This British oddity represents yet another case of promising material given indifferent treatment. It wants to be a twisted family-themed black comedy along the lines of SPIDER BABY or THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS, but woefully misses its mark.
Despite its solidly British pedigree, GIRLY (a.k.a. MUMSY, NANNY, SONNY AND GIRLY; 1969) is not, as is often mistakenly assumed, a Hammer Production. Rather, it’s an exploitation-minded oddity, shot on location in the British countryside (although the end credits fail to inform us precisely where), that aspires to be far more than it actually is. That’s really too bad, as it was directed by the late Freddie Francis, a talented director (TORTURE GARDEN, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, THE CREEPING FLESH) and cinematographer (THE ELEPHANT MAN, GLORY, CAPE FEAR).
The teenaged Girly and her brother Sonny are cavorting in a zoo one day. Girly, prancing around in a skimpy miniskirt, attracts the attentions of a lecherous man who unwittingly joins in the frolic. The three end up in the back yard of the dilapidated mansion where Girly and Sonny live, together with Mumsy, their twisted mother, and her equally batty companion Nanny. Girly, Sonny, Nanny and Mumsy play childish games with the man, but the games turn deadly serious when Nanny and Mumsy hold him down and Girly decapitates him.
Such “games” are standard in this loony household, where everyone lives in a world of permanent make-believe. Girly and Sonny waste no time luring another gullible man into their fold, this time causing the guy’s girlfriend to fall from a slide in a nearby park and crack her head open—and then blame him for the killing.
Back at the mansion this “New Friend” is imprisoned and forced to take part in the family’s elaborate gameplay. New Friend is smarter than he lets on, however, and subtly turns his captors against one another by seducing Mumsy and Girly. This induces feelings of murderous jealousy that end up consuming the household. The only question now is who among the psychotic quartet of Sunny, Mumsy, Nanny and Girly will live and who will die?
Gifted though Freddie Francis was, he was far too bland a filmmaker to bring a story like this one to life. Francis and cinematographer David Muir frequently try to elevate the proceedings with distractingly off-center camera angles, but the film for the most part is staid and conventional. Nor are any of the performances all that noteworthy; this includes Vanessa Howard as Girly, whose acting range appears to consist of devilish smiles and bared knickers.
Another problem is with the script, which is never especially weird or shocking. It’s actually quite plodding and obvious in its approach, as exemplified by an early scene that intercuts Girly seducing a man in a park with Mumsy discussing the innocence of childhood; a blunter (and less funny) approach to satire I find difficult to imagine. Some will (and do) dub GIRLY a raucous inversion of traditional English filmmaking, or possibly a metaphor for the uprisings of the late sixties, but I say it’s a dull and uninspiring concoction that could have been far better.
Vital Statistics
GIRLY (MUMSY, NANNY, SONNY AND GIRLY)
Cinerama Releasing
Director: Freddie Francis
Producer: Ronald J. Kahn
Screenplay: Brian Comport
Cinematography: David Muir
Editing: Tristam Cones
Cast: Vanessa Howard, Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pat Heywood, Howard Trevor, Robert Swann, Imogen Hassall, Michael Ripper, Hugh Armstrong