Little did I suspect when I wrote about Legend of the Witches (1970, Malcolm Leigh) on this blog a few years ago that one day it would not only be legitimised through its restoration and release by the British Film Institute, but that I would get to make a contribution to the booklet. I was able to write a short essay about the Fancey family (again) and Border Films, the company behind this odd little exploitation documentary.
It's accompanied on the disc by Secret Rites (1971, Derek Ford), which I've not seen before but with Derek Ford involved, it ought to be equally entertaining and inappropriate at least. After all, this is the man behind The Yellow Teddybears (1963, Robert Hartford-Davies) and Diversions (1976, Derek Ford).
Once again the BFI Flipside range have surprised us with something one would never expect get this kind of treatment. I'm still amused that they released Primitive London (1965, Arnold Louis Miller) and London in the Raw (1964, Arnold Louis Miller). After occasionally veering close to arthouse territory with some of the intervening Flipside releases it's good to see them get back to their origins with more exploitation documentaries about a side of life that most respectable folk would rather ignore.
