Since selections of POOR COW were used in Terence Stamp's middle-aged thriller THE LIMEY showing his younger self, and the plot involves British crooks, there's an assumption this is yet another British crime flick... one that stars Terence Stamp... and both are far from the truth: In fact we only see the police or judge cleaning up each heist's aftermath...
An aftermath's aftermath that belongs entirely to Carol White, resembling one of several English blondes including Julie Christie, Judy Geeson and Susannah York only going far beneath the usual pretty actress performance...
In that POOR COW harbors a non-performance within a documentary-style, right down to title cards and narration as Joy, always with her baby (at various stages) nearby, goes from an introductory "idyllic" tryst with Stamp's nice guy burglar Dave, from waterfalls to ferry rides, ending abruptly in an arrest where Joy is again on her own, working various jobs, from a cocktail waitress to a nude photo model...
And with bad husband John Bindon imprisoned before Stamp, she takes up with just about any kind of fella, at any age or make, for simply flirting in her direction...
An uncomfortable, non-glamorous role where White, despite her perky cuteness, never poses or relies on looks, often seeming like a hardened woman twice her age, past her prime, yet somehow narrowly optimistic...
A part Julie Christie would never have the guts to play, POOR COW is the tattered noose of The Swinging Sixties, and another art film too good for its own good to receive the awards, accolades and cult following it deserves.
An aftermath's aftermath that belongs entirely to Carol White, resembling one of several English blondes including Julie Christie, Judy Geeson and Susannah York only going far beneath the usual pretty actress performance...
In that POOR COW harbors a non-performance within a documentary-style, right down to title cards and narration as Joy, always with her baby (at various stages) nearby, goes from an introductory "idyllic" tryst with Stamp's nice guy burglar Dave, from waterfalls to ferry rides, ending abruptly in an arrest where Joy is again on her own, working various jobs, from a cocktail waitress to a nude photo model...
And with bad husband John Bindon imprisoned before Stamp, she takes up with just about any kind of fella, at any age or make, for simply flirting in her direction...
An uncomfortable, non-glamorous role where White, despite her perky cuteness, never poses or relies on looks, often seeming like a hardened woman twice her age, past her prime, yet somehow narrowly optimistic...
A part Julie Christie would never have the guts to play, POOR COW is the tattered noose of The Swinging Sixties, and another art film too good for its own good to receive the awards, accolades and cult following it deserves.