Adventures Of A Plumber's Mate (1978)

The last in the "Adventures" movie series, this ends up actually being a bit of a step up from the other two movies, in a number of ways. It's just a shame that Christopher Neil, while not being terrible in the lead performance, isn't quite up to the task of seeming worthy enough of the film being resting on his shoulders.

Neil plays a plumber named Sid, and Sid has some money worries. He has days to repay a lump sum to some heavies, or they are going to put him in hospital. He also gets himself in a spot of brother when he ends up doing a job for Janice (Prudence Drage), a woman who wants to seduce him, leading to a situation that grows more tense when handcuffs are used without the key close enough to hand, the gangster boyfriend of Janice is heading home, and a toilet seat is removed that is, unknown to our lead, actually a disguised chunk of gold. If he can stay alive long enough, maybe he can get things sorted AND enjoy some happiness with a woman named Daisy (Elaine Paige . . . yes, THAT Elaine Paige).

It's Stanley A. Long in the director's chair once again, and he continues to show a lack of interest in anything remotely resembling cinematic style or polish, but the script this time around is in the hands of Stephen D. Frances and Aubrey Cash, and these two actually manage to put together something that feels like it's plotted with a bit of care. You still get some amusing diversions here and there, but this film moves from start to finish more satisfyingly than either of the previous two instalments in the short series.

Neil is okay, as mentioned. He's just not quite as appealing as some other choices could have been, although he fares better here than he did last time. Paige makes a better impression, being a sweet and supportive woman, arguably a much better relationship prospect for the main character than he deserves. Arthur Mullard is a lot of fun as the main heavy, managing to be both slightly comedic and a genuine threat, and it's good to see a slightly bigger role for Willie Rushton (who was there and gone all too quickly in the previous Adventure, he's in a different role here). There aren't as many familiar faces in the supporting cast, but you get Anna Quayle (also returning in a different role), Christopher Biggins popping up, and a fun, small, role for Stephen Lewis (best known to British TV comedy fans as 'Blakey' from On The Buses).

There's still not enough to help this become an actual good movie, because it's not given quite enough care and attention when it comes to the technical side of things (everything is competent enough, nothing feels truly cared for though). All three "Adventures" movies are dated relics from the seventies, but I still find them fascinating to view in terms of where British cinema found great success as attitudes moved from cheeky sauciness to more explicit, lewd and lascivious, content. And why did I feel like Mary Whitehouse as I wrote "lewd and lascivious"? That was only meant to be a description, not necessarily a judgement.

4/10