The Rita Tushingham Home Page

Credits & Photos 1964 - 1966

Summer 1964
• Rita's first child was born in May 1964, on the very day that Rita and Terry moved from their Earls Court flat into a thatched, sixteenth-century white cottage on five acres near Little London, Hertfordshire.  Named Dodonna, her name is a variation of 'Dodona', the mythical Greek City famed for giving its responses by rustling through the oak trees.

Rita Tushingham, Dodonna Bicknell Rita and daughter Dodonna.  Some of Dodonna's care is provided by Mary, their live-in Irish nanny.

The Human Jungle (21 Dec 1964) episode 2.13 "The Man Who Fell Apart" [TV: UK] "Joy South"
• View the Internet Movie Database entry for this item
• View Des Martin's Human Jungle page for more on this classic British series
• Patrick, a designer who has taken on a heavy workload to support his spendthrift wife, Catherine, finds peace in the country at a shabby dog kennel operated by a lonely young woman named Joy.  Complications ensue when Joy announces that she is pregnant with Patrick's baby, and wants him to leave his wife and children to marry her.
• The last episode of a British TV series which stars Herbert Lom as a psychiatrist who helps a different client each week.  Guest star Rita has a great deal of screen time.
• Following the birth of her daughter Dodonna in May of 1964, Rita found herself without any offers for film work.  This seems unbelieveable, as she had just completed four very successful films, establishing herself as one of Britain's most promising young film stars.  Nevertheless, by late 1964 her financial situation had deteriorated to the point where she was forced to do television (horrors!).  She made a guest appearance in this episode of The Human Jungle TV series.  This 1963-64 British series was quite popular at the time, and starred Herbert Lom as a London psychiatrist who, each week, helped to solve the mental or emotional problems of a new client.
• Rita dislikes this episode – and television work in general – even though her performance here is quite good.  An offer to star in Richard Lester's film version of The Knack (1965) came along soon after, and Rita's film career reasserted itself.
• The Human Jungle (21 Dec 1964) episode 2.13, The Man Who Fell Apart, on DVD, with Herbert Lom, Sally Smith, Mary Yeomans, Rita Tushingham, Alan Dobie, Barbara Shelley, John Rae, Patrick O'Connell, Brian Weske, music by Bernard Ebbinghouse, John Barry, cinematography by Gerry Turpin, Gerry Anstiss, written by John Kruse, directed by Roy Baker.
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), NTSC format (USA, Canada) - request copy from webmaster
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), PAL format (Europe, Australia) - request copy from webmaster

Herbert Lom Dr. Roger Corder, psychiatrist.

Herbert Lom Dr. Corder attempts to trace the whereabouts of Patrick Grant, a wayward husband.

Dr. Corder traces Patrick to a shabby dog kennel out in the country.

Rita Tushingham The kennel is operated by Joy South, who is Patrick's mistress.

Rita Tushingham, Alan Dobie Joy and Patrick discuss their relationship.

Rita Tushingham Joy wants Patrick to leave his wife and children to be with her.

Rita Tushingham Joy is walking a dog on a windy day, and sees Patrick's car approaching her kennel.

Barbara Shelley But it's not Patrick!  It's his wife, Catherine, who wants Joy to end her affair with Patrick.

Rita Tushingham It's too late to end the affair.  Joy is already pregnant.

Herbert Lom, Rita Tushingham Dr. Corder isn't sure if Joy is telling the truth about being pregnant.

Rita Tushingham Joy is not only pregnant, but plans on keeping the baby.

Rita Tushingham As soon as the baby is born, Joy dumps Patrick, concluding that a husband is now unnecessary.  Patrick can remain with his wife and children.  Everyone's problems are thus neatly (and simplistically) solved.

The Variety Club Awards For 1964 (09 Mar 1965) [TV: UK] "herself"
• View a photo array of this show from the British Pathe digital news archive
• Peter Haigh introduces The Variety Club Of Great Britain Annual Show Business Awards For 1964 from the Savoy Hotel, London.
• Show Business Personality – Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise
  Film Actress – joint award to Millicent Martin & Rita Tushingham
  Film Actor – Richard Attenborough
  Stage Actress – Dame Peggy Ashcroft (accepted by Susan Engel on her behalf)
  Stage Actor – Sir Laurence Olivier
  Radio Personality – Jack de Manio
  Most Promising Newcomer – Jimmy Tarbuck
  BBC TV Personality Of The Year – Eric Sykes
  ITV Personality Of The Year – Bernard Braden
• The Variety Club Awards For 1964 (09 Mar 1965), with Peggy Ashcroft, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Braden, Susan Engel, Peter Haigh, Jack de Manio, Millicent Martin, Eric Morecambe, Laurence Olivier, Eric Sykes, Jimmy Tarbuck, Rita Tushingham, Ernie Wise, presented by Bernard Delfont, Kenneth Rive.
  • Not available in any format

