Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 17, 2025

Pete Walker's "Cool It, Carol" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Pete Walker; new program with actor Jess Conrad; new program with camera operator Peter Sinclair; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A mainstream critic will never argue that Pete Walker’s Cool it, Carol! is a better film than Jean Eustache’s The Mother and the Whore. Well, too bad. Cool it, Carol! is not just a better film, but a vastly superior one. Walker completed it several years earlier, too.

In a small town somewhere in England, good friends Joe Sickles (Robin Askwith) and Carol Thatcher (Janet Lynn) hatch a plan to go to London, where good things happen to those who want them. On the same day Sickles quits his job at the local butcher store, Thatcher stops pumping gas at the only gas station in town. Then, after Thatcher informs her parents about their plan, they quickly pack a few bags and jump on the next train heading to the capital.

Just moments after emerging from Paddington Station, Thatcher announces that London is exactly as she had imagined it -- very big, very busy, very exciting. The two then politely ask a not-so-friendly taxi driver to take them to a nice hotel and get a room, where they hatch a brand new plan to find what they are looking for.

However, in the days ahead, London quickly evolves into a very different city. First, Sickles is tricked by a couple of players to bet all of their money in a popular club, and then Thatcher is convinced by a trendy photographer to let him take seminude photos of her. Some days later, now broke, hungry, and desperate, Sickles and Thatcher agree to visit a dirty man’s lair, where the latter lets him make love to her for cash. Not too long after that, the two also take their clothes off to ‘act’ in a hardcore film, produced by a notorious underground pornographer. While reevaluating their survival strategy, out of the blue, Thatcher gets a call to do some real modeling, which leads to more work, and Sickles begins managing her schedule. Their success allows them to relocate to a massive new home and organize posh parties like the ones the stars like to be seen at, but it also makes them realize that they can never be happy in London.

Some of the material in Cool it, Carol! apparently reconstructs real events. However, this is an irrelevant detail because Sickles and Thatcher’s story is the story of countless young people who have left their provincial towns and ended up in the big city to pursue a dream. At the center of this popular story is always a poor grasp of the dream coupled with naivety that is inevitably exploited in a way that leaves permanent scars.

Cool it, Carol! is a better and more effective film than The Mother and the Whore because it does not use pseudo-intellectualism to preserve as much of the zeitgeist of its era as possible. Instead, it unleashes its characters in London, completely unprotected, and leaves them to get educated by their many failures and triumphs. The funny and ugly that emerge from both are infinitely more authentic than the improvised adventures of Jean-Pierre Leaud’s character. Both are also far more illuminating than his long monologues and speeches.

Walker and cinematographer Peter Jessop visit some quite interesting locations in London, too. However, after Sickles and Thatcher begin entertaining various bad job opportunities, it would have been great if Walker and Jessop had spent more time shooting in more of the popular at the time nightclubs.

In the United States, Cool it, Carol! has also been promoted with the juicier title The Dirtiest Girl I Ever Met.

Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cool It, Carol arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The entire film looks very good in high-definition. In a few areas, there is room for some minor adjustments that could improve delineation and clarity, and ideally grain exposure should be a tad more pleasing, but the overall quality of the visuals ranges from very good to near excellent. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Color balance is very convincing, too. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the film has such a nice period appearance, I would not be surprised if it was revealed that the current master was struck from an interpositive. Image stability is excellent. Had the film been placed on a dual-layer disc, it probably would have looked even better, but I think that the current presentation is fine. I did not encounter any distracting cuts, marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a natibe Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is healthy and stable. However, the original soundtrack incorporates plenty of organic sounds and noises, so when Joe and Carol are roaming the streets of London, or inside clubs and homes where large parties are held, some small fluctuations are noticeable. Dynamic intensity is surprisingly decent. The dialog is clear and easy to follow, so even though a few accents are a bit thick, you will not have to use the optional subtitles.

Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Step to Drama - in this recent program, Pete Walker discusses the genesis of Cool It, Carol! and the environment in which it materialized. Walker also addresses the true story of a couple that, "quite innocently", became involved in the adult industry, and explains why elements of it were incorporated into Cool It, Carol!. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2022. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Jump Shots - in this recent program, actor Jess Conrad recalls his involvement with Cool It, Carol! and addresses the environment in which it was made. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• The Beginning and the End - in this recent program, actor David Mayberry reveals that Robin Askwith was his best friend at the time when Cool It, Carol! was shot and explains how he landed his part in it. Mayberry also comments on the shooting process. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Cutting It - in this recent program, first assistant editor Glenn Hyde discusses his interactions with Pete Walker and work during the editing of Cool It, Carol!. Hyde also has a few hilarious comments about Walker's appearance and style. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2022. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Cool Operator - in this recent program, camera operator Peter Sinclair recalls his involvement with Cool It, Carol! and what it was like to be around a few of its stars. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2022. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Cover Art - a reversible cover with vintage poster art for Cool It, Carol!, promoted as The Dirtiest Girl I Ever Met in America.

Cool It, Carol! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you ignore Cool It, Carol! because some old articles describe it as a sexploitation film, you are going to miss a very fine time capsule that should be considered a formidable competitor of The Mother and the Whore. I think it is the better of the two films, too. Cool It, Carol! does have a few of the genes that give Pete Walker's classic sexploitation films their identity, but it works hard to impress in a very different way. It is included in Pete Walker Crime Collection, a two-disc set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.