I've been fascinated by Mary Millington's life and career since I was a child in the 1970s. I always recall seeing her image on cinema posters when I was very young and wondering who this beautiful blonde woman was. Even at a formative age I knew she was an 'adult actress', but couldn't quite understand how TV favourites like Diana Dors and Irene Handl were co-starring with her in naughty big-screen comedies.

Sutton is just one of a number of stalwarts who grace The Playbirds with their aspect, and with scenes propped up with the likes of Windsor Davies ( It Ain’t Half Hot Mum), Glynn Edwards ( Minder), Kenny Lynch ( Dr Terror’s House of Horrors) and Ballard Berkeley ( Fawlty Towers), there’s something reassuring about these dependable figures propping up this bizarre, and largely successful, mix of sexploitation, crime caper and light-hearted comedy. who tragically died young from an apparent suicide, though there are still rumors of foul play swirling around her demise. Marilyn Monroe, you say?David Galaxy and Me (new interview with actress Sally Faulkner, who recalls working with Alan Lake on Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair) Mary was actually a former veterinary nurse from Surrey, who stumbled into pornography quite accidentally; initially the hardcore variety and then softcore, which is not the usual career trajectory for actresses in that business. She had few inhibitions about sex and nudity, and after making some immensely successful 8mm films in Germany and The Netherlands, Mary began a relationship with publisher David Sullivan, who promoted her relentlessly in his stable of magazines, the most famous of which was Whitehouse - a cheeky sideswipe at Mary Whitehouse, the infamous pro-censorship campaigner. By the mid-1970s Mary started securing small supporting roles in British comedies like Eskimo Nell ( 1975) and Keep It Up Downstairs ( 1976). With Sullivan's help she soon elevated to more significant 'above the title' roles in Come Play With Me ( 1977) and The Playbirds ( 1978). That's how she gained a much wider audience. If that sounds tonally all over the shop, The Playbirds just about holds it together through sheer chutzpah. Imagine, if you will, The Sweeney as directed by Pete Walker or Derek Ford, with just a tang of giallo as detective Gavin Campbell (Yes, that’s right – one of ‘Esther’s boys’ from That’s Life) races in hot pursuit of the mystery assailant, not to mention the film’s downbeat ending. Emmanuelle in Soho prologue (06:37 in HD) – 1981 prologue added to the start of the US release of the movie.

Screenbound has encoded the movies in transparent AVC, finely preserving their original grain structure without overt processing. The prints are in stable and clean condition. Fans will be immensely pleased seeing the video quality of these films in the box set. Audio With the aggressive marketing and publicity skills of Playmates’ proprietor David Sullivan, Millington became a household name, principally through a trilogy of low-budget British films whose audience exceeded that of the ‘dirty mac brigade’ of Soho’s square mile; and it’s these films (restored in all their grubby-turned-pinsharp ‘70s glory) alongside a bountiful bevy of posthumous productions and specially-made bonus documentaries that comprise Screenbound’s gorgeous box set The Mary Millington Movie Collection, curated by Mary’s biographer Simon Sheridan. Well, sure, her, too, but for fans in the United Kingdom in particular MM could just as easily make them think of a woman who was clearly features a British Board of Film Classification rating. It turns out MVD Visual is distributing a limited number of copies of the original Region B Sally Faulkner: David Galaxy And Me Documentary (11:12 in HD) – Actress Sally Faulkner is interviewed in this 2019 production.Of course, Mary was only one of many involved in the 'sexploitation' sex comedies of the 1970s - perhaps the most culturally important, but still one of many. And there are plenty of other great, or not-so-great but similarly important, films in the genre too, which I'd love to celebrate in future. So many! I have plans for something very, very special next year, but you'll just have to wait for now. It's going to be the project I have always wanted to do. Maybe then I can retire from the world of 1970s' sex comedies forever! The film is also known as David Sullivan's The Playbirds, The Playbird Murders, and Secrets of a Playgirl. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. We also have Queen Of The Blues (1979) and posthumous film Mary Millington's True Blue Confessions ( 1980), which is the most eye-opening of the lot. The set also contains my 2015 movie Respectable: The Mary Millington Story, in which I chronicled her amazing life through interviews with her family, friends, lovers and co-stars. I think it's a nice bookend to Mary's career and I'm very proud that it's part of the set.