photo courtesy of Kevin Clark From left to right: Rita Tushingham, Bernard Braden, Eric Morecambe, Eric Sykes, Ernie Wise, Jimmy Tarbuck.

photo courtesy of Kevin Clark From left to right: Bernard Braden, Rita Tushingham, Eric Morecambe, Eric Sykes, Ernie Wise.

The Knack (1965) aka The Knack... And How To Get It [Film: UK] "Nancy Jones"
• View the Internet Movie Database entry for this item
• View a TCM article for this item
• In 1960s London, schoolteacher Colin has had enough of missing out on the sexual revolution.  He begs his womanizing lodger Tolen to teach him "The Knack" – how to score with women.  New-to-London Nancy is first attracted to Tolen, then to Colin.
• In late 1964, Rita began filming this comedy directed by Richard Lester, an American who had come to Britain in the mid-1950s, had directed a number of episodes of The Idiot Weekly (a televised adaptation of the hit BBC radio series The Goon Show), and had scored a major success as the director of the Beatles' first film A Hard Day's Night.
• This film version of The Knack expands upon the play by giving Nancy several comic adventures in London prior to encountering the other main characters.
• According to Richard Lester, "One of the reasons for deciding on the stylization of a man dressed in black in a black room, a grey man in a grey room and a white man in a white room, was I knew in playing a lot of scenes in the white room the attitudes of stance would stand out so well.  When Colin is upset, all you have to do is have him with a teacup in his hand and his trousers not quite fitting, as opposed to Tolen's line, and just have them in long shot and you know one's a winner and one's a loser."
• Richard Lester says, "Michael Crawford is a genius at physical comedy.  There's a famous scene in which Michael's character water-skis in a three-piece suit.  We went to a water-skiing association, borrowed the boats and had professionals on hand.  We told them that we wanted Michael to put the water skis on, grab a rope, jump into the water as a boat comes along, and end up skiing.  They said, 'Nobody can do that!  None of our boys could do it, and especially not your actor, who has never water-skied before!'  But Michael did it on the second take!"
• The Knack (1965) aka The Knack... And How To Get It, on DVD, with Rita Tushingham, Michael Crawford, Ray Brooks, Donal Donnelly, William Dexter, John Bluthal, Edgar Wreford, Dandy Nichols, Jane Birkin, Jacqueline Bisset, Charlotte Rampling, music by John Barry, cinematography by David Watkin, written by Ann Jellicoe, Charles Wood, directed by Richard Lester.
  • DVD Region 1, NTSC format (USA, Canada) - Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, more online sellers
  • DVD Region 2, PAL format (Europe) - Amazon UK, more online sellers
  • DVD Region 4, PAL format (Australia) - Devoted DVD
  • Soundtrack CD - Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK

Rita Tushingham Nancy arrives in London from the north of England.

William Dexter, Rita Tushingham Where is that voice coming from?! The dress shop owner starts talking to Nancy while she is still unaware of his presence.

Rita Tushingham Nancy looks for the address of the YWCA in a telephone directory.

Edgar Wreford, Rita Tushingham A man unexpectedly barges in and commandeers the phone booth.

Rita Tushingham "Don't let me catch you in here again!" "Oh, sorry!"

Rita Tushingham Nancy's search for the YWCA takes her past Ewell junkyard.

Rita Tushingham, Donal Donnelly, Timothy Bateson, Michael Crawford Colin thinks that a bigger bed will allow him to compete with the womanizing Tolen.  While at the junkyard to purchase a bigger bed, Tom and Colin encounter Nancy, and promise to take her to the YWCA.

They plan to wheel the bed home through the city streets.

Rita Tushingham, Donal Donnelly, Michael Crawford Tom leaps onto the bed from the doorway of a shop, having quickly bought some sandwiches for himself, Nancy, and Colin.

Michael Crawford, Rita Tushingham, Donal Donnelly They manuever the bed into a parking space.

