Monday 27 March 2017

642 Clive James and the Calendar Girls




First  viewed :  1980 / 81

This  was  broadcast  on  15/10/83   but  a  bit  of  research  proves  it  was  first  shown  two  or  three  years  earlier  and  my  own  recollection  is  that  I  watched  it  at  home  rather  than  university.

In  the  documentary , Clive   James  followed  royal  photographer  Patrick  Lichfield  to  Kenya  where  he  was  shooting  5   models  for  the  1981  Unipart  calendar  ( nice  work  if  you  can  get  it ). There  are  two  moments  I  particularly  remember. One  id  the  aristocrat  muttering  that  he  didn't  like  big  boobs  because  they  cast  too  much  shadow.

The  other  is  the  shoot  where  they  required  a  naked  girl  to  sit  cross-legged  in  front  of  a  puff  adder  that  had  been  thoughtfully  frozen  for  the  purpose. The  crew  were  bothered  that  it  looked  too  inert; the  girl  was  understandably  a  little  concerned  about  what  might  happen  if  it  warmed  up  in  the  sun. I  seem  to  recall  that  they  didn't  actually  use  the  shot  in  the  end.  

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