Derek Ford
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Derek Ford (6 September 1932,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
– 19 May 1995) was an English film director and writer, most famous for sexploitation films such as ''
The Wife Swappers ''The Wife Swappers'' is a 1970 drama film by British sexploitation director Derek Ford. The film was produced by Stanley Long and stars James Donnelly (British actor), James Donnelly, Larry Taylor (actor), Larry Taylor and Valerie St. John. Th ...
'' (1970), '' Suburban Wives'' (1971), '' Commuter Husbands'' (1972), ''
Keep It Up, Jack ''Keep It Up, Jack'' is a 1974 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford and produced by Michael L. Green. Jack James ( Mark Jones), an unsuccessful music hall entertainer and drag artist, inherits a brothel from his late aunt, and imperso ...
'' (1973), '' Sex Express'' (1975) (also filmed in a graphic hardcore version), ''
What's Up Nurse! ''What's Up Nurse!'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford and starring Nicholas Field, Felicity Devonshire and John Le Mesurier. It tells the story of the adventures of a young doctor in a hospital. A sequel ''What's Up ...
'' (1977) and ''
What's Up Superdoc! ''What's Up Superdoc!'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film, directed by Derek Ford and starring Harry H. Corbett, Christopher Mitchell, Melvyn Hayes, Julia Goodman, Hughie Green, Bill Pertwee, Angela Grant, Chic Murray, Beth Porter and Sheil ...
'' (1978).


