Inside Story (1974) : 12x7

The violent, degrading and complex relationship between pimps and prostitutes in London is explored in this film by Olivia Lichtenstein. Shot in the hotels and streets of Paddington, it reveals the brutal methods used to keep girls on the game. The camera follows the Metropolitan Police's vice unit on the trail of the pimp of a 16-year-old prostitute, and on a raid of a brothel run by organised crime. A 36-year-old woman tells of how, when in fear of her life, she was persuaded to testify against her pimp, who was jailed for ten years. "We crave love and attention," she says, "and when we find someone we don't want to let him go, even if it means giving him every penny you earn." Of the pimps Insp Theo Dawson observes: "A lot of people say that living off immoral earnings is a victim-less crime.... Clearly it's not, and the women are the victims."