This traffic warden seems confident that Nancy's cap is covering a parking meter whose time has expired.

Rita Tushingham Nancy pauses mid-bite to look at the traffic warden.

To the traffic warden's chagrin, there is still time remaining on the parking meter.

Rita Tushingham "Don't swear." Nancy admonishes Tolen in one of the scenes shot in the all-white room, set up by cinematographer David Watkin in a house on Melrose Terrace in Hammersmith, London.

Ray Brooks, Rita Tushingham Tolen makes his move on Nancy in the all-white room.

Ray Brooks, Rita Tushingham Tolen takes Nancy on a motorcycle ride.

Rita Tushingham In the park at Kensington Square, Tolen makes sexual advances towards Nancy, which distresses her.

Rita Tushingham, Michael Crawford "And he raped me marvelous super!" Tolen thinks that Colin is sexually incompetent.  Defending Colin against this accusation, Nancy tells how much she enjoyed her last sexual encounter with Colin.

Rita Tushingham, Michael Crawford Nancy and Colin make use of his new bed.

Rita Tushingham Popular publicity photo taken from the bed-as-trampoline scene.

Filming at Kensington Square park.

Richard Lester directs Rita at Kensington Square park.

Lord Snowdon sits next to Rita and husband Terry Bicknell at the UK premiere of The Knack, 02 June 1965, at the London Pavilion.

Rita Tushingham Rita graced the cover of the Observer magazine, 11 July 1965.  Note that the photo has been printed left-right reversed.

Rita Tushingham Rita wears her cap from The Knack in a rare color photo.

Rita Tushingham Rita wears her cap from The Knack in this publicity photo taken in front of her cottage in Little London, Hertfordshire.

Rita Tushingham

Summer 1965
• Rita was extremely busy during 1965.  The Knack enjoyed a very successful release, and was given the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival.  Rita spent some time in Spain filming her scenes with Alec Guinness for Doctor Zhivago.  Late in the year, she and her husband and daughter traveled to Canada to begin filming The Trap, in British Columbia.
• Rita said, "When I was buying some clothes the other day in a boutique, two girls said 'Can we have your autograph please?', and I gave it to them on their Daily Sketch.  As I flattened it down to write, they said 'Oh!  Don't crush him!'  And it was a photograph of Michael Crawford, the shy boy in The Knack.  All they wanted to know was what it was like to work with him.  And here, in a mad moment, I had been thinking that they were interested in me!"

Rita Tushingham, Princess Margaret Unfortunately for our Rita, every aspect of her life is splashed across the tabloid pages.  An article appearing in TV World magazine for 10 April 1965 compares Rita's face to that of Princess Margaret.  Rita says, "I felt embarrassed when a columnist compared my looks with Princess Margaret's.  So one night Princess Margaret decided to find out for herself.  She and her husband came backstage to see me in the theatre where I was playing.  The Earl of Snowdon stood us both together and compared us and said that we were not really alike."

Dodonna Bicknell, Rita Tushingham Daughter Dodonna and our Rita.

Dodonna Bicknell, Rita Tushingham Dodonna sits in Rita's battered, chocolate-brown Triumph tourer.

Rita Tushingham Rita discusses the types of movies that she would like to make.

Rita Tushingham A lovely photo of our Rita.

Rita Tushingham Magazine articles about Rita would go on and on about how "ugly" she was.  Rita says, "There's one great advantage in looking the way I do – I must grow more interesting with age!  Just think how terrible it must be for all those dolly girls, worried sick about losing their looks."

Rita Tushingham This magazine photo shows Rita in front of her Hertfordshire cottage.  Rita loves flowers and gardening – note the colorful flowerbeds in the background.  "We love to garden.  Among other things, we grow giant black radishes – curried black radish is really something!"