Career

Ford began as a writer in collaboration with his brother Donald Ford (died 1991), originally for radio before progressing to television ('' The Saint'', ''
Adam Adamant Lives! ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' is a British adventure television series that ran from 1966 to 1967 on BBC 1, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. The series was created and produced by several alumni from ''Doctor Who''. Proposing that an adventur ...
'') and film (''
The Yellow Teddy Bears ''The Yellow Teddy Bears'' (US: Gutter Girls and The Thrill Seekers) is a 1963 British drama film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Jacqueline Ellis, Iain Gregory, Raymond Huntley and Georgina Patterson. Premise The pupils at a gir ...
'', ''
The Black Torment ''The Black Torment'' (a.k.a. ''Estate of Insanity'') is a 1964 British gothic horror film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn. The film is set in 18th-century Devon and was scripted by bro ...
'', '' A Study in Terror'' and '' Hell Boats''). Ford's first foray into directing, ''Los Tres Que Robbaran Una Banco'', made in Spain in 1961 was an unhappy experience, around the same time Ford entered sexploitation when he was asked to re-edit and film additional sequences for a Swedish sex film called ''Svenska Flickor I Paris'', eventually released as ''Paris Playgirls''. Ford's directing career began proper in the late sixties when he entered into partnership with producer Stanley Long, resulting in three films including the massively successful ''
The Wife Swappers ''The Wife Swappers'' is a 1970 drama film by British sexploitation director Derek Ford. The film was produced by Stanley Long and stars James Donnelly (British actor), James Donnelly, Larry Taylor (actor), Larry Taylor and Valerie St. John. Th ...
'', released in America as ''The Swappers'' with the tag line "remember when all the guy next door wanted to borrow was your lawnmower?". Ford's early seventies films were mainly shot in London and
Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...
where he lived, while hardcore scenes meant for the European versions of his films were shot in secret at his own house, with his then wife Valerie acting as assistant, wardrobe & makeup. Interviewed in the book, ''Keeping the British End Up'', fellow director Ray Selfe referred to Ford as "a male nymphomaniac", and themes of swinging, wife swapping and outwardly respectable people living double lives run throughout Ford's work. In the 1970s the two most well-known Ford films in America were ''
Groupie Girl ''Groupie Girl'' is a 1970 British drama film about the rock music scene, directed by Derek Ford and starring Esme Johns, Donald Sumpter and the band Opal Butterfly. The film was written by Ford and former groupie Suzanne Mercer. Ford later c ...
'' (1970) and '' Sex Express'' (1975) starring Heather Deeley. Released as ''Diversions'' in the U.S, ''Sex Express'' premiered in the
Kips Bay Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by East 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, East 27th and/or 23rd Streets to the south, and Third Av ...
area of Manhattan and was nominated for best foreign film by the
Adult Film Association of America The Adult Film Association of America (AFAA) was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult film ...
. In Italy he directed ''Erotic Fantasies'' (1978) aka ''Proibito erotico'' and back in England he quit as the director of ''
Don't Open till Christmas ''Don't Open Till Christmas'' is a 1984 British slasher film directed by Edmund Purdom, and starring Purdom, Alan Lake, Belinda Mayne, and Gerry Sundquist. Written by Derek Ford and Alan Birkinshaw, the film follows a mysterious killer murde ...
'' (1984). In the mid-eighties after his divorce, Ford was left to bring up his two children on his own. At this time he attempted to find more mainstream work and dissociate himself from his past, but what little work came his way would drag him back to exploitation film. He directed ''La Casa delle Orchidee'' (''The House of Orchids'') in Italy in 1983, in which (returning to the themes of ''The Wife Swappers'') a group of Italian women join a 'dare club', and co-directed a ''Hills Have Eyes'' rip-off in Sweden called ''Blood Tracks'' which also features a brief cameo role from Ford as a location scout for a rock video (Ford's only other known acting role is as "Circus Santa Claus" in ''Don't Open Till Christmas''). He was also involved in writing a never-made softcore sitcom called ''Park Lane''. Ford's final film, ''The Urge to Kill'', starring
Peter Gordeno Peter Gordeno (20 June 1939 – 18 October 2008) was a British dancer, recording artist, cabaret singer, choreographer, and occasional actor. Biography Born as Peter Godenho in Rangoon, Burma, to an Italian American father and Scottish/ ...
& Sarah Hope-Walker has never been given an official release, although clips from it appear in the 2005 documentary ''The Wild, Wild World of Dick Randall'', and several bootlegs of it have surfaced over the years. The film was eventually given an official DVD release in France on 1 April 2014 by the Uncut Movies label. At the close of the eighties Ford left the film business and attempted a second career as an author, writing two books. The two books he wrote were ''Panic on Sunset'' (1989), and ''The Casting Couch'' (1990) ("the true story of broken dreams, disillusionment and fallen idols"). ''Panic on Sunset'' concerns George Schapner, the stressed out manager/agent of Velma Torraine a vamp of the silent screen whose heavy Brooklyn accent spells the end of her career as the 'talkie' era approaches. A visit to a Hollywood whorehouse specialising in celebrity look-a-likes provides George with an unlikely solution to their problem. ''The Casting Couch'' was a collaborative effort with the late agent Alan Selwyn, and is credited under the joint pseudonym "Selwyn Ford". Confusingly the book portrays Selwyn Ford as an actual person. A non-fiction expose of early Hollywood à la ''
Hollywood Babylon ''Hollywood Babylon'' is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the purported scandals of famous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. The book was banned shortly after it was first published in the U.S. in 1965, a ...
'', among the allegations in the book are that Joan Crawford once appeared in a stag film (in a chapter entitled "Joan Crawford – A Star is Porn"), and that Bella Darvi had worked as a prostitute in a Parisian brothel of which Ford had "benefited from a conducted tour of in 1959". One of the final chapters "The Long Killing of Marilyn", alleges
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
was murdered as a result of an affair with
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
. Ford bases this assumption on a meeting "Selwyn Ford" had with the actor
Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...
, in 1984 over a never made, Italian financed film called ''Bloody Mary'', in which an actress is abducted and forced to have an abortion after having an affair with a powerful, married man. Upon reading the script Lawford is said to have remarked "are you crazy, do you want to get us all fucking killed", and walked off. Ford's conclusion was that Lawford had interpreted the script as having parallels with Monroe and Kennedy (something Ford denies in the book), and that Lawford's heated reaction validates his claims over Monroe's death. Recent evidence uncovered by filmmaker
Philippe Mora Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French Australian film director. Early life and career Philippe Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949, and grew up at the centre of the Australian arts scene of the 1950s and began making films with an 8mm camera ...
would appear to offer credibility to Ford's claim. A third book ''Bella'', about Darvi and
Darryl Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
was never completed, Ford died after a heart attack in a branch of
WH Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...
. Ford's 1975 film ''
The Sexplorer ''The Sexplorer'' (US title: ''The Girl from Starship Venus'', UK re-release title: ''Diary of a Space Virgin'') is a 1975 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford. The film was produced by Morton M. Lewis. The film also has a hardcore ver ...
'' aka ''The Girl From Starship Venus'' garnered a famous fan in director
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
. Tarantino, who owns a private print of the film, commented; "Even as a kid I knew I would get things from The Girl From Starship Venus that I wouldn't get from the Hollywood films". It is regularly screened at "The Best of QT Fest" presented by the Austin Film Society and uStudio, where Quentin brings the best of his personal collection of movies. Tarantino also showed the film at the "LA Grindhouse Film Festival" at the New Beverly Cinema in March/April 2007.


