Pete Walker (Die Screaming, Marianne; Frightmare; House of the Long Shadows) directed this movie, which is based on the comic strip by Pat Tourret and Jenny Butterworth. It fits nicely into both the comic book and spy genres.
Anouska Hempel was one of the Angels of Death in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and she also appeared in Scars of Dracula and Black Snake before becoming an interior designer and a member of British society.
Here, she plays Tiffany Jones, a model by day and secret agent by night. This movie lives up to the tagline, “Presidents want her, Revolutionaries seek her, and that’s why she’s always taking off!”
The plot itself is pure pop-art silliness, involving our glamorous heroine trying to subvert and topple an Eastern European dictatorship in the fictional country of Zirdana. Along the way, she crosses paths with an eccentric assortment of villains, revolutionaries, and suave contacts, all while posing for fashion shoots and stripping down whenever an excuse presents itself. Alfred Shaughnessy wrote it, best known for scripting Upstairs, Downstairs, though this material leans far closer to cheeky British sex-comedy territory than high-society drama.
The supporting cast is packed with familiar faces from 1970s British television and film. You get Ray Brooks as Guy, Susan Sheers as Jo, Damien Thomas as Prince Salvador and Eric Pohlmann chewing the scenery as President Boris Jabal. You also get fun little appearances by genre staples like Martin Benson, John Clive and Michael Brennan. It’s the kind of cast where you spend half your time shouting, “Hey, it’s that guy!” at the television screen instead of understanding the geopolitical intrigue of Zirdana.
Director Pete Walker is primarily celebrated for his gritty, uncompromising contributions to British horror—films that terrified audiences with visceral shocks and cynical political subtext. Tiffany Jones represents a very different side of his career, trading out explicit gore for the breezy, sun-drenched aesthetic of a swinging sixties hangover set firmly in 1973. Yet his brisk pacing and sharp eye for framing keep things moving, even when the comedic beats stumble or the narrative stretches credibility to its breaking point.
The production design and wardrobe capture an era of flamboyant patterns, wide lapels, large collars, and incredible London streetscapes that simply cannot be faked on a modern soundstage. Cyril Ornadel provides a bouncy, brass-heavy score that does heavy lifting to sell the high-stakes espionage atmosphere, even when the budget clearly restricts the action sequences to modest backlots and London interiors.
Perhaps that’s why Hempel bought the UK rights to the film, preventing any future DVD releases or TV showings. I’m sure she’s very unhappy that it’s on Amazon Prime now.
