Lady Godiva Rides Again

Lady Godiva Rides Again

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	1951
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Comedy film

Lady Godiva Rides Again (known in the U.S. as Bikini Baby) is a 1951 British comedy motion picture featuring Pauline Stroud, George Cole, and Bernadette O'Farrell in leading roles, with several prominent British actors appearing in supporting or cameo capacities. The storyline centers on a young woman from a provincial English town who wins a local Lady Godiva beauty contest and subsequently aims for national pageants and a career in acting.

The film was initially distributed in the United States in 1953 by Carroll Pictures under its original name, but was later re-released as Bikini Baby to capitalize on the growing fame of supporting actress Diana Dors, who was promoted to top billing with this retitling.

Significant appearances include Joan Collins making her cinematic debut as an uncredited beauty pageant contestant, alongside Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in the UK, also uncredited. Other emerging performers featured are Diana Russell, Dana Wynter (credited as Dagmar Wynter), Anne Heywood (credited as Violet Pretty), Yvonne Brooks, Simone Silva, Jean Marsh, and socialite Pat Marlowe. The cast further includes early career roles for Sid James and an uncredited cameo by Trevor Howard.

Plot

On a rainy Sunday afternoon in Coventry, Johnny takes his girlfriend to the movies. During the intermission, she notices an advertisement inviting young women to participate in the annual street festival’s Lady Godiva competition and decides to enter.

Cast

• Pauline Stroud as Marjorie Clark
• Bernadette O'Farrell as Janie
• George Cole as Johnny
• Stanley Holloway as Mr. Clark
• Gladys Henson as Mrs. Clark
• John McCallum as Larry Burns
• Dennis Price as Simon Abott
• Diana Dors as Dolores August
• Eddie Byrne as Eddie Mooney
• Kay Kendall as Sylvia Clark
• Cyril Chamberlain as Harry
• Lyn Evans as Vic
• Dora Bryan as Publicity Woman
• Sid James as Lew Beeson
• Richard Wattis as Casting Director
• Renée Houston as Beattie
• Arthur Howard as Soap Publicity Man
• Michael Ripper as Joe - Stage Manager
• Dana Wynter as Myrtle Shaw
• Leslie Mitchell as TV interviewer
• Tommy Duggan as Compere
• Felix Felton as Councillor
• Anne Heywood as Dorothy Marlowe, beauty contestant
• Alastair Sim as Hawtrey Murington (uncredited)
• Googie Withers as Susan Foster (uncredited)
• Trevor Howard as cinema patron extra (uncredited)
• Joan Collins as beauty contestant (uncredited)
• Ruth Ellis as beauty contestant (uncredited)
• Jean Marsh as beauty contestant (uncredited)

Production

Originally titled Beauty Queen, the film drew inspiration from the Miss Kent 1950 beauty contest held at Leas Cliff Hall in Kent. Frank Launder, who co-produced alongside Leslie Gilliatt, had served as a judge at that event. Over 500 candidates were screened for the lead role, including Joan Collins and Audrey Hepburn; Hepburn was ultimately considered too slender for the part.

The lead was awarded to Pauline Stroud, whose only previous film work had been serving as a stand-in on Happy Go Lovely (1951). Joan Collins appeared in a minor capacity. This production marked Anne Heywood’s debut—then credited under her birth name Violet Pretty—a former beauty contest winner. It was also John McCallum’s first portrayal of an Australian character in a British film. Kay Kendall, cast to play Stroud’s sister after Launder saw her in a BBC theatrical production, used this opportunity to revive her career following the disappointing performance of London Town.

Filming took place between June and July 1951 on location in Folkestone, Kent. Leas Cliff Hall was used for scenes depicting the beauty contest venue, while The Metropole hotel served as the seaside location hosting the Fascination Soap Pageant. Scenes involving railway arrivals were shot at Folkestone West station where Marjorie Clark (Stroud) meets Dolores August (Diana Dors) along with Larry and Vic. The now-defunct Rotunda Amusement Park appears in sequences featuring Larry (McCallum) and Marjorie.

Due to objections from American censors regarding revealing costumes and content, Diana Dors filmed two separate swimsuit scenes—one featuring a bikini for European audiences and another more modest version intended for U.S. viewers.

Reception

Filmink observed that Dors "injects energy into every scene she features in," despite her limited screen time and absence in the latter half of the film; the critique implied that the movie might have benefited from Dors taking on the principal role.

External links

• Lady Godiva Rides Again at the British Film Institute
• Lady Godiva Rides Again at Letterbox DVD