Filmography

* '' This, That and the Other'' (1969) * ''
Groupie Girl ''Groupie Girl'' is a 1970 British drama film about the rock music scene, directed by Derek Ford and starring Esme Johns, Donald Sumpter and the band Opal Butterfly. The film was written by Ford and former groupie Suzanne Mercer. Ford later c ...
'' (1970) * ''
The Wife Swappers ''The Wife Swappers'' is a 1970 drama film by British sexploitation director Derek Ford. The film was produced by Stanley Long and stars James Donnelly (British actor), James Donnelly, Larry Taylor (actor), Larry Taylor and Valerie St. John. Th ...
'' (1970) * '' Secret Rites'' (1971) * '' Suburban Wives'' (1971) * '' Commuter Husbands'' (1972) * ''
Keep It Up, Jack ''Keep It Up, Jack'' is a 1974 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford and produced by Michael L. Green. Jack James ( Mark Jones), an unsuccessful music hall entertainer and drag artist, inherits a brothel from his late aunt, and imperso ...
'' (1973) * '' Sex Express'' (1975) * ''
The Sexplorer ''The Sexplorer'' (US title: ''The Girl from Starship Venus'', UK re-release title: ''Diary of a Space Virgin'') is a 1975 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford. The film was produced by Morton M. Lewis. The film also has a hardcore ver ...
'' (1975) * ''
What's Up Nurse! ''What's Up Nurse!'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford and starring Nicholas Field, Felicity Devonshire and John Le Mesurier. It tells the story of the adventures of a young doctor in a hospital. A sequel ''What's Up ...
'' (1977) * ''
What's Up Superdoc! ''What's Up Superdoc!'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film, directed by Derek Ford and starring Harry H. Corbett, Christopher Mitchell, Melvyn Hayes, Julia Goodman, Hughie Green, Bill Pertwee, Angela Grant, Chic Murray, Beth Porter and Sheil ...
'' (1978) * ''Erotic Fantasies'' (aka ''Proibito erotico'') (1978) * ''La Casa delle Orchidee'' (aka ''For Members Only'') (1983) * ''The Urge to Kill'' (1989)


See also

* Stanley Long *
Pete Walker (director) Pete Walker (born 4 July 1939) is an English film director, writer, and producer, specializing in horror and sexploitation films, frequently combining the two. Biography Walker was born on 4 July 1939 in Brighton, England, the son of a stand-u ...
*
Norman J. Warren Norman John Warren (25 June 1942 – 11 March 2021) was an English film director best known for such 1970s horror films as '' Satan's Slave'' (1976), ''Prey'' (1977) and '' Terror'' (1978). Warren is also known for sex comedies such as '' Oute ...


References


Further reading

''X-Rated – Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker'' by Simon Sheridan (Reynolds & Hearn Books) (2008) ''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'' by Simon Sheridan (fourth edition) (Titan Publishing, London) (2011)


External links

*
BFI: Derek Ford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Derek 1932 births 1995 deaths British casting directors English film directors People from Tilbury 20th-century English screenwriters