Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly

Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly
British original poster
Directed by	Freddie Francis
Produced by	Ronald J. Kahn
Written by	Brian Comport
Starring	Michael Bryant Ursula Howells Vanessa Howard Howard Trevor Pat Heywood
Music by	Bernard Ebbinghouse
Cinematography	David Muir
Edited by	Tristam Cones
Distributed by	Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release date	12 February 1970
Running time	101 min
Language	English

Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly, released as Girly in North America, is a 1970 British horror-comedy film. The film originated as a dream project for renowned cinematographer-turned-director Freddie Francis, who wanted the opportunity to direct a film over which he had complete creative control, instead of working on assignment from a studio (as was the case with his previous directorial efforts). Francis teamed with writer Brian Comport to build the movie around Oakley Court, which Francis had used for exterior shots in previous films. The script was based on a two-act play by Maisie Mosco entitled Happy Family, which was later adapted into a novella by screenwriter Brian Comport as "Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly". Though the film fared poorly in British cinemas, it enjoyed a brief but successful run in North America before going on to achieve status as a cult film.

Four individuals live in a secluded manor house in the English countryside, where they engage in an elaborate role-playing fantasy called The Game. In The Game, each individual assumes the role of a member in a "happy" family, completely subsuming his or her individual personality to the point that each individual is known only by the identity he or she is playing: Mumsy (the mother, Ursula Howells), Nanny (the nanny, Pat Heywood), Sonny (the son, played by Howard Trevor), and Girly (the daughter, Vanessa Howard). The Game is built around a set of strictly enforced yet ill-defined rules, the principal one of which is "Rule No. 1: Play the Game."

As a part of The Game, the teenaged Sonny and Girly regularly venture to more populated areas, where the pair use Girly to lure men back to the manor house. Once there, the men are dressed like schoolboys and forcibly indoctrinated into The Game, assuming the roles of "New Friends." Those who refuse are "sent to the Angels"—a euphemism for being ritualistically murdered in scenarios built around playground games, which Sonny routinely records on a 16mm movie camera so that the family can later enjoy the resultant snuff film.

One night, Girly and Sonny stake out a swinging London party, where they encounter a male prostitute (Michael Bryant) and his latest client (Imogen Hassall). An instant attraction develops between Girly and the man, who convinces his client to accompany the siblings for a night of carousing. Girly and Sonny take the couple to a playground, where they murder the woman by throwing her from a large slide. The next morning, Sonny and Girly convince the hungover man that he murdered the woman after a night of heavy drinking, and convince him to return to the manor with them. The prostitute—rechristened "New Friend"—is outfitted in schoolboy clothes and subjected to an indeterminate period of torment "playing the game," during which he is repeatedly presented with his client's body as a reminder that the family has incriminating information about him.