If you are looking for an NTSC VHS or DVD copy of the film email
me.
A love story about a girl, the man she is living for, and
the man she is living with.
Cast | Formats | Notes |
Pictures | Quotes | My Summary | My Review
| Character | Actor |
| Billy (Deleted) | Malcolm McDowell |
| Joy | Carol White |
| Tom | John Binden |
| Dave | Terrence Stamp |
| Beryl | Kate Williams |
| Aunt Emm | Queenie Watts |
| Tom's Friend | James Beckett |
Directed by Ken Loach
From the novel Poor Cow by Nell Dunn
VHS - PAL / DVD R2 - out of print
The was to be Malcolm's first movie in 1967, but he was NOT in the final film. Many interviews mistakenly list it as his first film. Some people even think the scene in the park features Malcolm, but it is NOT him. It is not know if the scene with Malcolm was saved or not, but it is doubtful that they would've back then. There is a very small chance it could show up again on DVD, but since the film is so awful, it isn't likely.
For the movie The Limey (1999), they used footage from this film when they needed to show flashbacks of Terrence Stamp looking young. It's not like anyone would remember the film where it came from
There was a 45 single released by Donovan - "Jennifer Juniper" b/w "Poor Cow".
45rpm Single
Book Cover
German Poster
Italian Poster
Malcolm gives two very different stories about his role in this film.
"I didn't get on with the director and he scrapped my part. He wanted his actors to improvise everything and I didn't care for it. I want a script to work with, not just be caught on film doing something for the first time whether it's right or not." - Seventeen 7/69
"I did one day in Poor Cow, in which I made love to Carol White. I had no idea what the role was, I never read the script. It was an interior scene, and it had been raining, so every time I came into this ruddy place they drenched me with a watering can. It wasn't great fun. Then they couldn't match the exterior because they never got any more rain after that, so they cut it all out. That was the end of my movie career for a few months." - Show Magazine 1/72
The title refers to the main character, Joy
the slut. She is of average looks, but is surrounded by ugly people so she comes
out looking much better than she really is. At 18 she leaves home, runs off with
Tom, gets married, pregnant and has a boy, Johnny. Soon after it all turns to
shit. Tom abuses her mentally and physically and it turns out that he makes a
living by being a thief. A botched bank robbery sends him away to prison,
leaving her all alone.
Soon after she falls for another thief, this one a jewel
thief, named Dave. With him she finds love and happiness for the first time, but
soon after he is arrested again and sentenced to 12 years. She is alone again.
The movie is filmed like a documentary, with titles and narrating like she is
being interviewed, it really slows the film down worse than it would be. The
film is very dark and depressing and extremely British. The thick accents are
impossible to follow at times leaving you in the dark as to what the dialogue
is.
Now, with no income, Joy becomes a barmaid. To earn extra
money on the side she becomes a whore, taking home men from the bar. She even
does a stint as a model for a pin up calendar. All the while she attempts to
live a normal life while waiting for Dave to get out of prison, with a chance at
parole he may be out in four years.
She goes to visit him and he has heard about her slutting
around and that her husband Tom is getting out soon and knows he has lost her.
She lies and tells him everything is OK. Soon after Tom shows up making like
everything is fine and that they have to get together again for Johnny's
sake. Stupidly, she agrees.
While everything seems good for a short time, he is soon
hitting her again. She knows the only way to get rid of him is to get him back
in prison and bide her time until Dave is released.
Then one day her son gets lost and
she realizes that he is the most important thing in her life as she frantically
searches for him.
This film is a god awful nightmare. I only watched it to try and picture where Malcolm would've been in it. His scene would've been in the later part of the movie where Carol is having sex with a bunch of different guys. It wouldn't have been much of a role. Malcolm should be quite thrilled his scenes were cut out as it will always mean if... will be his first film. What better debut could you want? The film is very British and stuck in the 60s. This makes it dated and the language thick from that time. The setting is bleak and pathetic and you can't imagine people really wanting to live like that. This film is extremely pointless and an absolute horror to watch. It is dark and dreary and filled with a huge array of ugly people in a dirty environment. I can't imagine what they were aiming for and where the audience is to relate to or enjoy the film. Since Joy is such a miserable waste who chooses her useless lifestyle, you don't really care what happens to her or the film. I would never, ever watch it again. I barely survived the first time hoping for some fleeting glimpse of Malcolm in the background that somehow survived, but this would not happen. It is not funny, not witty, not interesting at all. It is totally trite and idiotic. I can't even imagine how this sorry piece of trash got made in the first place. The shocking thing is this garbage was nominated for a Golden Globe? Talk about the sorry state of cinema back then. To top it all off if you hate 70s music then you will absolutely vomit all over yourself when you hear the inane folk styling of Donovan throughout this awful film, filmed entirely on location in a closet. The film might only remain an interest to those who want to see Terrence Stamp in one of his earlier roles.
Rating: 0/10
This page © 2001-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net