''Eskimo Nell'', also known as ''The Ballad of Eskimo Nell'' and as ''The Sexy Saga of Naughty Nell and Big Dick'', is a 1975

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

film directed by

Martin Campbell Martin Campbell (born 24 October 1943) is a New Zealand film and television director based in the United Kingdom. He is known for having directed ''The Mask of Zorro'' as well as the James Bond in film, James Bond films ''GoldenEye'' and ''Cas ...

and produced by

Stanley Long Stanley A. Long (26 November 1933 – 10 September 2012) was an English exploitation cinema and sexploitation filmmaker. He was also a driving force behind the VistaScreen stereoscopic (3D) photographic company. He was a writer, cinemato ...

. Though inspired by " The Ballad of Eskimo Nell", the movie owes little to the original bawdy song.

Plot

Budding film director Dennis Morrison ( Michael Armstrong), producer Clive Potter (

Terence Edmond Terence Edmond (22 November 1939 – 14 March 2009) was an English actor, who played PC Ian Sweet in 78 episodes of ''Z-Cars'' between 1962 and 1964. His popular TV character was killed off in an episode of the police drama transmitted live ...

), and screenwriter Harris Tweedle (

Christopher Timothy Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

) are hired by seedy

erotic film Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or hav ...

producer Benny U. Murdoch (

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

) to make a dirty movie based on the poem "The Ballad of Eskimo Nell". However they run into difficulty when each of the production's backers want a completely different style of film made. Then Murdoch makes off with the money and the three have to produce four ''different'' versions of the movie to keep everybody happy - a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, a hardcore porno, a

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

-style musical, and a wholesome family production.

Cast

as Benny U. Murdoch *

Anna Quayle Anne Veronica Maria Quayle (6 October 1932 – 16 August 2019), known professionally as Anna Quayle, was an English actress. In 1963, she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the original product ...

as Reverend Mother *

Katy Manning Catherine Ann "Katy" Manning (born 14 October 1946) is an English- Australian actress, television presenter, voice artist and former model. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as t ...

as Hermione *

as Harris Tweedle * Michael Armstrong as Dennis Morrison *

as Clive Potter * Rosalind Knight as Lady Longhorn *

Diane Langton Diane Langton (born 31 May 1947) is an English actress and singer, known for playing Marlena "Nana" McQueen in ''Hollyoaks'' from 2007 to 2009 and 2012 onwards. Career Langton has appeared in numerous television series. In the 1980s, she appear ...

as Gladys Armitage *

Richard Caldicot Richard Caldicot (7 October 1908 – 16 October 1995) was an English actor famed for his role of Commander (later Captain) Povey in the BBC radio series ''The Navy Lark''. He also appeared often on television, memorably as the obstetrician de ...

as Ambrose Cream *

Beth Porter Beth Jane Porter (born May 23, 1942) is an American stage, film and television actress and writer, who has worked in Britain for most of her career. She became a British citizen in 2014. Early life Beth Porter made her first professional appea ...

as Billie Harris * Christopher Biggins as Jeremy *

Gordon Tanner Gordon Tanner (July 17, 1918–August 3, 1983) was a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many ...

as Big Dick * Jonathan Adams as Lord Coltwind *

Lloyd Lamble Lloyd Nelson Lamble (8 February 1914 – 17 March 2008) was an Australian actor who worked in theatre, television, radio and film. He lived and worked for most of his life in the United Kingdom. Biography Personal life Lloyd Lamble was born in M ...

as The Bishop *

Christopher Neil Christopher Neil (born 1948) is an Irish-born British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. He has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José C ...

as Brendan * Nicholas Young as Deadeye Dick *

Stephanie Cole Patricia Stephanie Cole (born 5 October 1941) is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as '' Tenko'' (1981–1985), ''Open All Hours'' (1982–1985), ''A Bit of a Do'' (1989), '' Waiti ...

as Traffic Warden (uncredited) *

Mary Millington Mary Ruth Maxted (née Quilter; 30 November 1945 – 19 August 1979), known professionally as Mary Millington from 1974 onwards, was an English model and pornographic actress. Her appearance in the short softcore film ''Sex is My Business'' ...

as Stripping Traffic Warden (uncredited)

Background

Many of the film's characters are based on real personalities of the time. Lady Longhorn and Lord Coltwind — the backers of the wholesome family version — are thinly veiled caricatures of Mary Whitehouse and

Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

. Benny U. Murdoch is loosely based on

Tony Tenser Samuel Anthony Tenser (10 August 1920 – 5 December 2007)Gavin Gaugha"Obituary: Tony Tenser" ''The Guardian'', 13 March 2008 was an English-born film producer of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. He began as the producer of low budget exploitation f ...

, head of Tigon films. A more obscure figure the film ridicules is Louis "Deke" M. Heyward, the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

representative of AIP (

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

), who had previously clashed with the film's writer Michael Armstrong in 1969 during the making of Armstrong's directing debut, ''The Haunted House of Horror''. In ''Eskimo Nell'' Heyward is parodied as "Big Dick", a crass, foul-mouthed American producer from "A.W.P Films", and the backer of the hardcore porno version. A similar character had previously appeared in Armstrong's script for ''

The Sex Thief ''The Sex Thief'' is a 1973 British sex comedy film starring David Warbeck, Diane Keen and Christopher Biggins. It was an early film credit for director Martin Campbell. The film was released in North America (in January 1976) as ''Her Family ...

'' in 1973. A pre-fame

, then just a jobbing actress and model using her married name Mary Maxted, has a small role in the film as a stripping traffic warden who auditions for a part in the film within a film. Although Millington appears only fleetingly (with her audition speeded up for comic effect), stills from her scene were used to publicize the film in magazines including ''Titbits''Titbits (No. 4613, 1–7 August 1974, "Eskimo Nell" and ''

Cinema X ''Cinema X'' was a British film magazine best known for its coverage of sexploitation films. Early issues of the magazine were undated, but it is believed the first issue was published in 1969. The first film to grace the cover of ''Cinema X'' was ...

''. The film is not to be confused with Richard Franklin's 1975 film ''

The True Story of Eskimo Nell ''The True Story of Eskimo Nell'' (retitled ''Dick Down Under'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1975 Australian western comedy film produced, directed, and written by Richard Franklin, and starring Max Gillies as Deadeye Dick and Serge Lazareff as M ...

'' which was released in the UK as ''Dick Down Under''. Campbell's film was re-titled ''The Sexy Saga of Naughty Nell and Big Dick'' in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Home media

''Eskimo Nell'' was released in a 'special edition' DVD and Blu-ray on 16 February 2015, to celebrate its 40th anniversary (the film was originally released in London in January 1975). The new edition has been digitally re-mastered at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

and comes with several extra features including the original theatrical trailer (unseen since 1975), an audio commentary by the film's actor-writer Michael Armstrong and film historian Simon Sheridan, an 8-page booklet, plus an extensive stills gallery and a newly re-mastered version of Mary Millington's short 1974 film ''Wild Lovers''.

References

*''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 (Titan books) (fourth edition) 2011

External links

* {{Martin Campbell 1970s English-language films British sex comedy films 1970s sex comedy films Films directed by Martin Campbell 1975 films 1975 comedy films 1970s British films