''Zeta One'' is a 1969 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interste ...

directed by Michael Cort and starring

James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...

, Charles Hawtrey and

Dawn Addams Victoria Dawn Addams (21 September 1930 – 7 May 1985) was a British actress, particularly in Hollywood motion pictures of the 1950s and on British television in the 1960s and 1970s. She became a princess in 1954 (until 1971). Early years Ad ...

Plot

A spy for Section 5, James Word, finds a secretary for the section waiting as he returns home. As they play strip poker, he tells about tailing Major Bourdon. Bourdon was conducting an investigation into the women from Angvia. The Angvians are led by Zeta, and are an all-women secret society. The Angvians regularly abducted other planet's women into their ranks where they were brainwashed to become operatives. Their next target is stripper ‘Ted’ Strain and so Section 5 uses her to set a trap for them. As Bourdon’s men take several of the Angvian agents prisoner, a final confrontation between the various parties occurs at his estate

Cast

as Major Bourdon * Charles Hawtrey as Swyne * Robin Hawdon as James Word * Anna Gaël as Clotho *

as Zeta * Brigitte Skay as Lachesis *

Valerie Leon Valerie may refer to: People * Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie * Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 s ...

as Atropos *

Lionel Murton William Lionel Murton (2 June 1915 – 26 September 2006) was an English character actor. Born in Wandsworth, London, he was resident at Little Orchard, Weston Road, Upton Grey, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, before his death at age 91. He was cr ...

as W *

Yutte Stensgaard Yutte Stensgaard (born 14 May 1946) is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's ''Lust for a Vampire'' (1971). Career Born Jytte Stensgaard, she moved to the United Kingdom to improve her ...

as Ann Olsen * Wendy Lingham as Edwina 'Ted' Strain *

Carol Hawkins Carol Hawkins (born 31 January 1949 in Barnet, Hertfordshire) is an English actress, best known for her various comic roles in numerous TV sitcoms and films in the 1970s and 1980s. She played the roles of Sharon Eversleigh in the film of the t ...

as Zara *

Rita Webb Olive Rita Webb (25 February 1904 – 30 August 1981), later known as Olive Rita Thompson, was an English character actress, mainly in comedy roles. She was the eldest child of Henry Augustus Webb (1880–1926) and Rose Jeannette Keysor. She had ...

as Clippie * Steve Kirby as Sleth * Paul Baker as Bourdon's Assistant * Angela Grant as Angvia Girl * Kirsten Betts as Angvia Girl

Production

''Zeta One'' was the first film shot at Camden Studios, which was formerly a wallpaper factory in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

.I.Q. Hunter, ''British Science Fiction Cinema'', Routledge, 2001 p 69 The plot of the film was based on a comic strip short story in the magazine ''Zeta''.

Art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the v ...

Christopher Neame Christopher Neame (born 12 September 1947, London) is an English actor now living in the United States. UK career Neame's UK film credits include appearances in two Hammer Horror films: '' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971) and '' Dracula AD 1972' ...

designed the film's sets.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exa ...

took place around the city. The film was produced and distributed by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

company Tigon Films run by Tony Tenser.

Release

''Zeta One'' was released in the United Kingdom in 1969. The film was not a commercial success on its release. It was made for a budget of £60,000.John Hamilton, ''Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser'', Fab Press, 2005 p 145 It was released in America by Film Ventures International, briefly in 1973 as ''The Love Slaves'' and then wider in 1974 under the titles ''Alien Women'' and ''The Love Factor''. It was released as a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

DVD in 2013.

Reception

The film received negative reviews on its initial release. In the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'', David McGillivray described the film's themes as "quite preposterous in illogicality and silliness". The movie was given 1 out of 5 stars, stating the movie was basically

softcore pornography Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Sof ...

. ''Moria Reviews'' noted it is an odd mix of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

type movies with a sex comedy.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0065243 1969 films British science fiction comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s science fiction comedy films 1969 comedy films Films shot in London Parody films based on James Bond films