Primitive London

Last updated

Primitive London
Primitive London film Theatrical release poster (1965-2).jpg
Directed by Arnold Louis Miller
Written byArnold Louis Miller
Produced byArnold Louis Miller
Starring MacDonald Hobley
Billy J. Kramer
Diana Noble
Cinematography Stanley A. Long
Edited byStephen Cross
Release date
  • 1965 (1965)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Primitive London is a 1965 British film directed, written and produced by Arnold Louis Miller and starring MacDonald Hobley, Billy J. Kramer and Diana Noble. [1] It was the sequel to Miller's London in the Raw (1964).

Contents

Plot

The film is a montage of scenes including striptease, the birth of a baby, how to kill a battery chicken, interviews with mods, rockers and beatniks, and a staged swingers' party.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Modishly cynical and negative exposé of the obvious: strip-tease, the birth of a baby, how to kill a battery chicken, a rippling tour of a musclebound man's torso, TV-type interviews with Mods, Rockers, Beatniks and strippers, an uncomfortably staged party during which married couples pair off with partners picked out by the luck of the draw. This, we are told incessantly by narrator David Gell, is London today: not that that precludes an unabashed reconstruction of "one of Jack the Ripper's murders". The colour, perhaps appropriately, is hideous. The tedium has no bounds." [2]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The producers have played safe by putting the emphasis heavily on girls who are either largely undressed or undressing. Although some of the scenes must have been rehearsed, the picture has a general atmosphere of actuality. ... Among the artists appearing are Ray Martine, Billy J. Kramer, Diana Noble, Vicki Grey, and MacDonald Hobley, who gets some fun out of a skit on making a TV commercial that is, perhaps, not too far from the truth." [3]

Variety wrote: "Primitive London is a ramshackle affair which looks as If the makers have gathered together a motley collection of odd-man-out sequences bearing little relation to each other and somehow strung them together under umbrella of a specious, narrative theme. The script waffles along purportedly describing the search for identity of a human being. ... Editing is shaky, Eastman Color lensing variable and the commentary over-gabby. ... Some of the sequences, taken independently, are directed by Arnold Louis Miller with perception and vitality, but and overall effect is one of a ragbag miscellany. ... David Gell puts over the commentary and does a sound professional job considering the verbiage with which he has to wrestle. Rich." [4]

Sight and Sound wrote: "As a guide through the moral mazes of its day, the narration is confused and conflicted. Bookended by footage of a live birth, Primitive London is framed as a kind of inversion of Humphrey Jennings' A Diary for Timothy (1945), only here the subtext is: what kind of a sick society are you being bom into, little one?" [5]

Home media

The film was released by The British Film Institute (BFI) in 2009 on DVD (Flipside 003).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mod (subculture)</span> Subculture in England

Mod, from the word modernist, is a subculture that began in late 1950s London and spread throughout Great Britain, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries. It continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and fashion, the subculture has its roots in a small group of stylish London-based young men and women in the late 1950s who were termed modernists because they listened to modern jazz. Elements of the mod subculture include fashion ; music and motor scooters. In the mid-1960s when they started to fade out, the subculture listened to rock groups with jazz and blues influences such as the Who and Small Faces. The original mod scene was associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night jazz dancing at clubs.

<i>Beat Girl</i> 1960 British film by Edmond T. Gréville

Beat' Girl is a 1960 British teen exploitation drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The film was released in the United States under the title Wild for Kicks.

<i>The Sandwich Man</i> (1966 film) 1966 British film by Robert Hartford-Davis

The Sandwich Man is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis starring Michael Bentine, with support from a cast of British character actors including Dora Bryan, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Diana Dors, Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas and Ian Hendry. It was written by Hartford-Davis and Bentine.

Seton Ingersoll Miller was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for the 1941 fantasy romantic comedy film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, along with Sidney Buchman.

<i>Meet Mr. Lucifer</i> 1953 British film by Anthony Pelissier

Meet Mr. Lucifer is a 1953 black-and-white British comedy satire film directed by Anthony Pelisser starring Stanley Holloway, Peggy Cummins and Jack Watling. It is based on the 1951 play Beggar My Neighbour by Arnold Ridley. It opened on 26 November 1953 at the Haymarket Gaumont cinema in London. It was filmed at Ealing Studios, London, and is one of the Ealing comedies.

