20 Cult British Films You Need To See Before You Die

12. Eskimo Nell (1975)

A group of young filmmakers are introduced to Benny, a maker of erotic films. He wants to producwe a film based on bawdy poem "The Ballad of Eskimo Nell". Benny sells the concept of the film to different backers - as a hardcore porno, a gay Western and a Kung Fu musical. Some crusaders for moral rectitude are expecting a wholesome family version of the film. Benny turns out to be a crook and runs off with the money, leaving the young filmmakers to come up with all the different versions of Eskimo Nell to highly comic effect. The British Sex Film is a much neglected cinema genre. Eskimo Nell, while not as raunchy as some, is nevertheless the funniest and best-made example from its era. The funniest line in the film comes when a porno starlet says: "Why don't we call the movie I Am Curious: Snowy?". It also features Christopher "All Creatures Great And Small" Timothy as a virgin screenwriter who is obsessed with penguins. The film is essentially a send up of British sex films themselves. And, as a parody of the industry, Eskimo Nell completely nails it.