Doctor Zhivago (1965) [Film: USA] "Tonya Komarova"
• View the Internet Movie Database entry for this item
• View some TCM articles for this item
• View this BBC video clip, in which Rita recalls working with director David Lean
• View a photo array of this film's London premiere from the British Pathe digital news archive
• This adaptation of Boris Pasternak's classic novel has all the sweep and stateliness that characterized David Lean's mastery of the epic.  At its center is the star-crossed romance between married physician & poet Omar Sharif and dressmaker's daughter Julie Christie, whose passionate encounters are played out against the backdrop of the Great War and the Russian Revolution.  Rita plays their daughter.
• Many of Rita's film and television appearances are linked by a common thread – her shabby costumes!  She is frequently cast in roles of working-class women, and is invariably costumed in secondhand rags.  Rita says, with equal parts humor and exasperation, that "even in a big-budget epic like Doctor Zhivago, all I got was a boiler suit and a pair of Wellingtons [boots]."
• "It's a big-budget film, and I worked on it six weeks, and I think they paid me Ł2000 a week, which is the most money I've ever earned, but what I liked best was that I played practically all my scenes opposite Alec Guinness.  When I was working backstage at Liverpool Rep, I used to daydream about standing on the same stage with Mr. Guinness, and there I was actually working with him; 'tis enough to turn a girl like me daff."
• Doctor Zhivago (1965), on DVD, with Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Tom Courtenay, Siobhan McKenna, Ralph Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Jeffrey Rockland, music by Maurice Jarre, cinematography by Freddie Young, Nicolas Roeg, written by Boris Pasternak, Robert Bolt, directed by David Lean.
  • DVD Region 1, NTSC format (USA, Canada) - Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, more online sellers
  • DVD Region 2, PAL format (Europe) - Amazon UK, more online sellers
  • DVD Region 4, PAL format (Australia) - Devoted DVD
  • Soundtrack CD - Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK

Rita Tushingham, Alec Guinness Tonya Komarova is shown information about her father by General Yevgraf Zhivago.

Gerhard Hersch, Rita Tushingham, Alec Guinness Watching Tonya leave his office with her boyfriend David, Yevgraf wonders how much she has believed of his story about Yuri and Lara.

Rita Tushingham Rita in makeup and costume as Tonya Komarova.

Moscow In Madrid (1965) [Film: USA] "herself"
• View the Internet Movie Database entry for this item
• Documentary detailing the making of the film Doctor Zhivago.  Rita appears briefly in the documentary, visual only, but has no dialogue.
• Spain was used as a filming location to recreate the look of turn-of-the-century Russia.
• Moscow In Madrid (1965), on DVD, with Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, David Lean, Ralph Richardson, Omar Sharif, Rita Tushingham.
  • Included in the Doctor Zhivago 2-disc special edition DVD released in 2001.

Title screen.

Rita Tushingham Blink and you'll miss her!  Rita appears in this documentary for just five seconds, preparing for a shot atop a hydroelectric dam located near the border of Spain and Portugal.

The Trap (1966) aka Wie Ein Schrei Im Wind aka L'Aventure Sauvage [Film: Canada/UK] "Eve"
• View the Internet Movie Database entry for this item
• In the lush Canadian wilderness of 1849, a rugged French-Canadian fur trapper purchases a mute orphan girl to be his wife.  The small and silent young woman lives in terror of her brutish husband, until she saves his life by nursing him through an injury.
• In October 1965, Rita, Terry, and Dodonna sailed to Canada on the Empress Of Canada ocean liner to begin filming The Trap.  This was a joint production of Canada and the UK, to be filmed in the area of Vancouver, British Columbia.  The working title for The Trap was Deep In The Forest.
• Oliver Reed co-starred in a role that was not much of a stretch for him, playing a rugged, brawling fur trapper.  Rita's performance as the mute orphan girl Eve is extraordinary – she manages to convey an incredible range of emotions without uttering a single word.
• Rita says, "I really enjoyed shooting The Trap, and I loved playing the the role of Eve as it was so different to what I had done before, the preparation was far more concentrated as there was no dialogue.  Oliver was such a good actor; he behaved in a professional manner on the set; I enjoyed working with him very much, he had a good sense of humour which is so important.  I think Ron Goodwin's score was excellent – he really captured the mood of the film."
• The Trap (1966) aka Wie Ein Schrei Im Wind aka L'Aventure Sauvage, on DVD, with Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed, Rex Sevenoaks, Barbara Chilcott, Linda Goranson, Merv Campone, Jon Granik, Blain Fairman, Joseph Golland, Reg McReynolds, Walter Marsh, music by Ron Goodwin, cinematography by Robert Krasker, written by David Osborn, directed by Sidney Hayers.
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), NTSC format (USA, Canada) - request copy from webmaster
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), PAL format (Europe, Australia) - request copy from webmaster
  • (There is also a German-language version available from Amazon Germany, but the DVD was done in a slipshod manner, so I don't recommend it.)
  • Soundtrack CD - Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany
  • Novel based on film - list of online sellers

The steamboat Master arrives at the settlement, bringing supplies, mail, and several bondswomen.  These women have been released from prison to become the wives of frontiersmen living in remote areas of Canada, who have paid the women's prison fines and steamship passage.  This early paddle steamer is docked at a timber jetty that was specially built for the film in Tunstall Bay, Bowen Island, British Columbia.

