British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

No Orchids for Miss Blandish

Synopsis
One of the most controversial British films ever produced, this lurid crime drama caused an unprecedented storm of controversy upon release: local councils banned it, the Bishop of London denounced it, and MPs demanded an investigation into the BBFC for allowing it to be seen.
Based on the notorious novel by James Hadley Chase (which itself was condemned by George Orwell), the film is a mixture of sex, violence and immorality, and tells the brutal story of a kidnapped heiress who falls for one of her crazed captors. 
This example of British film noir, was described by Monthly Film Bulletin as "the most sickening exhibition of brutality, perversion, sex and sadism ever to be shown on a cinema screen".
Extras include:
-Interview with Richard Gordon and Richard Nielson (2010, 35 mins): the film’s US distributor and the actor in a filmed discussion with broadcaster Joel Blumberg
-Miss Blandish and the Censor (2019, 42 mins): ex-BBFC examiner Richard Falcon discusses the controversial film’s history with the British Board of Film Censors
-Soldier, Sailor (1945, 50 mins): World War II docudrama, conceived by No Orchids for Miss Blandish’s writer-director St John L Clowes
-Original theatrical trailer
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Year of release
1948
Subjects
Film studies; Literature
Keywords
censorship; crime; film adaptations; No Orchids for Miss Blandish (novel)

Credits

Director
St John Legh Clowes

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
BR Region B, Blu-Ray DVD
Price
£15.99
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
99 minutes
Year
2019

Distributor

Name

Powerhouse/Indicator

 

Available from retail outlets

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