A Chat With Teri Martine

I recently received some delightful correspondence from Teri Martine, a 1960s glamour model and star of George Harrison Marks’ 8mm film “The Mummy” (1966). Teri also starred alongside her friend, the late great June Palmer in the glamour film “June in Orbit”, in which Teri and June played astronauts forced to strip off when a meteorite storm heats up their spaceship!!!

June in Orbit was directed by June’s partner Arthur Howell, who was by trade an actor/stuntmen for shows like The Avengers and Man in a Suitcase (and years later the film An American Werewolf in London). Howell’s glamour films, which starred June in a variety of guises, arguably rivaled Marks in terms of elaborate sets and imagination. Here are Teri’s memories of Marks, and being menaced by a Mummy and sponge meteorites.

“I met George via the June Palmer Model Agency, about 1966. We dated for a while. I went on location with him several times to Cornwall and Devon along with many other famous models. The Mummy was a fun and scary movie, I was a slave girl and I get caught by the Mummy and laid on a slab. I recall being very scared as the Guy playing the mummy role was so realistic. Tina McGowan was also in that same scene with me, also playing the role of a slave girl. The Mummy gets knifed by one of the pharaohs who saves me!

I remember George taking me to see the preview of his feature film 'The Naked World of Harrison Marks' we were no sooner in our seats and George fell asleep and was snoring so loud I had to wake him up!!! fond memories of the one and only George.

June in Orbit, we certainly did have fun on that one. The sweat that June and I had on out naked bodies was no less than baby oil! The smoke that came up through the porthole as if we were on fire, was a good friend of ours named Pat, he smoked cigars, so we had him behind the scene puffing himself to death on his cigar. Good thing it was silent as we could hardly keep a straight face, listening to Pat choking on the smoke. The part where the ship was suppose to be spinning, was of course Arthur turning the camera which he had built a special stand that he could pivot around with out the camera falling off! The meteors were painted sea sponges hanging on very thin thread from the ceiling. He built the model of the space ship himself and spray painted it with gold paint. Arthur and Pat completely built the set themselves. The bedroom scene was done in the spare bedroom at their flat. Our outfits that June and I wore, were made by her cleaning Lady, (very talented with the needle) our boots we cut at the top to get an oval effect then we spray painted them gold. Gavin would you believe me if I told you I still have my complete outfit from that video, except the boots!!! the paint eventually peeled off! so I pitched them. I still am able to fit into it!!! that's a miracle in itself.”