Cool It, Carol!

COOL IT CAROL! is a low budget sexploitation epic from British director Pete Walker, although even at this stage of his career he can't resist making the material as dark and uncomfortable as it can be. Made in 1970, it proves a fitting tribute of its era, complete with sleazy porn producers, dirty old men, and all manner of outlandish fashions and hairstyles.

The production values are typically excellent as this looks and feels like your usual above-average Walker production. Robin Askwith and Janet Lynn are a good fit as the out-of-their-depth young couple who move to London with hopes of hitting the big time, only to find themselves drawn into a world of sleaze. The grubby atmosphere is spot on and there's plenty of tasty nudity for male viewers to enjoy (particularly from the delectable Lynn), but it's all rather seedy and depressing.

In many ways this film is an offshoot of the old 'sensation' genre of the 1930s, about pretty young girls finding themselves exploited by perverted older men. There are indications at comedy with the presence of Askwith and some funny dialogue, but as mentioned, it's rather depressing overall with a storyline that never really goes anywhere. I much prefer Walker when he has a story to tell, as in his later film HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

"London? At your age!?" Teenagers Joe (Robin Askwith) and Carol (Janet Lynn) leave their rather boring lives in rural Norwich and go to swinging London to make their fortune. Things do not go to plan and when they run out of money Carol turns to prostitution. She doesn't seem too bothered about selling herself to dirty old men but Joe is obviously jealous - that is until big money starts rolling in. However riches don't always bring happiness and I think that there is a moral in this tale (allegedly based on a true story). Director Pete Walker made a series of very British horror movies but before that he was making sexploitation films, this being the second one that I have so far watched. And I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a delightful snapshot of England, both rural and urban, in 1970. I loved seeing the fashions, the old vehicles, the music and listening to what would now be considered dated language. Apparently the film courted much controversy in the UK at the time but viewed now the sex side of it is pretty tame. Carol and Joe do have sex a few times, including on the train to London, but very little is seen. Janet Lynn was a very attractive young actress, she is seen topless quite a few times plus one brief full frontal shot. Askwith, who went on to star in the British sex comedy "Confessions of.." movies, is seen naked from the rear. Fair amount of sex talk, ranging from the f word to the very British "have it off". I noticed one goof, the couple agree to be filmed having sex for money, the reflection of the real crew cameraman can be seen in a mirror next to the character cameraman with his 8mm handheld camera. Cool It, Carol isn't exactly red hot as a sex movie but I found it to be an enjoyable and charming romp that has as much humour as it does sex.

Pete Walker is famous primarily for the superlative horror films he made during the 70's like "Frightmare" and "House of the Whipcord" and secondarily for the sex comedies he churned out in the late 60's like "I Like Birds" and "School for Sex". This film, made during the transition between the two periods, doesn't really fit either category. It is more of a serious, realistic drama with occasional comic elements. It tells the story of two naive but extremely amoral young people who leave their boring small town lives for swinging London. After many humiliating experiences--having to resort to pimping, prostitution, and performing in stag films--against all odds (and all plausibility), they achieve their dream of a success, but it proves to be less than what they hoped for.

For much of the running time this is pretty serious and believable movie, but it goes off the rails at the end. The female character, Carol (played by Janet Lynn), is apparently meant to be a homage to Christine Keeler (who the actress uncannily resembles), but while it was easy to see how a liberal-minded party girl like Keeler could find fame and fortune (or infamy and fortune) in the repressed Britain of the early 60's, it seems a lot less likely that this would happen ten years later when all the girls were pretty much giving it away for free. It also seems unlikely that these two shallow grasping characters would suffer all this humiliation only to grow a conscience AFTER they finally find wealth and success.

In some ways this film resembles "Midnight Cowboy", but the characters are much more amoral and insensitive, so the film doesn't really achieve the same tragic, emotional depths. Still the two leads are very charismatic. I always liked Robin Askwith (even if his bare butt often logged more screen time in his movies than his face). Janet Lynn was unbelievably sexy as a schoolgirl who gets felt up by a lecherous schoolmaster in a brief scene in "Assault", so you can imagine what she is like in a meatier role that requires her to shed her clothes every five minutes. Mostly though it is nice to see a British sex film that is not preachy and moralistic, on one hand, or given over to horrible sub-Benny Hill style "comedy" on the other. Pete Walker does it again.

An absolute gem! This is possibly Walker's finest film, although it is a bit unfair to compare it to his 'terror' pictures. England, particularly, London 1970 and things are changing and this little film captures something of the very essence. Janet Lynn is fantastic as the wide eyed innocent who is more than happy to shed her clothes and have some fun. 'I don't mind people looking at my body. I quite like it actually.' This she says as she changes her dress and gets rid of her bra, in a railway compartment. Robin Askwith is also very good as the young guy who pretends to have all the connections but in reality is nowhere near as resourceful as the delightful Lynn. There are sleazy sessions with elderly men in high positions ready to take her on for a fiver when the young couple find their finances dwindle. Plenty of location shooting, some marvellous cinematography, humour and flesh and an insightful glimpse of London's underbelly c1970.

Part black comedy, part cautionary tale, "Cool it Carol!" is the frank story of a sometime-couple of teens from the Midlands who hope to make the big move to London, circa 1969. She to be a model, he to be a delivery driver for an auto company. Carol is played by the fresh and quite pretty Janet Lynn, who unfortunately did almost no other films. The boy, played by Robin Askwith, brings a modestly charming goofiness. The rest of the cast is made up mostly of unknowns who do a pretty good job, and the sets and costuming are quite characterful. The music is unfortunately bland and heavy-handed. The plot is fairly standard potboiler stuff, relieved somewhat by the rather blase' attitude of the teens. Supposedly it is based upon a true story, as reported by that paragon of reportage -- The News of the World(!) Considering how often such situations must've occurred, it is not too wild a claim.

In all, a good addition to the catalog of youth films set in London in the late 1960s, and made more watchable by the appeal of "Carol" herself. Where is she now?