School for Sex
School for Sex | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Pete Walker |
Written by | Pete Walker |
Produced by | Pete Walker |
Starring | Derek Aylward Rose Alba Hugh Latimer Nosher Powell Françoise Pascal |
Cinematography | Reg Phillips |
Edited by | John Black |
Music by | Harry South |
Production company | Pete Walker-Border |
Distributed by | Miracle |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | £2.5 million (in US)[1] |
School for Sex is a 1969 British sex comedy film directed, produced and written by Pete Walker.[2][3] It is often described as the first British sexploitation film.[4]
Cast
[edit]- Derek Aylward as Giles Wingate
- Rose Alba as Duchess of Burwash
- Bob Andrews as Sgt. Braithwaite
- Vic Wise as Horace Clapp
- Hugh Latimer as Berridge
- Nosher Powell as Hector
- Amber Dean Smith as Beth Villiers
- Françoise Pascal as Sally Reagan
- Cathy Howard as Sue Randall
- Sylvia Barlow as Judy Arkwright
- Sandra Gleeson as Jenny
- Maria Frost as Polly
- Cindy Neal as Marianne
- Gilly Grant as striptease artist
- Jackie Berdet as Ingeborg
- Nicole Austen as Tania
- Edgar K. Bruce as Fred
- Robert Dorning as Civil Sergeant
- Julie May as Ethel
- Alec Bregonzi as Harry
- Wilfred Babbage as Judge
- Dennis Castle as Colonel Roberts
Plot
[edit]Lord Wingate, on probation after being acquitted on fraud charges, needs money, so he starts a school to train young women in the arts of gold-digging in exchange for a cut of the take. The alcoholic widow the Duchess of Burwash is a teacher, and an aged Cockney is the fitness instructor. The first group of pupils are on probation from Holloway Prison, but rich parents soon begin to enroll their daughters under the impression the school is a finishing school. Lord Wingate is found guilty on new charges, but the judge decides to try the business idea himself.[5][6]
Production
[edit]The film was shot on location in Kent, Sussex and London, England.[citation needed]
The original film includes topless scenes and glimpses of full nudity. Alternative nude versions of some scenes were shot for release in Japan.[6]
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]In France School for Sex had 72,000 admissions in its opening week.[1] In the United States, it ran on Broadway for two years.[4]
Critical reception
[edit]Monthly Film Bulletin said "As its title indicates, Peter Walker's latest piece of titillatory entertainment is largely a peg on which to hang an assortment of bikinis and diminutive undergarments. But after a relatively lively start, this nonsensical and determinedly risqué farce plods humourlessly on its way with leaden dialogue, wooden acting and rough sound recording."[7] Walker himself regretted saving money by writing the script himself and called it his worst film,[6] referring to it in 2005 as a "terrible film".[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Simon Sheridan (2011). Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema. Titan Books. p. 54.
- ^ "School for Sex". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ a b Will Hodgkinson (11 March 2005). "'God, what a terrible film'". The Guardian (interview). Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ a b Michael Hogan (19 July 2024). "'My testicles were on fire for weeks': the sex movie craze that swept 70s Britain". The Guardian (interview). Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ Dillon Gonzales (12 January 2022). "Kino Cult Adds 20 New Titles To Their Ad-Supported Streaming Service For Horror Fans And Genre Lovers". Geek Vibes Nation. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Lee Pfeiffer (20 May 2016). "Review: Pete Walker's "School for Sex" (1969) & "For Men Only" (1969); Blu-Ray Double Feature From Kino Lorber". Cinema Retro. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "School for Sex". Monthly Film Bulletin. 36 (420): 150. 1969 – via ProQuest.
External links
[edit]
- 1969 films
- 1968 films
- British independent films
- 1960s exploitation films
- Films directed by Pete Walker
- British sex comedy films
- British sexploitation films
- 1960s sex comedy films
- 1968 comedy films
- 1969 independent films
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s British films
- English-language independent films
- 1960s British film stubs
- Erotic comedy film stubs