CHERYL GRUNWALD

Cheryl Grunwald is forgotten by all except those who are familiar with the attempted gang rape scene in "A Clockwork Orange". For example, the Internet Movie Database quite obviously knows nothing about her.

Cheryl only made two movies and then - probably sensibly - left the movie business. At the time of her two movies, she was one of the actresses whose faces were constantly in British newspapers, but now there is very little to say about her movie career.

Cheryl has been included in this website for two reasons. First, at present the only other pictures of her on the Internet are video captures of the rape scene and one of the purposes of this site is to remind people of forgotten faces. Second, Cheryl's brief moment of fame throws an interesting light on the problems faced by Madeline Smith and Valerie Leon.

Cheryl Grunwald was born in South Africa, the daughter of esteemed architect Luther de Grunwald. When growing up her primary interest was in dance, and she trained both as a dancer and choreographer, which led her into acting as well. 

Cheryl arrived in England and trained for three years with the Royal Ballet School - still using the surname de Grunwald. In October 1968 she appeared in The Soho Theatre production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's “One Autumn Evening”.   She played in the London stage musical "The Canterbury Tales" and was given a tiny, uncredited role as one of the handmaidens in "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII", a television mini-series starring Keith Michelle.

Ken Russell then chose Cheryl to play a novice nun in "The Devils", a film that courted and won notoriety because of the violence and nudity on display. She spent thirteen weeks on this movie, participating naked in the orgy scenes, gaining a large collection of bruises, only to have much her work left on the cutting room floor. Some stills of Cheryl in this movie were released at the time but, surprisingly, have not turned up on the Internet. (This website has no intention of filling the gap.)

Almost as soon as she finished on "The Devils", Cheryl joined the crew of "A Clockwork Orange" to play the victim of the attempted gang rape.

In the Anthony Burgess novel the girl was unattractive, but Stanley Kubrick, ever the slickster, wanted an opulently structured young beauty for the part. The reasons for the change are obvious and Cheryl Grunwald was ideal for Kubrick's purpose. Although a dancer and normally fairly slim, at that moment Cheryl was slightly over-weight - her thighs and stomach as shown in the movie are not those of a dancer in training - making her body more photogenic in the long shots Kubrick planned. An economically built young woman would not have provided the pornographic impact that Kubrick intended. The scene was incompetently directed - neither the rapists nor the girl are trying hard - but the scene quickly became world famous, mainly due to Cheryl Grunwald's voluptuous body.

At this point Cheryl decided that she had had enough. She rejected further offers of film work and took the position of choreographer at the Welsh National Opera Company, saying 'there are others much better than I for those films. I don't get sexual pleasure from taking my clothes off'. She was twenty-two years old. 

However Cheryl did on at least one occasion pose without clothes for a magazine, presumably to pay the rent, and these photographs of a fairly slim, flat-stomached woman confirm that she was a little 'over-ripe' when working on "A Clockwork Orange". (This website has no intention etc. . . .) The photographs also raise a curious paradox.

At this time the British film industry was going through one of its periodic crises and was resorting to semi-pornographic material to attract customers. Actresses were for the most part forced to choose between appearing in that kind of movie or not working in films at all.

Madeline Smith undressed in films like "The Vampire Lovers" and "Up Pompeii" but did not pose for magazines. By contrast, Cheryl Grunwald did undress for a magazine yet chose to throw up her film career rather than persevere with the same kind of material. (Valerie Leon did not undress for either movie or magazines but struggled to find decent parts.)

After she left the film business, the media lost all interest in Cheryl Grunwald, and the rest of her life and career is shrouded in mystery.

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