''The Beauty Jungle'' (also known as Contest Girl) is a 1964 British film directed by Val Guest.

Plot

Shirley lives in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. While on a seaside holiday at

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...

holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

a young

typist Typist is a person who types, a clerical worker who writes documents, using a typewriter. Skills and occupations Typist may also refer to: *Data entry clerk, someone who types data into a database via a computer or terminal. *Audio typist, someone ...

Shirley Freeman ( Janette Scott) is persuaded by a local

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Don MacKenzie (

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

) to enter a

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

. When she wins, she decides to give up her previous career and life and take up entering beauty contests full-time. Her parents disown her. Shirley comes second in a heat for the "Rose of England" contest, but her friend points out to the judges that the winner has not followed the rules and she is disqualified so Shirley wins by default, winning £300 and a trip to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

. They enjoy the trip together, but Don changes the booking at the hotel from two single rooms to one double room. Whilst in Monte Carlo she enters yet another beauty contest, "Miss Trapeze", this is a chaotic contest set in a circus, but nevertheless she wins, winning 500NF. The contest organisers Mr Carrick and Mr Armand invite them to dinner. Returning to Britain she does a photo-shoot in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

with photographer Walter Carey ( Ronald Fraser). She then enters the final of "Miss Rose of England" and wins, winning £1000. She is then entered as "Miss England" in the "Miss Globe" contest held on the

Cote d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation "Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

. Here Don has to stay at a different hotel and Shirley has to share a hotel room with Miss

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, but she comes only 6th despite naively sleeping with one of the male judges the night before the contest. Disillusioned with the beauty profession she stops entering beauty contests completely. Later on, after being required as reigning champion to judge a beauty contest in the UK, she sees that her younger sister Elaine (

Janina Faye Janina Faye Smigielski (born 1948) is an English actress and director. She is a daughter of Florence Louisa Jonathan and Jan Smigielski. Her father was a Polish pilot from No. 303 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. Faye began her career ...

) has entered the contest and just immediately walks away completely from the beauty profession and all of its hypocrisy and sordid publicity stunts.

Cast

as Don Mackenzie * Janette Scott as Shirley Freeman * Ronald Fraser as Walter Carey * Edmund Purdom as Rex Carrick *

Jean Claudio Jean Claudio (28 March 1927 – 11 January 1992) was a French actor. Biography He began his acting career in the cinema at the age of ten, playing the role of the Tsarevich, son of Tsar Nicolas II in The Imperial Tragedy. In 1938, at t ...

as Armand *

Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...

as Mrs. Freeman *

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he ...

as Charlie Dorton *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Wi ...

as Mr. Freeman *

as Elaine *

Aliza Gur Aliza Gur ( he, עליזה גור, born Alizia Gross; 1 April 1940) is an Israeli actress who was Miss Israel of 1960 and a semifinalist in the Miss Universe pageant held in Miami Beach that same year. She played Vida in the James Bond film '' F ...

Miss Perù Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, i ...

* David Weston as Harry *Peter Ashmore as Lucius *

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

as Butlin Judge (as "Sydney James") *Jacqueline Jones as Jean Watson *Jackie White as Barbara Lawton *

Jerry Desmonde Jerry Desmonde (born James Robert Sadler; 20 July 1908 – 11 February 1967) was an English actor and presenter. He is perhaps best known for his work as a comedic foil in duos with Norman Wisdom and Sid Field. Early life Jerry Desmonde wa ...

as Swimming Pool MC * Alan Taylor as TV Commentator *Eve Eden as Angela Boynton *

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

as Talk of the Town Producer * Francis Matthews as Taylor *Nikki Peters as Cora *Raymond Young as "Miss Globe" host *

Margaret Nolan Margaret Ann Nolan (29 October 1943 – 5 October 2020) was an English actress, visual artist and glamour model. She appeared in '' Goldfinger'', '' A Hard Day's Night'' and six '' Carry On'' films, and also regularly appeared on screen from t ...

as Caroline *Arlette Dobson as Miss America *Donna Pearson as

Miss Sweden Miss Sweden or Miss Universe Sweden (in Swedish: ''Fröken Sverige''), is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, qualifying delegates to the Miss Universe competition. In 2009 the pageant renamed as Miss Universe Sweden and the first nationa ...

*Sandy Sarjeant as Miss Spain *Barbara von der Heyde as

Miss Germany Miss Germany is a national beauty pageant in Germany. The contest was held for the first time in 1927. History In the past there were several organisations which claimed the title: In the 1920s already, German jurisdiction decided that the tit ...

* Paul Carpenter as American Tourist *

Donald Hewlett Donald Marland Hewlett (30 August 1920 – 4 June 2011) was a British actor who was best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' and Lord Meldrum in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', both written by Jimmy Perry ...

as Advertising Man *Former Miss World

Rosemarie Frankland Rosemarie Franklin (1 February 1943 – 2 December 2000) born in Rhosllanerchrugog a village near Wrexham. She was a Welsh actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss World 1961, having previously finished as first runner-up at Miss Universe ...

makes her screen debut in a guest appearance. *

Norman Hartnell Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and ...

, Lydia Russell, Duchess of Bedford,

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of com ...

Linda Christian Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara ...

, and Joe Brown appear as themselves judging the Rose of England at the Talk of the Town.

Production

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

(including the now-demolished lido),

Butlins Bognor Regis Butlin's Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies south southwest of London. Butlin's presence in the town began in 1932 with the opening of an amusement park; their operation soon expa ...

and the Redcliffe area of

were amongst the filming locations.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauty Jungle, The 1964 films 1964 drama films CinemaScope films British drama films 1960s English-language films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films directed by Val Guest Films about beauty pageants Films shot in Bristol Films shot in Somerset Films shot in West Sussex 1960s British films