Come Play With Me opens this box set, and it’s a curio inasmuch as although it’s the film whose title is associated with Millington in the public mindset, thanks to Sullivan’s publicity blitzkrieg – the sex thimble barely appears in the film compared to the screen time devoted to her pulchritudinous co-stars such as Sue Longhurst, Suzy Mandel, Nicola Austine, Suzette Sangalo Bond and the striking Sonia Svenburger. Released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mary Millington’s death, this special edition Blu-ray box set (limited to 3,000 copies) features Millington’s most glamorous film roles, digitally remastered in high definition, including: Come Play with Me (1977), The Playbirds (1978), Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979), Queen of the Blues (1979), Mary Millington s True Blue Confessions (1980), Mary Millington’s World Striptease Extravaganza (1981) plus Respectable: The Mary Millington Story (2015), an in-depth documentary chronicling her extraordinary life. NEW Mary Millington’s True Blue Confessions – audio commentary by biographer Simon Sheridan and executive producer David Sullivan.a b c d e f g h i Harrison, Eddie (6 November 2022). " The Playbirds". film-authority.com . Retrieved 8 November 2022. Confessions of a Photographer (new interview with George Richardson, the photographer who snapped Mary topless at 10 Downing Street) The Playbirds was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2010 by Odeon Entertainment. The film has been digitally remastered and the disc features an extensive stills gallery, production notes written by historian Simon Sheridan, plus Mary Millington's World Striptease Extravaganza (1981) and Response, a short lesbian film starring Mary Millington, made in 1974. [7] The film was released on Blu Ray in 2020 as part of the Mary Millington Movie Collection. The Blu Ray was released by Screenbound Pictures and has audio commentary by Simon Sheridan and Willy Roe. [8] See also [ edit ] Released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mary Millington s death, this special edition Blu-ray box set (limited to 3,000 copies) features Mary s most glamorous film roles, digitally remastered in high definition, including: Come Play with Me (1977), The Playbirds (1978), Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979), Queen of the Blues (1979), Mary Millington s True Blue Confessions (1980), Mary Millington s World Striptease Extravaganza (1981) plus Respectable: The Mary Millington Story (2015), an in-depth documentary chronicling her extraordinary life.

To draw out the killer, Holbourne and Morgan decide to send in an undercover policewoman posing as an up-and-coming Playbirds model. Following "auditions" at the Yard, in which female officers are made to perform striptease, Holbourne and Morgan recruit Sergeant Lucy Sheridan, who takes a job at a massage parlour to set up her introduction to Dougan. Ransome, who secretly enjoys pornography that he obtains from Day, tries to slip into a house party being hosted by Dougan and some of the models. He is assumed to be the killer and attempts to flee, but in the ensuing police chase nearly drowns in a pond and is taken to hospital. Hern is arrested for the murders after he is found to have spied on the models during a photo shoot. Ten Million Dirty Words (13:28 in HD) – New featurette about Harry Knights, the writer who helped shape Mary Millington’s career.Released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mary Millington's death, this special edition Blu-ray box set (individually numbered and limited to 3,000 units) features Mary's most glamorous film roles, with new, stunning 2K restorations, including: Emmanuelle In Soho prologue (elements from Mary Millington s True Blue Confessions were re-edited to create this prologue for 1981 s Emmanuelle in Soho) Mary Millington on Location” (27:04 in HD) – A featurette narrated by actress Judy Matheson about locations in Mary Millington’s life and movies such as the sex shop she managed. Respectable: The Mary Millington Story’– audio commentary by director Simon Sheridan and the BFI’s Sam Dunn.