Cool It, Carol! (1970)

Robin Askwith and Janet Lynn leave their small town to "make it" in the big city.  Spoiler alert - things don't go according to plan.  The movie poster above makes it look like a sleazy sexploitation flick, and thereby doesn't come close to truly representing this film.  Let's take a look.

Joe Sickles (Robin Askwith) and Carol Thatcher (Janet Lynn) are two youngsters tired of living in a rural humdrum town.  Joe is a butcher and Carol is a gas station attendant.  They decide it's time for a change.

The quit their jobs and take a train to London.  On the way, Carol falls asleep and Joe gets aroused by the view...

The two have sex for the first time - with Joe prematurely ejaculating.  The first in a long series of embarrassing let-downs from Joe.

Actress Janet Lynn is gorgeous but she wasn't in much.  We saw her as the girl on the ladder in In the Devil's Garden, and a very minor part in Twins of Evil.  We all know Robin Askwith - the lead in the Confessions films and a number of VZ1 worthy Britsploitation flicks from the seventies.

The two arrive in London and are quickly overwhelmed.  The naive country bumpkins don't even know how to take a cab.

At a bar, Joe and Carol meet with some amoral dandies Terry (Stephen Bradley) and Benny (Harry Baird).  They adore Carol and are demeaning toward Joe.

At their hotel (or room they're renting), Joe is constantly aroused by his uninhibited roommate.  Their relationship is strange, because they're not exactly in a relationship - just on a joint quest to make it big in the city.

Carol struggles to find modeling jobs.  This scene reminded me a bit of the Mary Tyler Moore intro.  "You're gonna make it after all."

 Carol pushes her way to meet with someone at a busy modeling agency.

 She finally gets their attention by taking her clothes off right there in the office.  

 The dandy Benny continues to worm his way into Carol's pants.

Joe is having terrible luck finding a job. 

Carol's first modeling job has posing totally nude.  Note that this isn't a body double as she turns around toward the camera when a shawl is placed around her by the photographer.  This is Janet Lynn's only full frontal in the movie.

Back at the flat, Joe and Carol discuss their poor financial situation.  Joe hasn't earned a penny and has pretty much blown every cent he brought with him.  Carol has some money from the modeling gig, but not much.

Their room has two small single beds; Carol climbs into his.  However, they don't have sex - Joe is mentally struggling with his failure and their dire financial situation.

 It becomes a bit like Midnight Cowboy as they decide to earn some quick money via prostitution.

Carol eventually finds a guy... who turns out to be a pimp himself.  Carol is then introduced to additional customers.  Joe finds this situation unbearable.

They meet a guy at a club who makes adult films.  Carol and Joe both star in porno.

This catapults Carol to big money.  Overnight, she has tones of nude modeling jobs and adult entertainment work.  Joe and Carol can buy a big house, hold decadent parties and blow their money on drugs and alcohol.

In the end, they realize that this isn't what they'd dreamed of when they went to the big city.  They toss it all, and go back to their hometown.  Joe goes back to the family butcher and Carol to the gas station.  THE END

This wasn't the risque fun that I expected from a Robin Askwith movie - especially with a title like Cool It, Carol!... but once I realized this was going to be a rather depressing cautionary tale, I settled in and enjoyed the ride.  Most of it is very believable - not quite sinking to the despair of Midnight Cowboy, yet still having that soul-crushing flavor of hayseeds trying to make it in the big city, only to have their naive dreams turned to nightmares.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