Beauty Jungle, The (1964)

On a seaside holiday in Weston-Super-Mare, pretty mousy Bristol typist Shirley Freeman (Janette Scott) enters a rather tawdry beauty contest.

When she wins, local journalist Dan Mackenzie (Ian Hendry, on the verge of becoming a star) persuades her to give up her job and become a full-time beauty contestant, even though this means offending her strict, puritanical father (Norman Bird).

Ditching her predictable wet-blanket fiancé, Harry (David Weston), Shirley moves to London, where she finds continuing success and wins the “Rose of England” contest.

On the eve of “Miss Globe,” Shirley sleeps with one of the organisers of the contest but still does not win, largely because the cosmetic company sponsoring the contest wants to expand their business in South America and so rig the result in favour of Miss Peru.

Edmund Purdom is excellent as Rex Carrick, a near-has-been international star who realises his fame and reputation are fast becoming an international joke.

Produced in CinemaScope and colour and directed by Val Guest, the film was released in some markets as Contest Girl.

Don Mackenzie
Ian Hendry
Shirley Freeman
Janette Scott
Walter Carey
Ronald Fraser
Rex Carrick
Edmund Purdom
Armand
Jean Claudio
Charlie Dorton
Tommy Trinder
Mrs Freeman
Kay Walsh
Mr Freeman
Norman Bird
Elaine Freeman
Janina Faye
Harry
David Weston
Lucius
Peter Ashmore
Butlin’s Judge
Sidney James
Jean Watson
Jacqueline Jones
Barbara Lawton
Jackie White
Swimming Pool MC
Jerry Desmonde

Director
Val Guest

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