Keep It Up Downstairs
- 1976 film
Sex-filled Edwardian spoof in which the servants and masters at Cockshute Towers must unite to save the estate from bankruptcy. Stars Diana Dors, Jack Wild, William Rushton, Aimi MacDonald, Francoise Pascal and more.
Keep It Up Downstairs trivia
Keep It Up Downstairs is a follow up of the success of producer-writer Hazel Adair's 1974 film, Can You Keep It Up For A Week?, which also starred Sue Longhurst, Neil Hallett and Mark Singleton.
The budget for the film was £120,000.
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
Keep It Up Downstairs was the first X-rated film that producer and writer Hazel Adair publicly put her name to.
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
Female producer and writer Hazel Adair faced criticism from within the film industry. Some corners felt that the sex comedy genre was the preserve of men. She responded in 1975, during the film's production: "That's implying that women don't know anything about sex or don't enjoy it!"
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
Besest by a chaotic production schedule amidst which the cast "did not know what was going to be shot from one day to the next", soft- and hard-core versions of the film were shot, with several of the straight actors in the cast objecting to the latter.
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
After having a non-nudity clause put in her contract, Francoise Pascale threatened to sue producers after they employed Mary Millington's services as a double for her naked bottom, whilst Sue Longhurst refused when asked to go "a bit further".
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
Jack Wild was so perturbed by the 'backstage shenanigans' he saw during production that he refused to talk about the film in later life.
Source: 'Keeping The British End Up' by Simon Sheridan
British porn legend Mary Millington played a small role in the film, and seemingly charmed everyone on set. Director Robert Young describes her as having a "huge impact" on his life, and recounts one particularly saucy tale from the set: "During one scene Mary had to crawl under a dining table and pretend to seduce the guests. I looked down and she had actually unzipped one of the actors' flies and was doing it for real!"
Source: Editorial for 2013 Network DVD release