Rentals
The Pleasure Principle
From Victorian voyeurism to Soho striptease: how a hidden film industry emerged to satisfy the sexual appetites of (male) viewers.
Sex and cinema have been bawdy bedfellows almost since the first flickering frames hit a screen. As early as 1896, saucy shorts were already being cranked out to titillate voyeuristic - and invariably male - Victorian viewers. Time and tastes have moved on, and taboos have been swept away, but sex remained a constant preoccupation, and filmmakers continued to explore, enact and exploit our deepest, darkest desires - often attracting the attention of the censor in the process. This highly-combustible collection revisits and contextualises these sometimes scandalous, oft-disreputable films, incorporating 'mondo'-style exposés of Soho striptease, voyeuristic studies of British nudists and tragic tales of good girls gone bad - and much more besides.
ShowmanShowman
Biopic 1970 25 minsDirector: Christian Marnham
Astonishing 1970s striptease knife-throwing act with the last of the Wild West showmen, Wally Shufflebottom Snr
Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers)Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers)
Comedy 1932 35 minsDirector: Norman Lee
Stuffed-shirt party pooper Sir Hector infiltrates a sunbathing camp full of scantily clad jazz-swingers in this 1930s comedy
Soho Striptease ClubsSoho Striptease Clubs
1958 7 minsSilentDirector: John Rhodes
Intrepid investigative journalist Daniel Farson ventures deep into the heart of Soho to explore the hidden world of afternoon Striptease Clubs.
Secret RitesSecret Rites
Documentary 1971 47 minsDirector: Derek Ford
'King of the Witches' Alex Sanders initiates doe-eyed Penny into the ways of his coven.
Primitive LondonPrimitive London
Documentary 1965 87 minsDirector: Arnold Louis Miller
Arnold Louis Miller's follow-up to London in the Raw lifts the lid on society’s decay with its sideshow spectacle of 60s London depravity.
London in the RawLondon in the Raw
Documentary 1964 47 minsDirector: Arnold Louis Miller
Low-budget movie mogul Arnold Louis Miller concocted this exploitation-style documentary which peers behind the grimy net curtains of British life.
Over ExposedOver Exposed
Drama 1977 36 minsDirector: Dennis London and David Grant
Aye aye, Captain! Sex comedy hijinks on the Thames near Twickenham in this forgotten saga of a switched-on snapper
PermissivePermissive
Drama 1970 90 minsDirector: Lindsay Shonteff
When Suzy arrives in London to visit an old school friend, she is unwittingly plunged into the ruthless world of the ‘groupie’.
Her Private HellHer Private Hell
Drama 1967 80 minsDirector: Norman J. Warren
The cautionary tale of an innocent girl abroad who gets caught up in the sleazy world of modelling.
That Kind of GirlThat Kind of Girl
Drama 1963 77 minsDirector: Gerry O'Hara
A cautionary tale about VD and the dangers of free-love set against a backdrop of smoky jazz clubs and evocative London locations.
The Big Switch (Strip Poker)The Big Switch (Strip Poker)
Crime 1968 68 minsDirector: Pete Walker
Tough gangster film directed by British exploitation stalwart Pete Walker in which a man-about-town is implicated in the murder of a blonde
Passport to ShamePassport to Shame
Crime 1958 90 minsDirector: Alvin Rakoff
Diana Dors plays a sex worker with Herbert Lom as her sleazy pimp in this fierce and fiery thriller of 1950s prostitution on the London streets.
From Stags to StardustFrom Stags to Stardust
Documentary 1977 43 minsDirector: James C. Katz
Splendid 1970s striptease documentary starring Ivor Dickier, one-time Mr England runner-up
MimiMimi
Period drama 1935 93 minsDirector: Paul L. Stein
Paul L. Stein’s period romance tells the story of a composer (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) whose relationship with a woman (Gertrude Lawrence) inspires his success.
JustineJustine
Drama 1976 90 minsDirector: Stewart Mackinnon
Stewart Mackinnon’s avant-garde adaptation of Marquis de Sade’s infamous erotic novel has been near impossible to see since 1976.
Maisie's MarriageMaisie's Marriage
Drama 1923 96 minsSilentDirector: Alexander Butler
Family Planning: The Movie. The film they didn't want you to see in 1923.
The LoverThe Lover
Drama 1963 56 minsDirector: Joan Kemp-Welch
Tainted love: infidelity, eroticism and cruelty drive Harold Pinter's complex and provocative early TV drama
Moulin RougeMoulin Rouge
Drama 1928 127 minsSilentDirector: E.A. Dupont
E. A Dupont’s (Piccadlly, Variete) tale of intrigue amid the famous dance-halls of Paris was one of the most lavish British films of the silent era.
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More related films in our Rentals collection, Sex.
More related films in the Rentals collection, Other Grooves.