one of my absolute favorites!

Memorable, crazy movie

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This movie features a dysfunctional family of a different sort, a clan of homicidal adults, two of them who think they're still kids, kidnapping beatniks and hobos in Britain and forcing them to stay in their creepy mansion until they're either murdered or driven as batty as the whole family. When one man comes between Mumsy, Girly and Nanny, the family begins turning against one another and mayhem ensues, from Girly singing about chopping Nanny's head off to competing with her mom. (and it's never mentioned what Sonny and Girly's real names are, so chances are they never even had real names, went to school or got jobs). It's just so damned weird that it's hard not to like it, and the soundtrack and acting is hilarious. My favorite part of the movie is Sonny's Kodak home movie camera; not only is it nostalgic but he never runs out of film for it and he uses it to film each "new friend" for archives of their "collection". This movie is right up there with American Gothic (1988) and Running With Scissors (2006), it's low budget but it's incredibly funny and needs a better rating.

Girly (Vanessa Howard), a fetching but evil-minded schoolgirl, shares a dark hobby with her oddball household: she lures unsuspecting men to their mansion on the outskirts of London, then engages them in "games" that inevitably end in their deaths. The horrific family project runs smoothly until Girly brings home a new friend (Michael Bryant) who's operating under his own set of rules. Soon, he turns the entire household upside-down.Allegedly, "the film is a dark and playful allegory of the breakdown of the nuclear family of the 1950s as a result of the free love movement of the 1960s." How exactly this critique came about is unknown to me. I guess I didn't see any such thing in the story, but I did not personally ask the writer what his motivation was.The film was admirably handled, lead by director Freddie Francis, known for his work with Amicus and Hammer. If you're going to make a memorable British horror film, these are the studios you want and the man you want to do it.What I found interesting was the unusual use of sexual seduction: is the woman an adult or a child? Clearly, she is in her early twenties. But her mindset is that of a child. Are her seductions of a woman or a child? This ambiguity makes what could be simple a risqué sexual liaison into a potential taboo.Absolutely under-appreciated and unknown film that deserves a Renaissance. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and rent this from Netflix.

"Mumsy,Nanny,Sonny and Girly" is a dark 1969 British horror-comedy which is based on a stage play by Maisie Mosco entitled "Happy Family".The main characters of the film are the members of a wealthy British family whose names are synonymous with their roles within the family:the mother called Mumsy,the maid called Nanny,the son called Sonny and the daughter called Girly.Despite being in their twenties Sonny and Girly act like prepubescent children,dressing in British school uniforms and sleeping in giant cribs in a room full of toys.Sonny and Girly regularly seek out male loners,hobos and hippies to lure back to their house,where they are then forced to play "The Game".When the "new friends" refuse to participate they are murdered or "sent to the angels".Freddie Francis's "Girly" is a fantastic film which faded into obscurity too quickly.During a 2004 Freddie Francis film festival in England, the organizers struggled to find a VHS copy of the film to screen, but couldn't come up with one and it was briefly thought to be lost to the public,until copies began to surface on the internet in 2004.The acting is solid and there is enough creepy moments to satisfy any self-respecting horror fan.8 out of 10.

What we have here is a bizarre mix of psycho horror and pitch black comedy that actually works much better than I thought it would. The film is based on a stage play by Maisie Mosco and follows a so-called 'happy family' who all happen to be lunatics. The film is directed by Freddie Francis who of course has a lot of experience in directing cult and horror movies having done a number of films for Hammer Horror and numerous other projects. The film is not very well known and was considered lost for a number of years. I have to say that doesn't really surprise me - this flick is a bit too weird to have a great deal of mass market appeal! The plot focuses on a family made up of four people - unsurprisingly calling themselves; Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly. This clan has a habit of kidnapping people, subjecting them to torturous games for a little while and then "sending them to the angels" once bored of them. This all goes well until they kidnap a New Friend, who is not happy to join in with the games and decides to play some of his own...The film is very 'British' in style and execution and Freddie Francis does well in elevating the film away from it's stage play origins - although it's still clear that this story was originally a play from the settings and the way most of the scenes play out. Almost the entire film takes place in and around the large house that is the living area of the central characters. The lack in variation for locations doesn't harm the film however as the house matches the plot brilliantly and the way that it all takes place around one area helps to enforce the unfortunate kidnapped characters' situations and lack of escape routes. The acting is spot on, with all four of the title characters being brought to life convincingly - Vanessa Howard is particularly good as the mischievous 'Girly'. Michael Bryant is probably the best known member of the cast and he fits in well with the rest of them. The humour on display is so black that a lot of it will be missed - I have to say that I didn't find the film particularly 'funny' myself. Still, this is an excellent slice of cult cinema and well worth seeing if you can get your hands on a copy!