Rita Tushingham Eve runs swiftly through the settlement to collect the mail.  For the film, an authentic pioneer settlement was constructed on Bowen Island, just off the coast west of Vancouver, along the shore on the property of Don Cromie, within sight of today's car ferries operating out of Horseshoe Bay.

Merv Campone, Rita Tushingham, Jon Granik Ever since a Blackfoot raiding party killed her family when she was a child, Eve has been afraid of Indians.

Merv Campone, Rita Tushingham, Jon Granik These two untrustworthy Indians are played by Caucasian actors wearing cheap black wigs and greasy yellow makeup – a detraction from an otherwise well-crafted production.

Fur trapper Jean La Bęte paddles his canoe towards shore with a load of furs to sell to the Trader.

Rita Tushingham, Blain Fairman Eve visits the trading post.

Rita Tushingham, Blain Fairman Eve flirts with the trading-post clerk.

Blain Fairman, Rita Tushingham

A bondswoman is being auctioned to the highest bidder because the man who was supposed to become her husband has died before her arrival.  La Bęte and Eve mingle with the crowd of onlookers.

Rita Tushingham Rescued by the Trader after being orphaned ten years ago when Indians killed her family, Eve has been living with the Trader's family, for whom she cooks and cleans.  The Trader's dining room, barely glimpsed in the film, is seen here in more detail.

Linda Goranson, Rita Tushingham, Rex Sevenoaks, Barbara Chilcott Sarah, the Trader's daughter, plays their new piano that arrived on the steamer.  Despite her protestations that she'll "never be able to play this thing", Sarah is playing the church organ by the end of the movie.

Rex Sevenoaks, Rita Tushingham The kindly Trader treats Eve as a daughter.

Eve and the Trader's wife can be seen in the background, near the church.

Rita Tushingham, Barbara Chilcott The Trader's unpleasant wife drags Eve along on a mysterious early-morning errand.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed Knowing that Jean La Bęte plans to buy a bondswoman for a wife, the Trader's wife schemes to acquire La Bęte's money by selling Eve to him instead.  La Bęte inspects Eve prior to purchase.

Barbara Chilcott, Rita Tushingham The Trader's wife tells La Bęte that Eve cannot speak, due to the traumatic shock she suffered when her family was killed.

Oliver Reed, Barbara Chilcott, Rita Tushingham Too late discovering the treachery, Eve is horrified to learn that she has been sold to La Bęte, and struggles to escape.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham La Bęte prepares to depart with the still-struggling Eve.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed His sexual advances spurned, La Bęte punishes Eve by forcing her to drag his canoe.

La Bęte and Eve paddle their way upstream into some breathtakingly beautiful British Columbian backcountry.

They approach La Bęte's cabin on the shore of a lake.

Rita Tushingham Eve beats a hasty retreat when she discovers vermin in the cabin.  The cabin already existed at Birkenhead Lake, which was chosen for filming due to its orientation to the sun for proper lighting, its lack of power lines or other signs of civilization, its decent roads that could accommodate the caravan of movie trucks, and its proximity to local towns (D'Arcy and Pemberton) where cast and crew could find lodging.  The cabin had been built in the 1920s by former county court judge R.A. Sargent with his own hands, but was found to be too long for the purposes of the film.  With the consent of Judge Sargent, it was cut in half.  The cabin was restored to its original condition when filming was completed.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed "Woman, here, chop wood.  I get some meat." La Bęte gives Eve some work to do while he goes hunting for food.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham Jean La Bęte teaches Eve about trapping.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham La Bęte sets a trap for "old Adam bear", unseen in the movie, whom La Bęte regards as his rival for domination of the forest.

Rita Tushingham Whenever Eve gets more than twenty feet away from La Bęte, bad things start to happen – attacks from bears, Indians, etcetera.  Since Eve is now making her way through the forest alone, a wildcat begins to stalk her.  (Of course!  What did you expect?)

