Customer Reviews

Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had this book for ages now. It was bought for me as I am a fan of the Carry On films.
I read about all of the films and saw the Confessions films on television, I thought that they were fun. To me these films are only one step up from the Carry On's, in there sex content.
I found them so good I made it my mission in life to find these movies and watch as many as I could. This book has become invaluable to me as a reference book.
People are so busy trying to be politically correct that they have forgotten how to laugh, at the women and the men! Do we have to analyse everything? can't we just enjoy it?

Simon Sheridan has if you can pardon this and other puns in this piece, done a "bang-up" job of documenting the history of sex movies in British cinema. From the nudist films of the 1950's to the titilating "sex-coms" of the 1960's and 70's, it's all here in chronological detail complete with movie stills, posters and "behind the scenes" stories. Now if you're already thinking that this subject is something you'll find unintersting or offensive, well let me just say that it's really the same as watching Benny Hill on TV or a "Carry On" movie that basically pioneered the whole genre in the first place. Only it's taken to the next step or mis-step depending on your tolerance for such things. With titles like "Confession's Of A Window Cleaner", "Can You Keep It Up For A Week", "I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight" and alike, this was the state of the British movie industry in the 70's and was all that was keeping it alive. A far cry from the day's of the great Ealing comedies and epics like "Lawrence Of Arabia", it was a sign of the times. Whereas in America "hard core" films like "Deep Throat" were becoming the "in-thing", that kind of pornography was still very much illegal in Britain. So to enhance the "soft core" simulated sex, the comedic element was added in typical naughty British "seaside humour" style. Indeed, many of the same big name comedic actors who were on TV, found their way into doing cameos in these pictures. You even had such stars as Joan Collins stripping off in "The Bitch" and "The Stud", thats right the same star of TV's "Dynasty". You had veteran directors like Val Guest and American Jack Arnold, trying their hand at it. As well as newcomers like Martin Campbell, who later went on to direct a few James Bond movies. Big name studios like EMI and Columbia Pictures, certainly didn't mind getting in on the act either.

As the author saids "these were movies that put boobs on screens and bums on seats". What with most of Britain's cinema's already converted to bingo halls and supermarkets, exhibitor's were desperate to get the public or as they like to say over here "punters", to fill up those seats. As you might expect -they did and it prooved very profitable specially when they were produced so cheaply and so fast. I can even remember going to my local ABC theatre in London and getting amused and somewhat modestly aroused by them. Looking back, it's all very dated and tame by today's "in your face" digital standards. A good supplement to this book, is Sheridan's other book on Amazon, a look at British sex star Mary Millington in "Come Play With Me". Taken from the title of Mary's biggest hit sexcom, which also incidently holds the record for being the longest-ever theatrical booking in British cinema history!