Born in Burma in 1945, Zienia Merton made her mark in British cinema with a memorable role in Having a Wild Weekend (1965). In this film, she embodies the spirit of the swinging sixties, contributing to the era's vibrant cultural landscape. Merton's performance captures the playful essence of the film, which explores the lives of young people caught up in the excitement of the time. Her work in this cult classic highlights her ability to resonate with audiences seeking a glimpse into the bold and carefree nature of 1960s Britain.
Having a Wild Weekend
The five are living together in a London flat. They make breakfast then drive to Smithfield Market, passing multiple advertising posters with a girl, stating Meat For Go. During the filming of a TV commercial for a "Meat for Go" campaign set in London's Smithfield Market, stuntman Steve (Dave Clark), disillusioned by the inanity of his job, absconds in an E-type Jaguar (260 EYW, one of the props) with a young actress/model, Dinah (Barbara Ferris). After a visit to Oasis Swimming Pools, an open-air swimming pool in central London, and a memorable scene in and around the Great Conservatory on the grounds of Syon House, they make their way across a wintry southern England toward Burgh Island, off the coast of Devon. Dinah is contemplating buying the island, presumably to escape the pressures of her celebrity as the "Butcher Girl" on the back of the TV meat advertising campaign. This act of rebellion is cynically exploited by the advertising executive behind the campaign, Leon Zissell (David de Keyser), who dispatches two of his henchmen to pursue the fleeing couple. On their journey, Steve and Dinah first encounter a group of beatniks squatting in MOD-owned buildings on Salisbury Plain (some of this sequence was shot in the evacuated village of Imber) and then an eccentric upper-class middle-aged married couple (Yootha Joyce and Robin Bailey) in the opulent surroundings of the Royal Crescent in Bath, Somerset. Steve also plans to visit his boyhood hero, Louie (David Lodge), whose youth club in London's East End he attended, and who has since relocated to Devon. Having fled the police and Zissell's henchmen after a fancy-dress party in the Roman Baths at Bath, Steve and Dinah (with the rest of Steve's gang and the police in pursuit) make their way toward Devon. Louie recognises Dinah instantly because of her TV celebrity, but fails to recognise Steve and misremembers his name, even after being introduced. Dinah's island also proves to be disappointing; at low tide, it is reachable from the mainland, and Zissell, who is besotted with Dinah, has already arrived.
