Her Private Hell

Her Private Hell

(Norman J Warren, 1968)

Rating: 2/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

Summary: Bad acting and dated production values do little to make swinging 60s topless modelling exploitation drama 'Her Private Hell' relevant today.
 

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After a small role left a stunning impression in Rossellini's 'Il Generale Della Rovere', Italian beauty Lucia Modugno takes the lead nearly a decade later in 1968's Brit drama 'Her Private Hell'.

She plays a (very) naive young girl who comes to London only to be exploited as a topless model. She falls in with a photographer and gets completely played by the system into revealing more than she would like without being paid much despite her apparent fame.

'Her Private Hell' works well in making the modelling world seem very small and claustrophobic. Indeed, we aren't granted any fashion galas and dazzling street lights, instead settling for grim interiors which adds to its kitchen-sink feel. However, that's all ruined by a truly naff scene in the third act where Modugno is chased around a room with a flashlight as the jazzy music is pelted out full blast.

The acting lets it all down as does the tame approach to a subject that in reality could've been devastating for its time. 'Her Private Hell' isn't ripe for a revisit.

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