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

Adventures Of A Private Eye (1977)

The second film in the trilogy of "Adventures" movies, Adventures Of A Private Eye is less overtly cringe-inducing than the film before it, yet also feels less entertaining at the same time.

Christopher Neil takes the lead this time, playing Bob West, a young man who works for a private detective (Judd Blake, played by Jon Pertwee). When his boss goes on holiday, Bob decides to pretend he is the main man, taking on a case involving a beautiful woman named Laura (Suzy Kendall), an inheritance, some blackmail, and even murder.

Once again directed by Stanley A. Long, with a script this time from Michael Armstrong, Adventures Of A Private Eye is what you might call perfunctory, at best. Although following the template of the previous film, in a way (the main narrative is interspersed with a number of comedic "sketch" moments), this feels altogether more fragmented and messier. The film is better than the one preceding it, in some ways, and yet worse, because of it just being surprisingly dull.

You do get, as expected, some nudity and random sexual encounters, but the focus here is more on Bob trying, and often failing, to make himself appear like a skilled and smart detective. Which would all be well and good if the case at the heart of things was in any way interesting. Look, I'm not daft (well . . . not all the time). I know what the film is aiming for. But when the plot ends up being built around a mystery element then that element should be strong enough to make up for the times when those seeking titillation and giggles are not getting either of those things.

Neil isn't too bad in the main role, he tries hard to be charming enough to everyone around him while also hoping to cover up his incompetence. Kendall is as lovely as ever, although her performance is quite flat for most of the runtime, and it would have been interesting to make her a more intriguing character with the potential to be a lot less innocent than she appears. The rest of the cast is a great mix of familiar faces from this time, from the charismatic Pertwee to Harry H. Corbett, from Adrienne Posta (returning to the series in a completely different role) and Angela Scoular (same as Posta) to Anna Quayle, Irene Handl, Liz Fraser, and the wonderful Willie Rushton (who gets far too little time onscreen).

After weighing up the good and the bad, I have ended up rating this just below Adventures Of A Taxi Driver. Although it may seem unlikely, this feels more clumsy in how it is plotted and put together. It will kill an hour and a half, it's another film of interest to anyone who enjoys digging in to explore the variety of British cinema releases over the year, but it's an oddly childish tale without any truly satisfying set-pieces.

3/10

Prime Time: Adventures Of A Taxi Driver (1976)

You know what it's like, don't cha. You want to have a great life, get a bit of cash in your pocket, get a nice little bird to have some fun with every now and again, and generally live a bleedin' charmed life without any worries. But you are living at your mum's gaff, you have an on-off girlfriend who wants something serious, while you're just keeping her as an option in between pursuing others, and most of your taxi fares end with you owing money because you got your head turned by some nice piece of skirt.

No, I've not regressed. The paragraph above sums up the outlook of the main character in Adventures Of A Taxi Driver, a very successful British sex comedy from the 1970s that came along after the popular "Confessions Of..." series and the much more enjoyable Eskimo Nell (if you ever explore these movies then that is one I recommend you make a top priority).

Barry Evans plays the main character, you won't be surprised to learn that he is a taxi driver, Joe, in a film that also has room for Robert Lindsay, Judy Geeson, Diana Dors, and one or two special cameo appearances. The opening minutes, with an amusingly sarcastic litany of praise for the good ol' British cabbie, bodes well for what you might get from the rest of the film, but things quickly go from bad to worse as viewers are left in the care of a cheeky chappie supposedly able to charm the ladies. He seems more like either a predator or a spoiled child for most of the runtime, and everything becomes even more tiresome when you get a final act that puts the main character in the middle of a robbery that allows him to be the best of a bad bunch (I suppose).

Very much a product of its time, this doesn't hold up well at all. Director Stanley A. Long, who also came up with the idea that was turned into a screenplay by Suzanne Mercer, a frequent collaborator, puts everything together like a late-night comedy sketch show with licence to show some gratuitous nudity. You get the married woman who is interrupted by her oblivious husband while she tries to enjoy the company of the cabbie, you get one young woman who seems suicidal until she starts responding to the warmth of Joe (yes, it is as horribly uncomfortable as it sounds), and you get the obviously hilarious moment in which Joe doesn't realise his latest passenger is a female impersonator. There's nudity and a nun, a happy-go-lucky hooker who likes to treat her clients while being driven around in the cab, and more.

Evans is at least okay in the main role. It's not easy to make his character any more appealing, considering the script working against him, but he tries his best. Geeson is as lovely as ever, Lindsay is there to often be a sounding board, and Adrienne Posta is horribly mistreated as Carol, the woman who Joe thinks is getting far too clingy. On the plus side, she at least gets to sing the main title song (even if it's not a very good one).

I used to hate this. I remember rating it even lower the last time I saw it, and I have no idea why, or how, I watched it before. But now I can't help view it with a little more affection. The attitude on display is still horrendous, the comedy doesn't really work, but it's just as fascinating a a number of other British movies from this time, many of them trying to make a splash at the box office by translating saucy postcard humour into something a bit more daring for adults to enjoy at their local cinemas.

4/10

The print currently available on Amazon Prime (UK, not sure about other territories) is actually very good.