SISTERS OF PEITHO, a 1972 film produced by Peterson Leigh and directed by Pierre Martel-Bouchard, derived from the epic novel by Arthur K. Peckerton, unfolds a narrative centered around Peitho, the Goddess of Persuasion and Seduction. Captured by a group of men wary of her influence, Peitho ingeniously transfers part of her essence into a mortal woman. This vessel, armed with the seductive prowess of Peitho, endeavors to coerce high-ranking members of the cabal into revealing the Goddess’s whereabouts.

However, the cunning cabal catches wind of the plan and ruthlessly pursues and eliminates these women before they can succeed in their quest to liberate Peitho and restore her to full power, bringing harmony to the world.

While the film ostensibly presents an adventure, the 793-page original novel delved into themes such as gender inequality, the patriarchy, and the historical neglect of women, Peterson Leigh thought this was way too much exposition for a movie and so concentrated on what he perceived as the central theme – gorgeous women having a lot of sex.

Despite its provocative themes, the film’s historical epic nature drew a myriad of established and eminent stars from stage and screen, viewing it as a prime opportunity to showcase their talents and put on their best Royal Shakespeare Company voice and ham it up.

Endowed with an exceptional cast, anticipation soared for the potential of this film to establish Leigh as the preeminent British movie producer of all time. However, two fatal errors on his part ultimately transformed this project into the most detrimental of his career.

Leigh’s initial misstep squarely rested on his insistence that the runtime should not surpass 90 minutes. This choice, elucidated by the author of the now out-of-print biography about Leigh, “Opportunity Knocking,” attributed Leigh’s belief that any film exceeding an hour and a half would inherently be boring.

Attempting to condense a millennia-spanning narrative into a brief runtime (the original cut being 3 hours and 5 minutes) resulted in a disjointed chaos. An early screening critic bluntly opined that the film was nothing beyond a series of sex scenes lazily strung together by a thin and worn-out plot.

Additional criticism arose regarding historical accuracy, with some noting that the significant roles these women played in history were diminished to nothing more than their sexuality.

In a contemporary context, it seemed as though the screenwriter merely entered “seductive women in history” into Google and extracted a brief resume from Wikipedia without delving into the nuanced realities of their characters.

The initial critiques sparked tension between Leigh and Martel-Bouchard, leading to a compromise to recut the movie, increasing the runtime to 2 hours. However, the biting criticism unsettled the unpredictable French director, prompting him to reshoot the explicit scenes employing adult film stars.

The emergence of this X-rated version of the film should have been avoided, yet a mix-up led to its screening at the prestigious Winter Gardens premiere in Margate. The explicit sex scenes stirred quite a commotion among the audience, including star Vincent Bannister, who found himself clarifying to his wife that he hadn’t actually delivered his stirring Julius Caesar monologue while being sucked off by Cleopatra.

Not only did this version of the movie upset the cast but also the local Women’s Institute who initially put a hit out on Peterson Leigh but later, after a Extraordinary General Meeting, toned it down to just a strongly worded letter.

Legal action for indecency was pursued against Leigh, yet he evaded imprisonment by consenting to bury all copies of the movie in the Peak District and expunge any record indicating of the movie’s existence.

Persistent rumors suggest that some copies endure, treating them as the Holy Grail for movie collectors. However, as of now, no version has been made available for public viewing.

‘SISTERS OF PEITHO’ remains an elusive relic, elevating Peterson Leigh to a cult-like status among movie aficionados, albeit tarnishing his prospects as a respected movie producer.