Sex comedies

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Does anyone know anything about the glut of 1970s British sex comedies?

With an increasing number of DVD releases bringing some of these trashy films to attention once more, we're currently trying to work out where the line between porn and comedy is drawn, and thus what we should be covering on this website.

There are obvious examples, such as Robin Askwith's Confessions Of... series that I'm quite sure anyone would expect to find on a comedy reference website, but then there are others that I've seen nothing of, heard little more about, and consequently don't know whether they're actually worth us covering or not.

For example, the following handful of titles are listed by the ever authoritative (ahem) IMDb as 'comedy' and having UK production. The cast of some also lend weight to the comedy label, but other plot outlines, reviews and details are less than convincing that some aren't just plain soft porn:

Under The Doctor Come Play With Me What's Up Superdoc! Games Girls Play / The Bunny Caper / Sex Play

If anyone has any information or knows anything about those titles, or any similar productions (there appear to be dozens - every time I start looking, I discover new ones), I'd be extremely grateful to hear from you. Pathetic smutty jokers (sootyj and your ilk, this means you) need not reply.

I seen my far share of porn and have never heard of any of these, so I'd put them down as comedy.

On those titles I know nuuthing but some could be the sexcom movies I saw below but can't put names to. There were definitely a fair few made though, and some with household names, I do remember that.

Saw at least a couple of Confessions Of films in the 70s and a couple of other sexcom pics I can't remember the titles of, I think they were also of a series, or two may have been, but don't remember much else. One was about a plumber and it wasn't Askwith in role, it might have been bloke in Brush Strokes? Someone very similar. Most of them did have well known character actors in like... oh I'll come back to you, I'm terrible with names at the mo.

One I missed but saw on DVD much later was Spanish Fly, and my memories of the others I saw at cinema came back, as SF was very typical of the 70s British sexcom film, a bit trashy. Confessions of were the best tho, and showed more, were the raciest, especially the plumber one, if that was a CO film. No Sex Please We're British was a very mild 'sexcom' which indeed had no sex in. IIRC, which is always debatable.

You may be thinking of Adventures Of A Plumber's Mate, which starred Christopher Neil.

See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5180970/Adventures-Of-A-Taxi-Driver-Private-Eye-Plumber-Mate/Product.html]
[h=775641]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077125/

Ronald Frazer, that's the one. Also, Barry Evans of MYL, and now I remember seeing two of those titles you put up, possibly more actually as I haven't pressed the others yet, definitely saw the top two. And another mild sexcom Barry Evans was in was Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, which was a decent film, not at all as bad or trashy as the others, but I think is still labelled sex comedy. Another mild one with Judy Geeson in I forget name of, but much more a comedy, Good For The Goose?

Yes that's one I saw, definitley had the best crumpet in it, IIRC. Saw a couple of that series of films. The most explicit by some way, of the ones I saw, anyway.

That's one that I have seen, and we do have a guide for! https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/whats_good_for_the_goose/

So the top two titles I linked to are definitely comedies?

Oh yeah, definitely comedies, much more so than the Adventures and Confessions of, which were more adult themed, more explicit. The others with Evans and Alfie Bass and Frazer et al were light saucy comedies with a hint of naughtiness iirc. The AO films I saw were more a mild blue movie with a hint of comedy. They weren't great comedies tho I don't think. The top one I remember being as bad as Spanish Fly, and that is baad, Terry-Thomas' unfinest hour.

I think I'm right in saying that Carry On Camping was intended as a spoof of them, because after the strict decency laws changed in the mid 60s there was a sudden spate of them, I think HWGRTMB was the first one to have a naked woman facing the camera, tho you only saw the top half.

Here's the guidebook you need: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1903111927/comedyguide-21/

There's also Doing Rude Things: History of the British Sex Film, 1957-81 by David McGillivray, but it seems to be more scarce (expensive). http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Doing+Rude+Things+%3A+History+of+the+British+Sex+Film

Cor Blimey mate, are people still interested in this crap?

Suppose the reply will be 'It is history' and 'Worthy'.

I say burn the lot of it!

I don't see any positive correlation between 'sex and comedy'here.

It always manifests itself from a sexist male perspective of the cynical subjectivism of womenkind.

And women I suppose don't like sex? They love it Dellas, as well you know.

Maybe there were some transitional films that bridged the way into these. I am thinking of No Sex Please We are British, and some of the Up Pompeii canon - which had a degree of bawdiness in the film versions that weren't evident in the stage originals?

Quote: Kenneth @ February 6 2012, 4:22 AM GMT

Here's the guidebook you need: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1903111927/comedyguide-21/

View original

Do you know, that's actually in my Amazon wishlist, but I'd completely forgotten about it! Thanks!

Quote: dellas @ February 6 2012, 4:28 AM GMT

Cor Blimey mate, are people still interested in this crap?

Suppose the reply will be 'It is history' and 'Worthy'.

I say burn the lot of it!

I don't see any positive correlation between 'sex and comedy'here.

It always manifests itself from a sexist male perspective of the cynical subjectivism of womenkind.

View original

That's told Aaron - the dirty perv.

I thank you, someone has to say it.

I seem to remember watching quite a few lesser-known British sex comedies fromm the 1970s as a teenager. One particularly terrible one was something of a comedy/murder-mystery/soft porn romp about a bunch of models being bumped-off - think it was called 'Playmates'...?

The worst thing about such movies was watching a bit of innocent softcore porn tit and bum then - without warning - they would suddenly cut to a scene featuring a well-known family comedy favourite (Arthur Lowe, Eric Morecambe etc) doing some shit bit of banter. (Presumably they were there because the money was right.)

On a purely practical level, I would say that it's very hard to achieve the moment of ejaculation when you're constantly worrying about Windsor Davies showing-up on screen to do a comedy gurn.