Before watching Jake West’s new documentary I hadn’t a clue who Cliff Twemlow was.
The biggest compliment I can pay this story is that I wanted to see all of his films, finished and unfinished by the time the credits rolled.
As the title suggests, Twemlow, hailing from North West England, fell into the film industry after trying his hand at music, writing books, being a bouncer and probably a whole host of other jobs.
A chancer, Cliff started making the lowest of low-budget films, including sci-fi, horror and action flicks. I mean with a title like Tuxedo Warrior and The Ibiza Connection, you can’t but help be curious.
One of his more gritty efforts G.B.H. even ended up on the video nasties list!
During this documentary, we hear about Cliff from the people who knew him best, his friends and his film crews as they talk you through trying to film action chase sequences through Salford Park and sunnier shores, when the budget was a wee bit higher. Any fan of independent cinema or budding filmmakers alike will get a kick out of Cliff’s story, as he did so much with so little.
Many of his movies may be lost to time, but Mancunian Man can hopefully provide a well of support for his works to be made available to a wider audience.
Mancunian Man screened as part of Frightfest 2023.
Bloody Flicks 