Having been born in 1993, I was unfamiliar with the life, and tragic demise, of Seventies' porn starlet Mary Millington. Simon Sheridan's engrossing documentary remind everybody of my generation how porn was not as ubiquitous as it is today. 40 years ago hardcore material was illegal in Great Britain and those who made it, distributed it or starred in it were crucified in the press and persecuted by the authorities.
One lone figure who stood up to campaign for the legalisation of porn was Mary Millington, a tiny blonde from Surrey who pretty much single-handedly took on the British Establishment. Such was her immense popularity that she starred in the biggest selling 8mm porn movie Europe has ever known ('Miss Bohrlock') as well as appearing in 'Come Play with Me', the longest-running British film ever. But alongside fame came unhappiness and she died aged just 33, apparently with nobody left to help her beat her addiction to drugs, or her battle with depression.
Whilst 'Respectable: The Mary Millington Story' is not always a happy tale, there is much to enjoy, and digest, - there are carefully- judged moments of joy and laughter (actor Dudley Sutton is especially funny) mixed with heartbreaking and poignant tales told by several ex- lovers and friends. I found it utterly enthralling from beginning to end, and I couldn't stop thinking about it even days later. How did Mary really die? Who was ultimately responsible? And why was she considered such a thorn in the side of the Metropolitan Police?
What could've been a tawdry documentary is actually a beautifully- paced history lesson on British post-war attitudes towards sex. I absolutely loved it and as a teacher myself I think teenagers today would be shocked to know how the human rights we take-for-granted now were once a battlefield.