Ann-Margret: That’s Why The Lady Is A Tramp!
She’s a scamp, a vamp and a little bit of a tramp—that’s how the song goes and Ann-Margret seems to be setting the tune down on film lately! In the past year Annie has made two period piece films, Joseph Andrews and The Last Remake of Beau Geste, in which she portrays ladies of somewhat loose morals.
Still laboring under the label of “sex kitten,” despite her acting coups in Carnal Knowledge and Tommy, Annie decided to take on both roles to prove she was not only an actress to be reckoned with, but a finely tuned comedienne! Says the red-headed beauty: “I was everybody’s girl next door. Then I became the bad girl next door. It’s taken me all these years and a lot of hard work to prove what I’ve known all along . . . that I am an actress.”
Of course, if any of you remember the old Beau Geste—well, forget it, for Marty Feldman’s version bears little resemblance! Feldman wrote the script, directed and starred in the film—and Annie claims she had a ball romping around with the zany gang of Beau Geste. Annie plays the lusty Lady Flavie Geste who beds none other than Sherlock Holmes, played by Monty Python’s John Cleese. Michael York portrays Beau Geste and Marty Feldman plays his “twin” brother!
As for Annie’s other film, Joseph Andrews, which is pictured on this page, it takes up where Tom Jones left off. The comedy, directed by Tony Richards, is a film version of the 18th century novel Joseph Andrews by literary master Henry Fielding. It is the female counterpart to his other masterpiece Tom Jones, where the heroine, Lady Booby, played by our own Ann-Margret, attempts to seduce a young, inexperienced boy. As in all love stories, everything turns out for the best.
Both the Beau Geste and Joseph Andrews parts allow Annie to play the ultimate female role—a tramp with a touch of tenderness. And just maybe they’ll prove to one and all that Ann-Margret is a talent not to be taken lightly!
It is a quote. SCREEN STARS MAGAZINE JULY 1977
