Confessions From The David Galaxy Affair (1979)

Another Mary Millington vehicle directed by Willy Roe and written by George Evans, Confessions From The David Galaxy Affair is at least, similar to The Playbirds, a piece of adult entertainment that attempts to thread the minimal semblance of a plot through things.

Alan Lake plays David Galaxy, a playboy lover man who finds himself in hot water when he starts to be investigated by Chief Inspector Evans (Glynn Edwards). The police are wanting to know where Alan was on the day of a robbery, and he needs to get someone to give him an alibi. But that could turn out to be a lot harder than expected, with Alan not really surrounded by good friends. He does have people rooting for him, however, when it comes to his sexual exploits, especially when he is challenged to please a woman (Millington) who is said to have never before had an orgasm.

If tweaked here and there, this could have been a comedic crime paper with some enjoyable sauciness. You could have had more flashback scenes, and more time spent with Lake trying to keep his head above water. But it is sold on Millington’s name, which means you get the sexual escapades throughout, interrupted by some of the crime caper plot.

Roe directs just fine, for what the film is aiming to do, and the script has some minor highlights, despite being massively problematic here and there. But I cannot be sure how many of the worst moments are down to the script and how many are down to choices made by actors. Lake seems to be enjoying himself when he is allowed to change his character for a couple of scenes, portraying both an Asian gentlemen and a gay man at different times, with the sensitivity and nuance that you might expect from a film like this. None.

Lake isn’t bad in the lead role though, and somehow stays quite likeable as he skips from one but of nookie to the next. Edwards is good to see, and brings some weight to things, never allowing you to doubt that he is serious in wanting to apprehend the lead. Millington has one key scene, obviously, and does what you expect, and I enjoyed the small amount of screentime allotted to Diana Dors and Bernie Winters. There are other people involved - Anthony Booth, Kenny Lynch, Milton Reid, Sally Faulkner, Rosemary England, etc - but none of those make as strong an impression as those already mentioned (even if Faulkner is involved in an amusing scene in which she is offended by David breaking wind in bed).

Another movie of this kind, and from this time, that is hard to imagine keeping enough people pleased for the runtime, with the softer sex scenes, clumsy humour, and plot strand about the criminal investigation, it ends up being a bit more enjoyable to everyone who may simply be watching it nowadays to satisfy their curiosity.

4/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

The Playbirds (1978)

Here it is, at long last. My second Mary Millington film experience, and a vehicle that fans of the star often cite as her best work. Which makes it very odd to watch nowadays, especially when you have a scene in which a woman wakes up to find a stranger in her home and cheerily utters "oh goody, I'm going to be raped." Yeah, that really happens.

The plot, and at least this does feel like a proper plot, concerns the murder of a number of porn magazine centrefolds. It's up to Holbourne (Glynn Edwards) and Morgan (Gavin Campbell) to capture the killer before any more women die, but they really struggle to find any decent leads. Perhaps it is the porn magazine mogul, Dougan (Alan Lake), perhaps it is the moralising street preacher, Hern (Dudley Sutton), or perhaps it is any one of the many men who make themselves seem much more suspicious in the presence of the police. The only way to really get a step ahead of the killer is to place an attractive officer (Lucy, played by Millington) undercover. She certainly looks right for the part, which means she is in a lot of danger as soon as her centrefold is about to be published.

The first of three Millington movies directed by Willy Roe, who also co-wrote the script with George Evans (although they are credited under pseudonyms), The Playbirds manages to cut costs and make use of easily-available assets without slapping everything together as carelessly as something like Come Play With Me. The script may not be that sharp, few people watch adult entertainment for the dialogue and characterisations, but what is here actually works well for the plot to hit some decent story beats on the way to scenes of nudity and sex.

Edwards is a reliable performer, and Campbell does well enough opposite him. I'd even go so far as to say that Millington occasionally seems to be rising to the occasion with her performance, although she's hindered by the fact that viewers will be impatiently awaiting the time for her to get naked. Lake isn't too bad either, and Sutton makes the most of his small amount of screentime. You also get very brief turns from Windsor Davies and Kenny Lynch. They may have only one scene each, but they're very welcome appearances in between scenes featuring cast members who are much lesser-known.

Probably not one that many people will be rushing to watch, The Playbirds isn't half as bad as some other adult-oriented entertainment from this time. You still have problematic attitudes, and dialogue, but having a pot that feels like someone gave it more than a few seconds of thought it a big plus. The titillating nudity feels like a secondary consideration, which I understand many may view as a big drawback, but there's still enough to satisfy fans of the leading lady.

5/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews