Lady Libertine (1983)

Director:

Gérard Kikoïne

Writer:

Harry Alan Towers (writer)

Release Date:

28 April 1984 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The infamous erotic saga an ashamed star tried to stop!

Plot:

Tale of erotic romance in turn of the century England.

Plot Keywords:

Victorian Era | Gender Disguise | Softcore | Female Nudity | Erotica

Cast

Christopher Pearson	...	Charles Beaumont
Jennifer Inch	...	Frank and Frances
Sophie Favier	...	Maud
Alain Dumaurier	...	Harmstorf
Emmanuel Karsen	...	Brook
April Hyde	...	Leslie
Eloïse Beaune	...	Miss Dundas
Jane Val	...	Mrs. Evans (as Jeanne Val)
Jacques Ferry	...	Watson

Directed by
Gérard Kikoïne

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Harry Alan Towers		writer

Produced by
Wilfrid Dodd	....	producer
Harry Alan Towers	....	producer

Original Music by
Marc Hillman

Cinematography by
Gérard Loubeau

Film Editing by
Caroline Gombergh

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominique Combe	....	first assistant director

Music Department
Jean-Louis Négro	....	conductor (as J.L. Negro)

Distributors

• Playboy Channel (1984) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• ProSieben Media AG (1998) (Germany) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD) (as "Lady Libertine")

Also Known As:

Frank and I (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

83 min (dvd release)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R (original rating) | Australia:MA (2007) | USA:R

coy adaptation of Victorian erotica

One of the many anonymous 'erotic' novels of the Victorian age, 'Frank and I' comes to the screen courtesy of Gérard Kikoïne, with Christopher Pearson and Jennifer Inch essaying the main roles of master and servant. It doesn't quite come off, mainly because of the appalling acting of the androgynous Inch as Frank (or is it Frances?), with her baby girl voice and plain-Jane face. It doesn't help either that the main focus of the book (the submission-domination angle) is squished into one scene which fails to be really convincing.

The trailer for the film manages to be better than the main feature itself, and that's no mean feat. The Victorians knew how to write this sort of thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean that 20th century film-makers know how to portray it on the screen. 'Frank and I' manages to be quite limp, miserably shot and woefully scripted. Not one I'd particularly recommend.