Jon Granik, Oliver Reed Arriving home to find our two hapless Indians attempting to abduct Eve and steal his furs, La Bęte fights with the thieves.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham Eve makes dinner for herself and La Bęte.

Rita Tushingham Eve feeds a chipmunk.  Off camera, Rita was actually bitten by the chipmunk!  "They had to rush me to the hospital because you can get lockjaw or something, but instead of giving me the anti-tetanus injection right away, they insisted on taking note of all my personal details.  I stood there thinking that I would get lockjaw at any moment, and then no more details!"

Oliver Reed Backing away from a mountain lion, Jean La Bęte's foot gets caught in his own trap.  Oliver says, "They shoved me into this big bullring surrounded by a high wall and overlooked by three Mounties armed with high-powered rifles.  They then stuck this mountain lion on a tree above me, with the camera mounted behind, and pushed it into the ring.  I was supposed to shoot it.  The owner told me not to worry because if the lion sprung on me, by the time it actually made contact the Mounties would have shot it.  In fact it only missed me by inches."

Rita Tushingham Eve goes fishing with just a hook, line, and her mittened hands.  It is apparently so easy to catch fish in the Canadian northwest that no fishing rod is needed!

Rita Tushingham The howl of wolves in the distance prompts Eve to curtail her fishing.

Rita Tushingham Concerned that La Bęte might be in trouble, Eve goes to search for him.

Oliver Reed La Bęte is being hunted by a wolfpack, attracted by the smell of blood from his injured leg.  Oliver says, "I was seriously hurt by a pack of Alsatians posing as wolves.  I still have the scars from that attack."

Rita Tushingham Needing a medicine man to mend La Bęte's broken leg, Eve treks across the snow to an Indian village.

Rita Tushingham Finding no one alive at the village, Eve returns to the cabin.  Scene was filmed on 30 Nov 1965.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham Eve finds that La Bęte's condition has worsened.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham Eve must amputate La Bęte's infected leg.

Rita Tushingham While La Bęte is incapacitated, Eve does her best to find food.

Oliver Reed, Rita Tushingham Jean La Bęte has come to appreciate Eve, while she now sees the good man underneath the gruff exterior.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed As a result of her childhood trauma, Eve fears physical contact, and flees from the hobbled La Bęte.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed

Rita Tushingham On second thought, maybe fleeing down the river without food, water, a coat, or boating skills wasn't such a good idea.

Rita Tushingham Oops, now Eve is in big trouble.

Blain Fairman, Rita Tushingham Back at the settlement after being rescued from the river, Eve can't stop thinking about La Bęte.  Either that, or else the sneaky clerk is about to scare the unsuspecting Eve half out of her wits.

Linda Goranson, Rita Tushingham, Barbara Chilcott "Did you kill him, Evie?  Did you, did you, did you, did you, did you, did you, did you, did you?"  Sarah badgers Eve for details of her months living with La Bęte.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed Eve makes up her mind where she belongs, and returns to La Bęte.

photo courtesy of Rita Tushingham Rita, her husband Terry, and daughter Dodonna depart for Canada on the Empress Of Canada ocean liner in October 1965 to film The Trap.  "We sailed from Liverpool and arrived in Montreal, then flew on to Vancouver with Oliver and his family," says Rita.  Press photographer Bob Bird took this photo, which was kindly sent to Rita by Bob's daughter Robin Bird.

A behind-the-scenes photo showing the film crew shooting the scene in which Eve is sold to La Bęte.  The cast and the 65-man crew filmed in British Columbia from October through December of 1965.

Rita Tushingham Rita waits behind the scenes until she is needed in front of the camera.

Lakeside scenes were filmed at Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park, near D'Arcy, British Columbia.

Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed Ollie mugs for the camera in this behind-the-scenes photo.

Rita Tushingham Rita prepares for a scene in which Eve must hunt for food.

Rita Tushingham Rita takes aim with a snowball.

The scene in which Eve is rescued from the river is rehearsed by Rita and some authentic Indians.  (No black-wigged Caucasian actors, thank goodness!)

Dodonna Bicknell, Rita Tushingham Rita's family usually accompanies her for location shooting.  Here, eighteen-month-old Dodonna receives some attention from Mum.

Rita Tushingham Rita in makeup and costume as Eve.

Rita Tushingham Another photo in makeup and costume.

Rita Tushingham A color publicity shot of Rita as Eve.

Rita Tushingham Rita sports the latest fashion in beaverskin coats.

