Inserts (1974)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

John Byrum

Writer:

John Byrum (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A degenerate film with integrity!

Plot:

A young, once-great Hollywood film director refuses to accept changing times during the early 1930s, and confides himself to his decaying mansion to make silent porn flicks.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Director | Actress | Sex | 1930s

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Boy Wonder
Jessica Harper	...	Cathy Cake
Bob Hoskins	...	Big Mac
Veronica Cartwright	...	Harlene
Stephen Davies	...	Rex, the Wonder Dog

Directed by
John Byrum

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Byrum		writer

Produced by
Davina Belling	....	producer
Harry Benn	....	associate producer
Clive Parsons	....	producer

Cinematography by
Denys N. Coop

Film Editing by
Michael Bradsell

Casting by
Miriam Brickman

Art Direction by
John Clark

Set Decoration by
Josie MacAvin

Costume Design by
Shirley Russell

Makeup Department
Robin Grantham	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hair stylist (as Pat McDermott)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Higgins	....	second assistant director
Barry Langley	....	assistant director

Art Department
John Allenby	....	property master
Terry Apsey	....	construction manager
Reg Wheeler	....	property man

Sound Department
Derek Ball	....	sound mixer
Ian Fuller	....	dubbing editor
Ken Nightingall	....	boom operator
Bill Rowe	....	dubbing mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Ray Hall	....	grip
John Harris	....	camera operator
Laurie Shane	....	gaffer
David Wynn-Jones	....	focus puller

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Pointing	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Colin Berwick	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jessica Harper	....	music consultant
Trevor York	....	musician: piano

Transportation Department
Charles Cox	....	transportation

Other crew
Zelda Barron	....	continuity
Bobby Blues	....	production accountant (as Robert Blues)
Richard Dreyfuss	....	production associate
Edna Tromans	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Film and General Productions

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1975) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• United Artists (1976) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Rank Film Laboratories  production processing by

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality.

Runtime:

117 min | USA:99 min (cut version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:R | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:18 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Australia:R | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1996) | USA:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Film and General Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Sitting at piano, Boy Wonder plays song Moonglow, written in 1934. The movie takes place at least three or four years earlier (characters repeatedly talk about a then-unknown actor named Clark Gable, already a big star by time song was written).

Quotes:

Boy Wonder: OK, Miss Cake, let us see exactly how far down into it we can get.
Cathy Cake: Uh, into what?
Boy Wonder: Into the valley of indecency.
Cathy Cake: Well, that's a pretty crummy way of looking at it.
Boy Wonder: The trick, Miss Cake, is not to look at it at all, but simply limp to the edge of patience and let yourself fall.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Playboy: The Story of X (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Moonglow

"Inserts" has been generally misunderstood

"Inserts" has long been one of my favorite films, a comic-tragic meditation on art, sex, self-delusion, acting, and the magic of Hollywood. Its complex themes are woven through the "shocking" theme of pornography in the silent era. This film has always gotten a raw deal from critics. One way that would be helping in approaching this film is to think of it as a filmed drama. I actually think it would work much better on the stage. In fact, for years I've been trying to locate the script. (Anyone got any ideas on that?) If you've only seen it once, and didn't like it, see it again and think of some of what I've said. You'll find it bold, rich, provocative, and unique.