Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Barry Evans, Judy Geeson, Adrienne Posta, Diana Dors, Stephen Lewis & Henry McGee (... Taxi Driver, 1976); Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H Corbett, Diana Dors, Jon Pertwee & Ian Lavender (... Private Eye, 1977);
Christopher Neil, Arthur Mullard, Anna Quayle, Stephen Lewis, Nina West & William Rushton (... Plumber's Mate, 1978)
Written by Stanley Long, with Suzanne Mercer, Michael Armstrong, Aubrey Cash & Stephen Frances
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 257 minutes | Directed by Stanley Long
Not to be confused with the Confessions Of... series, the Adventures Of A... series was a trilogy of low budget British sex comedies made in the 1970s. Considered quite "naughty" at the time, by today's standards they're extremely tame — there's minimal sex or nudity, and almost no swearing to speak of. There's also very few laughs.
Adventures Of A Taxi Driver stars Barry Evans (better known for his roles in the Doctor TV series, as well as Mind Your Language) as Joe North, an over-sexed London cabbie always on the lookout for the next "bird" to "pull". Unfortunately, his sexual encounters are usualy interrupted by a husband arriving home. Or his fiancee walking on on him and his latest "bird". Or a snake crawling into bed. He also gets involved with a gang of jewelry thieves.
Adventures Of A Plumber's Mate stars Christopher Neil as Sid South, an over-sexed London plumber always on the lookout for the next "bird" to "pull". Unfortunately, his sexual encounters are usually interrupted by a husband arriving home. He's in financial hot water because he owes a gang of thugs £900 in gambling debts. He also gets involved with a gang of gold thieves.
Adventures Of A Private Eye Er, I didn't actually watch this one (sorry, but a man can only take so much!). However, the press release that came with the preview discs assures me that Christopher Neil stars as Bob West, an over-sexed rookie private detective always on the lookout for the next "bird" to "pull". Unfortunately, his sexual encounters are usually interrupted by a husband arriving home. He also gets involved with a gang of blackmailers.
The Adventures Of... films are very much a relic of the past — sexist, misogynistic and not all that entertaining. They're a little like overlong Benny Hill Show sketches, but with more breasts and fewer laughs. And no little bald man. The brains behind them, co-writer/director Stanley Long, began his career in the 1950s making nudist "documentaries", and went downhill from there. The only redeeming feature these films have is as a snapshot of the era — it's great to see London streets from the 1970s — and the cavalcade of big British acting talent that popped up: Diana Dors, Judy Geeson (who went on to carve out a decent career in the US), Stephen Lewis (better known as Blakey from On The Buses), Henry McGee (The Benny Hill Show), Harry H Corbett (Steptoe and Son), Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor Who) and Ian Lavender (Dad's Army). Surprisingly, the films were hugely popular on their release and made bundles at the box office — in fact, Adventures Of A Taxi Driver made more money in the UK in 1976 than Scorsese's Taxi Driver did. What were cinemagoers thinking? Although this DVD set has been all nicely remastered and repackaged, this series really is best left in the past.
EXTRAS * Each has a commentaty with Stanley Long. And a photo gallery. And trailers for all three films.