<i>Escape by Night</i> (1953 film) 1953 British film by John Gilling

Escape by Night is a 1953 British crime film directed and written by John Gilling.

<i>Two a Penny</i> 1968 British film by James F. Collier

Two a Penny is a 1967 British film, released nationally in 1968, directed by James F. Collier and starring Cliff Richard. It was produced by Frank R. Jacobson for Billy Graham's film distribution and production company World Wide Pictures The original story and screenplay was by Stella Linden.

<i>Suspended Alibi</i> 1957 British film by Alfred Shaughnessy

Suspended Alibi is a 1957 black and white British 'B' crime film directed by Alfred Shaughnessy and starring Patrick Holt, Honor Blackman and Lloyd Lamble. The film was produced by Robert Dunbar for Act Films Ltd.

<i>The Girl in the Picture</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Don Chaffey

The Girl in the Picture is a 1957 British second feature crime film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Donald Houston and Patrick Holt.

Yes, Madam? is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Bobby Howes, Diana Churchill and Wylie Watson.

<i>The Traitor</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Michael McCarthy

The Traitor is a 1957 British drama film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Donald Wolfit, Robert Bray, Jane Griffiths and Anton Diffring.

<i>Gonks Go Beat</i> 1964 British film by Robert Hartford-Davis

Gonks Go Beat is a 1964 British science fiction/musical fantasy film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, starring Kenneth Connor and Frank Thornton. It is loosely based on the Romeo and Juliet storyline and features 16 musical numbers performed by a variety of artists, including Lulu and The Luvvers, The Nashville Teens and the Graham Bond Organisation including Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall-Smith. The film includes an early appearance by the actor Derek Thompson performing with his twin sister Elaine.

<i>House of Blackmail</i> 1953 British film by Maurice Elvey

House of Blackmail is a 1953 British second feature drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. Its plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer.

<i>Morning Call</i> (film) 1957 British film by Arthur Crabtree

Morning Call is a 1957 British thriller film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Greta Gynt and Ron Randell. It was written by Bill Luckwell and Paul Tabori from a story by Leo Townsend. It was distributed in the U.S. by Republic Pictures.

<i>Burnt Evidence</i> 1954 British film by Daniel Birt

Burnt Evidence is a 1954 British second feature thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Duncan Lamont and Donald Gray. It was produced by Ronald Kinnoch for ACT Films.

<i>Who Killed the Cat?</i> 1966 British crime film by Montgomery Tully

Who Killed the Cat? is a 1966 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Mary Merrall, Ellen Pollock and Amy Dalby. The screenplay was by Maurice J. Wilson and Tully, based on the 1956 play Tabitha by Arnold Ridley and Mary Cathcart Borer.

<i>Panic</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film by Norman Harrison

Panic is a 1963 British 'B' crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Dyson Lovell, Janine Gray and Glyn Houston. The screenplay was by Gilling from a story by Gilling and Guido Coen.

<i>Night Train for Inverness</i> 1960 British film by Ernest Morris

Night Train for Inverness is a black and white 1960 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by The Danzigers.

<i>Child in the House</i> 1956 British film by Cy Endfield

Child in the House is a 1956 British drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the novel A Child in the House by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to cope with her uncaring relatives.

<i>Rock You Sinners</i> 1957 British film by Denis Kavanagh

Rock You Sinners is a 1957 British second feature black and white musical film directed by Denis Kavanagh and featuring early British rock and roll artistes, including Art Baxter and His Rock 'n' Roll Sinners, known for their song "Rock You Sinners".

References

  1. ↑ "Primitive London". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "Primitive London". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 32 (372): 80. 1 January 1965. ProQuest   1305825769 – via ProQuest.
  3. ↑ "Primitive London". Kine Weekly . 575 (3001): 11. 8 April 1965. ProQuest   2600918094 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ "Primitive London". Variety . 238 (8): 6. 14 April 1965. ProQuest   964069052 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ "Primitive London". Sight and Sound . 19 (6): 84. June 2009. ProQuest   1838460 – via ProQuest.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.