Oliver Reed Rita says, "Oliver spiked my husband's drink, which rendered him helpless for a couple of days, but that was just Oliver's way of having fun!"

Movie artwork.

A crowd gathers for the UK premiere of The Trap at the Odeon Leicester Square Theatre in London on Thursday, 15 September 1966.

Rita Tushingham Rita arrives at the premiere wearing an organdy outfit with a Batman-style cape.

Ollie arrives at the premiere with Carol Lynley on his arm.  (Ollie definitely knows how to accessorize.)

Vancouver university students Blain Fairman (the trading-post clerk) and Linda Goranson (Sarah) arrive from Canada to attend the premiere.  Look for Blain as Ripley's doctor onboard the space station in Aliens (1986).

Spring 1966
• Following her hard work in The Trap, Rita took a year off, from April 1966 to April 1967, before starting work on Smashing Time.
• At about this time, Terry quit his job as a TV cameraman and became Rita's full-time manager.
• As Rita became famous, it became more difficult for her and Terry to go out in public.  Once when Rita and Terry were looking in a shop window, a woman nudged Terry and said, "Doesn't your wife look the image of Rita Tushingham, especially round the eyes?"  Terry remarked drily, "I suppose she does, really.  I'd never thought about it before."

Rita Tushingham Rita and Dedee, her German Schnauzer, at Rita and Terry's cottage in Little London, Hertfordshire.

Rita with Lynn Redgrave at the 1966 Acapulco Film Festival, where they discovered that they were quite different from the more formally attired American stars who were there.  "Joan Crawford hauled us over the coals for wearing our Carnaby Street mini-skirts.  She took one look at us and said, 'You are a disgrace to the film industry.'  We asked why.  'Because,' she said, 'you are not wearing long dresses.'  We turned around and walked off, giggling."

Dodonna Bicknell, Rita Tushingham Rita and Dodonna at their home in Hertfordshire.  "People often come to the house," Rita giggles, "asking for Miss Tushingham's autograph.  I'm so unglamorous that nine times out of ten, they mistake me for the maid.  I enjoy it.  I say – in a mock-haughty voice – 'Excuse me, will you please wait while I ask Modom?'"

Rita Tushingham (1966) [Film: West Germany] "herself"
• Contains scenes of Rita going about her daily routine on photo shoots, taking her family to the zoo, living at home in Hertfordshire, and visiting various locales in her home town of Liverpool, including her Dad's grocery, her convent school, and the Liverpool Playhouse.
• A 43-minute German-made documentary about Rita, from the film production company Südfunks Stuttgart.  The documentary has German narration from both male and female voiceover artists, while the English-language footage of Rita has German subtitles.
• Kindly provided by Rita from her own personal collection.
• Rita Tushingham (1966), on DVD, with Rita Tushingham, Terry Bicknell, Dodonna Bicknell, Murray Melvin, Paul Danquah, John Tushingham, Desmond Davis, Peter Raleigh, sound by Rainer Bosch, narrated by Otto Preuss, Christina Isensee, edited by Barbara Pick, cinematography by Willy Pankau, directed by Wilhelm Bittorf.
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), NTSC format (USA, Canada) - request copy from webmaster
  • DVD Region 0 (all regions), PAL format (Europe, Australia) - request copy from webmaster

Rita and Dodonna visit the seal exhibit at a zoo.

Rita sits for a photo shoot.

A closeup of Rita, taken during the photo shoot.

This photo clearly shows the thatched roof on Rita and Terry's sixteenth-century cottage near Little London, Hertfordshire, 35 miles from London.  "It's 300 years old and cost us Ł11,000" says Rita.

Rita, Terry, and Paul Danquah break into an impromptu chorus.

John Tushingham, Rita Tushingham When Rita comes to her home town of Liverpool, she likes to visit Tushingham's Grocery, where her father is the proprietor.

For optimal display of these images, set your display resolution to 800x600 pixels.

Viewing Tip – Make sure that Image Resizing is turned OFF
• Image Resizing shrinks large images so that they fit entirely within your display window.  Turn off Image Resizing to see the images at their intended full size.
• If using Internet Explorer, select Tools from the menu bar, then Internet Options..., then the Advanced tab, then scroll down to the Multimedia heading and uncheck the box labeled Enable Automatic Image Resizing.  Click on the Apply button, and then refresh your window (menu bar View, then Refresh).