The film stars Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Tommy Tune, and Max Adrian, with an uncredited appearance by Glenda Jackson.
In the late 1920s at the suburban Theatre Royale in London, new assistant stage manager Polly Browne helps the company prepare for a Saturday matinée performance of The Boy Friend; there is only a small audience, and the show's star Rita Monroe is absent.
The situation is further complicated by the arrival of Hollywood talkie director Mr. De Thrill, who is considering adapting The Boy Friend to film.
De Thrill's presence makes Max anxious−prompting him to imagine parts of the musical as a lavish Hollywood production−and escalates existing tensions within the company, especially ambitious chorus girl Maisie.
The nervous Polly is helped through the first act by sympathetic stage hands and fellow performers, and receives further encouragement from Monroe when she visits backstage.
At the intermission, Polly sings to a picture of him; she is heard by De Thrill, although Maisie sabotages his talk with her in an effort to ingratiate herself.
Tommy and the other men in the company take revenge on Maisie for her antics by ruining their joint number on-stage, and the attempts to impress De Thrill grow increasingly farcical.
During the show's finale, the unhappy Polly—whose character is dressed as Pierrette for a party and bereft of her Pierrot-costumed lover—is comforted by Tony on stage in his role.
As the show ends, Polly is congratulated by most of the company and notices a genuinely moved Monroe leaving the audience in tears, realizing that she has done well as an understudy.
The musical premiered on stage in November 1954 and had been a notable success, running for over five years in London and helping make a star of Julie Andrews.
Ernie Martin and Cy Feur were attached to produce with the cast to include either Debbie Reynolds or Carol Channing.
In February 1961, Reynolds said the project was one of three at MGM she would "love to do" (the others being Jumbo and The Elsie Janis Story) but "they're just not making musicals these days.
[16] MGM were concerned about Twiggy but Russell said "give me three months and I'll have her dancing like Ginger Rogers and singing like Judy Garland.
[22] The male lead was Christopher Gable, who, suffering from a chronic condition in his feet, had left the Royal Ballet to pursue a career in acting.
The big production numbers were shot at Elstree Studios in London and the rest at New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth.
I should have cut it during the script stage, but, determined to be faithful to the original show, I kept in everything!In 1987, a version of the film was released with the 25 minutes restored.
[34] In January 1972 the Los Angeles Times reported the film was "raking in big grosses already in New York and LA.
[2] In June 1974 Jack Haley Jr of MGM said the film had made the studio "several hundreds of thousands of dollars" in profits.
Haley thought if it had been made in Hollywood "the cost would have run to more than $5 million on which MGM would have taken a good sized loss.
It is delightful entertainment, novel and engaging.”[36] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote "Even when he’s not deliberately doing Berkeley takeoffs, (Ken Russell's) camera is so joyless that it undermines every scene".
[38] In 1973, Fred Astaire said "I don't like it when they rib the old movies and make them look silly," specifically referring to The Boy Friend.
[40] In June 1987, Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas reviewed the restored version, declaring “It’s a delight, one of the high points of Russell’s extravagantly uneven career.
Much of the criticism…may also be due to a badly edited American release… which negatively influenced perceptions of this utterly magical film.”[5] Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 88%, based on 16 reviews.
[42] The National Board of Review voted Ken Russell best director, and Twiggy won two Golden Globe Awards as best newcomer and best actress (musical/comedy).