Documentary chronicling the extraordinary life and tragic death of Mary Millington - Britain's most famous pornographic actress of the 1970s.
I wouldn't say I'm incredibly knowledgeable about the history of pornography. But I've seen enough documentaries and read enough stories that I thought I had a fair handle on it. But, it turns out, the world of American pornography is apparently completely different from British (or perhaps European) pornography. Because I have never even heard of Mary Millington.
This documentary is quite a good one, because it not just follows Mary's life, but follows the industry, which is really the more interesting story. It's a story of morality, censorship, and more. This is even more fascinating today (2016) in the era of the internet.
Respectable: The Mary Millington Story
2016
Action / Biography / Documentary
Respectable: The Mary Millington Story
2016
Action / Biography / Documentary
Plot summary
Documentary chronicling the extraordinary life and tragic death of Mary Millington - Britain's most famous pornographic actress of the 1970s.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Movie Reviews
Britain's Biggest Porn Star... Who No American Ever Heard Of
Wonderful little documentary about Britain in the 1970s
Simon Sheridan has long been writing entertaining books about the British sex film industry of the 1970s, so he was obviously perfectly placed to make this documentary about one of the decade's leading industry lights. RESPECTABLE is a real labour of love for those involved, getting into the nitty gritty of Millington's character and providing a fully-rounded exploration of what made her tick.
This is a traditionally-structured documentary that starts out with snappy sound bites and choice cuts before moving into a chronological exploration of her career. Millington started out in modelling before moving quickly into hardcore pornography. Bizarrely, she then become something of a mainstream starlet, featuring in numerous tabloids due to her outrageous behaviour and even getting a film career of sorts. The final part of the documentary explores her decline and tragic suicide at the age of 33.
RESPECTABLE is a fine mix of talking head interview footage and clips from Millington's career. Be warned, this is explicit stuff indeed, with lots of brief moments from her pornographic work on display, so many in fact that I'm surprised this was passed as an 18 certificate. Dexter Fletcher is a fine choice of narrator for the piece and the interviews are all with interesting or entertaining faces like Dudley Sutton, Ed Tudor Pole, and David Sullivan. Millington's tale is something of an odyssey packed with incident and outrage and the viewer comes away with a thorough picture of life in Britain's mainstream sex industry during the 1970s.
story of porn star Mary Millington
Dexter Fletcher tells the story of Mary Millington, War time baby, turned British porn star in the 1970s. All kinds of nudity. both male and female. Born and raised in "Dorking" (of course). the irony of the town name. Life history and information provided by David Sullivan and Trevor Crook, her purported lovers. Was married to Robert Maxted for 15 years. Documentary shows very explicit intercourse... definitely for adults only! Lots of vintage film from London. They show it all. They also spend a considerable amount of time on Mary Whitehouse, leader of the Christian anti-porn group, who kept trying to shut her down. Sadly, Millington had tax troubles, and overdosed on meds and alcohol at age 33. Written and directed by Simon Sheridan, his one big project to date. Interesting story of what was occurring in Britain about the same time as things like the Playboy Clubs were happening in the United States. Showing on netflix.