Hussy (1980) Brit Neo Noir

Written and Directed by Matthew Chapman. 

Cinematography by Keith Goddard, Music by George Fenton. 

The film stars Helen Mirren as Beaty Simons, John Shea as Emory Cole, Paul Angelis as Alex Denham, Murray Salem as Max, Jenny Runacre as Vere, Daniel Chasin as Billy, Imogen Claire as Imogen, Patti Boulaye as Cabaret Singer, and Marika Rivera as French Singer. 

"Soho has been at the center of London's 'sex industry' for well over 200 years. Between 1778 and 1801 the notorious 'White House', a “magical” brothel fitted out with various mechanical contraptions designed to terrify the unwary, was located at 21 Soho Square and, in more recent times, before the introduction of the 1959 Street Offences Act, prostitutes packed the streets and alleys.

By the early Sixties there were nearly 100 strip clubs and the area was inundated with stickers and postcards (known as 'walk-ups') advertising 'French Lessons' or similarly ambiguous services. The early Sixties also saw the introduction of a number of 'sex shops', initially by Carl Slack, which had expanded to just under 60 locations in Soho alone, by the mid-Seventies. A photographic studio at number 4 Gerrard Street was occupied by 'glamour photographer' and 'girlie magazine' publisher Harrison Marks, who was responsible for such publications as 'Kamera' until he broke up with partner and 'model' Pamela Green in 1967." (sixtiescity.net)

Helen Mirren as Beaty Simons

John Shea as Emory Cole

Murray Salem as Max

Paul Angelis as Alex Denham

Story

London. Soho. The Baron Club. Its basically a cabaret, with floor shows, and B-Girls who function also as private contractors, aka available house prostitutes for extra curricular activities. 

Beaty Simons is a slightly crumbling beauty, she's thirty five but looks a bit older, overdoing it on her makeup enhances this. She's a very popular "entertainer.' She tells Emory, that she does it "all' except kissing.

"She won't let you kiss her, but what the hell do you expect?" (Tom Waits)

Beaty Simons working girl

The whore's lounge

Beaty is a popular prostitute she has regulars. Her old man, she tells Emory was sent away to prison. She has a son who she sees regularly on weekends. 

Lighting the club

Emory is one of the lighting technicians for the cabaret. He becomes smitten with Beaty. He watches her through a door to the upstairs lounge where she sits with the other "prostitutes in waiting." He also watches her with her various johns, looking down from his perch above the stage and dancefloor. 

Emory's view of Beaty

Beaty has regulars. Her old man, she tells Emory was sent away to prison. She has a son who she sees regularly on the weekends. 

When Beaty is up in the lounge and the cabaret entertainment is on a break between acts, Emory joins her and makes small talk. He tries to get her to go on a date, but she puts him off. Finally Emory frustrated actually pays the Madame who runs the girls for a surprise "date" with Beaty. He gets the "extra' money for the "date" by hiring himself out with his 1975 Daimler Limousine [DS420] as a chauffer. 

The de facto madame

Beaty at first isn't amused at Emory's surprise, but she begins thaw and becomes impressed with the car and his spacious apartment at Oliver's Wharf, on Wapping High Street. 

The luxury car and the opulent apartment he tells Beaty belonged to his dead wife. The story he tells Beaty is that they were vacationing on a exotic isle where she ate poison berries got sick and died. He blames himself and has a guilt trip he tells Beaty because he failed to stop her from eating them. 

Love begins to blossom between Beaty and Emory. Beaty moves in with Emory. They go on get away trips to the country on the days the club is closed. Emory meets Billy and they too, hit it off really well. 

All is good except that Emory is beginning to get jealous of all of Beaty's johns. He resents sharing her, and things just start to go a bit sour. Well what the hell did he expect, right? 

More problems arise when Beaty goes on a sudden weekend fling with a woman client who pays very well, it is unplanned, but the amount of money offered cannot be turned down, an d Emory is charged with watching Billy for the weekend. Things go well. However when Beaty is dropped off at Emory's flat, Billy witnesses the woman client kissing Beaty passionately goodbye. Upset he runs off with Emory chasing after him. Nothing other than the scene with Billy running off and Emory bringing him back is the result. 

Complicating Beaty and Emory's relationship even more is the arrival of Alex. Alex is Beaty's former abusive boy friend / pimp and the father of Billy. 

He's done doing time and has nowhere else to go. So it starts going Noirsville when Beaty invites him to stay with them, until he can get back on his feet. Beaty explains to Emory that she owes Alex at least that much because he helped her get off her heroin addiction.

Emory is of course upset and doesn't get along with Alex. Alex we find out is a certifiable maniac who is addicted to Demerol. Of course, there are flair-ups between them. Alex has anger management issues and he tells Emory in a threatening way that he can be patient.

Emory and Beaty continue their relationship. One of their dates is at a Gay / Transvestite Bar with female impersonators as the entertainment. Into this scene walks Max a gay buddy of Emory. 

Max needs Emory for some type of under the table drug deal. He promises him $10,000 pounds if he's in on the deal. Max asks Emory he he knows of anyone else for the third man. Emory, thinking he may kill two birds with one stone recruits Alex. 

The 10,000 pounds is jut what they need to leave the UK for a tropical island and a new life together for Beaty, Emory and Billy.

Besides all this, there's something weird with Max and Emory but at this point you're wondering if there was something else going on before besides just drug deals. At one point we catch Emory blowing a kiss towards Max, is it an innocent joke, is it something else? Who knows.

Noirsville

This is a decent enough Neo Noir. It's almost in "Cabaretera" territory. We get most of a couple of nightclub song and dance numbers.

Everybody is convincing, there's no unbelievable characters. There's a couple of cop out twists but most Classic Hollywood Noir had cop out, everything comes out alright twists, too. 7/10

Solid script, competent direction, great performances and wonderful settings make this an essential view.

christopher-underwood1 October 2019

Much underrated and sadly, little seen seedy gem. Low budget so lots of location shooting, always good, especially in London and if a little rough around the edges, all the better. Helen Mirren gives a gutsy and convincing performance in what is a surprisingly convincing glimpse of the sleazier side of late 70s London. She would play a rather more glossy version of the fancied girl on the edge of the underworld in the following year's Long Good Friday but even in that fine film we do not see a finer performance than here. Matthew Chapman does well with his limited funds and gets decent performances from everyone including the child and surely one of the most menacing bad guys in cinema. Paul Angelis, who worked mainly in TV but famously voiced parts for Yellow Submarine, switches deftly between friendly and fearsome as a psychotic criminal strong man and coming between the two main protagonists. Solid script, competent direction, great performances and wonderful settings make this an essential view.