Georgy Girl (1966)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(2,021 ratings)

Georgy Girl is a bittersweet comedy drama about Georgy (Lynn Redgrave), a slightly overweight, working-class virgin in her early twenties who shares an apartment with the gorgeous, promiscuous Meredith (Charlotte Rampling). Georgy has never been the subject of the desire for any man until the… More Georgy Girl is a bittersweet comedy drama about Georgy (Lynn Redgrave), a slightly overweight, working-class virgin in her early twenties who shares an apartment with the gorgeous, promiscuous Meredith (Charlotte Rampling). Georgy has never been the subject of the desire for any man until the wealthy, married employer of her family, James Leamington (James Mason) (for whom her parents work as servants) decides that he would like her for a mistress. Shortly afterward, the unmarried Meredith becomes pregnant and introduces Georgy to the father, Jos (Alan Bates). Georgy and Jos fall in love. Although Meredith initially wants to give the child up for adoption, she agrees to let Georgy act as surrogate mother. Meanwhile, James - whose wife unexpectedly dies -- has also indicated that he wants to marry her. As the film approaches its denouement, Georgy is faced with a tough call: should she stay single and keep the child, marry James and keep the baby, or marry Jos? We won't divulge the ending here, but the finale is a heartbreaker. Georgy Girl was a tremendously popular film upon its 1966 release, as was the Seekers' catchy title song. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Silvio Narizzano
Genres: Art House & International, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1966 Wide
On DVD: Jul 5, 2005

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A charming comedy reflecting the mores of the 1960s swinging London, Georgy Girl has not dated particularly well, but the acting is good, particularly Lynn Redgrave in the lead and James Mason in the supporting role.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An empty film posing as something more substantial.
Brent Simon, Now Playing Magazine
Though at times stiff and unrealistic... in its juggling of comedy and drama, the movie has a piercing undercurrent of melancholy that somehow still rings true.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Unpredictability of pacing and cinematography, with manic moments that perfectly capture the mood swings of its characters and the let-it-all-hang-out feel of the era.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Classic British Invasion flick with a slightly sour tone.
Shane Burridge, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Kinetic direction, crisp black and white photography, pop music, urban realism, social issues, and contemporary attitudes towards sex

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

Georgy is my favourite teen character from the sixties. This movie is both realistic and comic. It's a great story , and I really enjoyed this movie.
First L

Georgy Girl is a surprisingly oddball 60s film, odd in that in the battle of the generation gap, it doesn't take sides... everyone is equally lousy. The baby-boomers are self-obsessed, narcissistic children who never take responsibility for their actions. The adult generation is… More
Georgy Girl is a surprisingly oddball 60s film, odd in that in the battle of the generation gap, it doesn't take sides... everyone is equally lousy. The baby-boomers are self-obsessed, narcissistic children who never take responsibility for their actions. The adult generation is also self-obsessed, though to a lesser extent. Georgy (Lynn Redgrave) is the conscience of the movie, the one good person in the sea of cynicism. Her father is a butler for a millionaire (James Mason, reviving his creepy old guy role from "Lolita"), who though he is 49, is projecting some sort of love onto the younger Georgy. She's all too content to run away from him and his request that she be his "mistress" to spend time with her Meredith, her violinist roommate. Jos, Meredith's boyfriend, often stays in the house alone with Georgy (waiting for Meredith to come home from her many dates with other men), and the two strike up an interesting relationship. But soon, Meredith becomes pregnant and out of boredom decides to "keep this one" and get married to Jos. I still can't get over the fact that a movie made in the 60s would portray young people in such a negative light, Meredith is basically a monster and Jos is emotionally stunted (at one point declaring "i'm Peter Pan!", as if to spell it out for us completely). That Georgy associates with either of these people only attests to the low self-image she has. She feels herself to be ugly on the outside, but in reality it's her friends who are the ugly ones. It fairly brutally attacks the institution of marriage, none of the characters, save one, marries for love. It deals with other racy issues (especially for the 1960s) such as pre-marital sex and abortion, rather cavalierly (well, this was a british film). I also enjoyed the musical score, both the original pop song and the harpsichord incidental music. The movie attempts some light-hearted moments, but the humor is very 60s and very British, lots of alien words and people jumping around. But this isn't a movie I'd recommend on the basis of it's comedy. It's actually very hit-and-miss, some questionable performances and writing in spots make it occasionally seem like an afterschool special. The general apathetic tone of the movie makes it seem more nihilistic than happy-go-lucky, so like I said at the beginning, it's an oddball mixture to say the least.
jay n

VERY 60's but good anyway with a great title tune
xGary X

60s social commentary cum sex comedy that's abit of a mod favourite, and other side of the coin to Alfie. An acquired taste, but anyone with a fascination for the swinging sixties will enjoy it.
Laura C

This film was a bummer. Lesson I got from the film: you too can find love even if you're overweight and not particularly goodllooking. If you have a great personality you may just be lucky enough to get someone's leftovers or a creepy older man to stalk you. I liked Georgy… More
This film was a bummer. Lesson I got from the film: you too can find love even if you're overweight and not particularly goodllooking. If you have a great personality you may just be lucky enough to get someone's leftovers or a creepy older man to stalk you. I liked Georgy (a great performance by Lynn Redgrave) and thought she deserved so much better. Also a great representation of the time and place, another film that has me wondering if the 60's were really so great for women.
Emily B

The link between the "Kitchen Sink Dramas" and the "Swinging London" movies. Anyone interested in the sixties will love this. The Georgy of the title is an overweight, plain girl played greatly by Lynn Redgrave who somehow becomes torn between her roomates… More
The link between the "Kitchen Sink Dramas" and the "Swinging London" movies. Anyone interested in the sixties will love this. The Georgy of the title is an overweight, plain girl played greatly by Lynn Redgrave who somehow becomes torn between her roomates lover and the advances of an older man (James Mason). This charming and funny film is defiantly worth a look.
Leo L

Interesting.