This film is part of Rentals

Showman
Astonishing 1970s striptease knife-throwing act with the last of the Wild West showmen, Wally Shufflebottom Snr
Director: Christian Marnham
Overview
"If you're narrow minded or killjoys then for goodness' sake stay outside," warns Wally Shufflebottom Snr. as he warms up a chilly 1970s crowd for "the great striptease knife throwing". Inside the tent, it’s "cold steel against warm flesh" for Fearless Pauline - "the girl with the nerve of steel". Music plays, girls gyrate on podiums and Wally and his wife reveal all about their amazing sideshow.
Wally’s father was Yorkshire Buffalo Bill impersonator Texas Bill Shufflebottom, whose earlier ‘parading show’ – active in the early years of the 20th century – had featured knife throwing, sharpshooting, clowning, magic lantern slides and silent films. Wally, an expert knife-thrower as his father had been, added striptease to his own time-honed act in order to draw in 1970s audiences.
Related

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

Mr. Burton Mr. Burton
Biopic 2024 124 mins Director: Marc Evans
Toby Jones is terrific as the inspirational mentor who helped propel Richard Burton from the poor son of a Welsh miner to acting legend.

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Documentary 100 mins Director: Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter
A creative artist couple navigate love and ageing in this brave, fascinating documentary.

William Tell William Tell
Action and Adventure 2024 133 mins
A peaceful huntsman is thrust into the heart of the resistance following an Austrian Empire invasion, in this gripping retelling of a timeless legend.

A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Documentary 2024 88 mins Director: Mark Cousins
A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).

Jackie Jackie
Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.

Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers) Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers)
Comedy 1932 35 mins Director: Norman Lee
Stuffed-shirt party pooper Sir Hector infiltrates a sunbathing camp full of scantily clad jazz-swingers in this 1930s comedy

Soho Striptease Clubs Soho Striptease Clubs
1958 7 mins Silent Director: John Rhodes
Intrepid investigative journalist Daniel Farson ventures deep into the heart of Soho to explore the hidden world of afternoon Striptease Clubs.

Secret Rites Secret Rites
Documentary 1971 47 mins Director: Derek Ford
'King of the Witches' Alex Sanders initiates doe-eyed Penny into the ways of his coven.

Primitive London Primitive London
Documentary 1965 87 mins Director: Arnold Louis Miller
Arnold Louis Miller's follow-up to London in the Raw lifts the lid on society’s decay with its sideshow spectacle of 60s London depravity.

London in the Raw London in the Raw
Documentary 1964 47 mins Director: Arnold Louis Miller
Low-budget movie mogul Arnold Louis Miller concocted this exploitation-style documentary which peers behind the grimy net curtains of British life.

Over Exposed Over Exposed
Drama 1977 36 mins Director: Dennis London and David Grant
Aye aye, Captain! Sex comedy hijinks on the Thames near Twickenham in this forgotten saga of a switched-on snapper

The Orchard End Murder The Orchard End Murder
Crime 1982 50 mins Director: Christian Marnham
An old house near a remote, rural railway station provides the setting for this grisly tale of terror set in 1960s England.

When Autumn Falls When Autumn Falls
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.

Gholam Gholam
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Mitra Tabrizian
An Iranian exile in London, who is haunted by his past, gets involved in the conflicts of a total stranger and has to see it through until the end, in this mesmerising slow-burn thriller.

When the Light Breaks When the Light Breaks
Drama 77 mins Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
A young woman is forced to reframe the future she’d hoped for, in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s quietly breathtaking elegy of love, loss and acceptance.

Words of War Words of War
Drama 2025 117 mins Director: James Strong
Maxine Peake leads an excellent cast in this true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s fight to expose corruption and abuse in Putin’s Russia.

The Return The Return
Drama 2024 116 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are superb in this moody and poignant adaptation of the final sections of Homer's Odyssey.

E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea E.1027 - Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
Drama-documentary 2024 90 mins Director: Beatrice Minger
A love triangle of jealousy in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in a stylish docufiction about the iconic artist and architect.