. Maude Brown
Alexander D'Arcy	...	Admiral (as Alex D'Arcy)
Walter Giller	...	Hemingway
Chris Howland	...	Mr. Norbert
Ulli Lommel	...	Charles
Helmut Weiss	...	Mr. Dinklespieler
Letícia Román	...	Fanny Hill
Cara Garnett	...	Phoebe
Marshall Reynor	...	Johnny
Syra Marty	...	Hortense (as Syra)
Karin Evans	...	Martha
Christiane Schmidtmer	...	Fiona
Hilde Sessak	...	Mrs. Snow
Albert Zugsmith	...	Grand Duke
Billy Frick	...	Percival

Storyline

Young, pretty and innocent Fanny Hill has lost her parents and must find her way in life amidst the perils of turbulent 18th century London. She is fortunate enough to find rapidly a place as chambermaid of the effusive Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown lives in a large house teeming with female "relatives" in négligée and with very relaxed manners. She also insists that Fanny meets alone various gentlemen who show an ardent interest in Fanny.

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Plot Keywords:

hot | sex scene | 18th century | woman | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Banned for 200 Years...Now a Feature Film by Albert Zugsmith

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA West Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

10 March 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure

Filming Locations:

CCC-Studios, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Famous Players, Favorite Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Refused a certificate by the British Board of Film Censors on 20 January 1965, the film opened anyway at the Cinephone, Birmingham on 11 June 1965, courtesy of a local "X" certificate. Thereafter, the distributors E.J. Fancey mounted a relentless campaign to persuade as many local authorities as possible to pass the film. The plan worked so well that the film was nearly on general release. Newcastle-under-Lyme thought the film harmless enough to award a certificate "U" for unrestricted showings, whilst the Halifax Fire Service and Licensing Committee decided on certificate "A" for children if accompanied. (Unfortunately, the Cinema Royal in Halifax closed down on 26 February 1966, the day before Fanny was due to arrive). Eventually, the BBFC relented and awarded a certificate "X" (after cuts) on 17 May 1968.

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Quotes

Mrs. Maude Brown: She's fresh as a young heifer still romping among the daisies in her innocence, almost mooing for her mama.
Mr. Dinklespieler: So you say, my Dear, so you say. But I have noted in the past a slight tendency on your part to exaggeration. Some of your heifers have turned out to be overblown milk cows.
Mrs. Maude Brown: Dear Dinklespieler, I am not asking you to purchase sight unseen. You may investigate fully.
Mr. Dinklespieler: Fully? How fully?
Mr. Dinklespieler: Fifty guineas worth.
Mr. Dinklespieler: 'od's blood, you ask more for an untried maiden than the government asks of me in ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"The End of the Beginning, To Be Continued"

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Connections

Referenced in Twisted Sex: Volume 25 (2009)

User Reviews

Turn an erotic novel into a cheap farce and the result's not pretty

This is probably the most expurgated version of Fanny Hill you'll ever see. The only way to get an R rating in 1964 for a movie with a sexual subject seems to be to turn it into a leering, puerile comedy. The problem is that it doesn't work as a comedy, or as erotica, or even as historic fiction.

The plot revolves around Fanny's belief that she has been taken in by a kind lady to work in a hat shop, instead of in an expensive brothel. Fanny manages to avoid the clients she's been set up with for the entire movie without ever finding out the truth. The plot never evolves beyond this obvious story. There's also no attention paid to accuracy: the setting for the movie lurches around between 1750 and 1890, and the dialogue ranges even further.

Of all the actors in the movie, only Leticia Roman and Miriam Hopkins show any life. The others are stick figures, feigning animation with affected voices and arched eyebrows. Not that Roman and Hopkins aren't guilty of overacting: they just occasionally show there might be more there.

This movie may be worth preserving along with "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" for anthropological studies on 1960's Hollywood attitudes towards sex, but it's not worth watching for entertainment. Read the book.