Secrets of a Windmill Girl is a 1966 British exploitation film directed by Arnold L. Miller. It recounts the road to ruin of a young woman (Pauline Collins) who becomes involved with the striptease scene after becoming a dancer at the Windmill Theatre in London.[1][2][3] The film features fan dances by former Windmill Theatre Company performers.[4] It was originally released in Britain as part of a double bill with Naked as Nature Intended.[5]
Cast
- Pauline Collins as Pat Lord
- April Wilding as Linda Grey
- Renée Houston as Molly - Dresser
- Derek Bond as Inspector Thomas
- Harry Fowler as Harry
- Howard Marion-Crawford as Richard - Producer
- Peter Gordeno as Peter
- Peter Swanwick as Len Mason
- Martin Jarvis as Mike, Windmill Stage Manager
- Leon Cortez as 'Uncle Marty'
Music
Malcolm Lockyer composed the score, from which a suite was extracted.[6] Valerie Mitchell's single The Windmill Girls, composed by Sidney Gilbert, was used as the theme tune for the film. Mitchell was a singer and cabaret dancer, the sister of former Windmill girl Janie Jones. Dana Gillespie, aged 17 in only her second film appearance, sings and plays guitar in several brief extracts.[7]
Critical reception
A reviewer in TV Guide wrote that "the premise of this film is compelling, but the treatment is empty-headed";[8] and The Spinning Image asked, "and those hoping for titillation? As with so much of the sexually-themed cinema of this (British) nation, they were offered it with a moralistic angle, as if telling the audience off for their prurience."[9]
References
- ^ John Hamilton, Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser, Fab Press, 2005 p 82-83
- ^ Simon Sheridan, Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema, Titan Books 2011 p 53-54
- ^ "Secrets of a Windmill Girl". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
- ^ "The Windmill Theatre, Great Windmill Street, London". arthurlloyd.co.uk.
- ^ "Naked - As Nature Intended/Secrets of a Windmill Girl - Buy online: Cult". radiotimesdvds.co.uk.
- ^ Suite from Secrets of a Windmill Girl, YouTube
- ^ Anne Etienne, Benjamin Halligan, Christopher Weedman: Adult Themes: British Cinema and the X Certificate in the Long 1960s (2023), pp. 157-8
- ^ "Secrets Of A Windmill Girl". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "Secrets of a Windmill Girl Review (1966)".
External links
- Secrets of a Windmill Girl at IMDb
- screen caps of Pauline Collins and April Wilding(from the Upstairs Downstairs webpage "Before Updown" section)
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