Tiffany Jones

The original Tiffany Jones newspaper strip won plaudits for its wit and style. Written and drawn by two female fashion journalists, it told of the exploits of a glamorous model, Tiffany, and her friends Jo and boyfriend Guy, and epitomised the free spirit of 'Swinging London'. Unfortunately this seems to have been completely jettisoned in this rather tedious adaptation. Instead poor Jo and Guy are relegated to a brief appearance at the start of the film, and then disappear for the duration. Tiffany gets embroiled in an attempt by a deposed foreign royal to overthrow the dictatorship which has taken over his country. The makers of the film seem unsure how seriously they should take the story, and how much sex and nudity (which is after all the only reason most people will be watching) to throw into the mix. One can only speculate what Fiona Richmond's producers, makers of probably the best looking sex films of the period, would have done with this story. Or how it would have been handled by the more low-brow creators of the 'Confessions' or 'Adventures' films; doubtless the clothing would have been lost with more panache than happens here. Anouska Hempel does not have the knowing sexuality of a Fiona, nor does she have the dizzy wide-eyed innocence which might also have worked. Instead she is reduced to reacting to everything that happens to her as if it was an everyday occurrence. The viewer is left with a feeling of regret for what might have been.

That silliness, sauciness and innocent charm you find in 1930s screwball comedies is lovingly evoked in this entertaining low-budget but well made spy parody. Despite what some have said, this is NOT a smutty British 'sex comedy'.

I can see why mistakenly it might have been grouped in with those dreadful sex-comedies because, well it is a comedy and there is nudity in it but it's nothing like those tacky, humourless, sexist and generally unpleasant pictures which were popular for a while. This is a proper story with believable and likeable characters which you can really engage with. There's not even any swearing and certainly no sex.

What makes this a good watch is how quickly you'll engage - how easy it is to relate to the characters and situations. The low budget feel actually adds a degree of realism which coupled with good writing results in an enjoyable romp in the nostalgic world of our youth. If you're familiar with those 1930s comedies you'll recognise all the characteristic tropes: mistaken identity, increasing absurdity and a sexy leading lady. Also like America in the 1930s, England in the seventies had a certain shabbiness about it which this film really captures. It was however a shabbiness filled with hope and optimism - again a feeling this picture effortlessly puts across.

Anouska Hempel is perfect in this role: she's pretty but nothing out of the ordinary so is 100% believable as the sexy girl next door. A well-written, well-acted character you can believe in like Tiffany gives a film with a silly story like this the necessary anchor in reality. It's undeniable that there is gratuitous nudity in this but also it's not completely gratuitous. We've all met people like Tiffany Jones who aren't too bothered about being fully clothed inside her own house. There's nothing dirty or salacious in this film's nudity: it's just reinforcing Tiffany's casual approach to life. It's a far cry from those horrid 'sex comedies' where there's just a lifeless parade of nameless, cartoon-like bare boobs.

Lastly, you might recognise the name of the writer: Alfred Shaughnessy. He was writing UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS at the same time he was writing this!

"Tiffany Jones" was a return to straight sexploitation for Pete Walker, who spent most of the seventies making the horror b-movies he is best known for.

Tiffany Jones is apparently a comic strip character. The opening credits feature shots of the comic strip - and an awful theme song.

"Zirdana - Eastern Europe" says the title. This... country (?) is apparently a dictatorship. The president of Zirdana arrives in England, according to a news report Tiffany Jones watches, while wearing a skimpy towel.

She's a model.

The movie provides some nudity at about the fifteen minute mark, with Tiffany in the bathtub.

She is tasked with doing an ad for Zirdana's tourism.

She is made to stand topless in front of Zirdana's evil president.

The president falls in love with Tiffany.

She is a surprisingly plucky, intelligent character, who is able to fend off his advances with her mind.

She is also effortlessly sexy, and doesn't mind appearing in a state of undress.

Tiffany is summoned to a photographer's studio, and the actor who plays the photographer is someone I recognize from other movies, though I'm not sure which ones. Is he one of the Hammer actors?

The photographer takes Tiffany's photo, but really he just wants to interrogate her about her work with the president. He's "Zirdanian" and wants to kill the dictator.

The photographer is actually a member of Zirdana's deposed monarchy.

Tiffany Jones provides not one, but two bathtub scenes.

In another scene, Tiffany is strapped to a gurney by a group of terrorist chefs. She is in her lingerie, until one of the chefs cut her bra off, while discussing different culinary methods of torture.

The beautiful Tiffany displays her talents again when she is able to convince a chef to swap places with her, and claim she has run off.

Tiffany then joins forces with the chefs, to help them overthrow the President.

While sneaking around, Tiffany encounters two middle aged American diplomat types, who apparently don't mind sharing a room, or appearing naked in front of each other. Luckily, Walker has the intelligence to know we don't want to see nudity from these senior citizens, and doesn't show any. Tiffany does give us a shower scene, though.

There follows a delightful scene in which the President eats lunch outdoors with many beautiful models, all of whom disrobe.

The "conclusion", or at least the final scenes, become pretty muddled. I guess Walker tried to tie up the nonsensical plot, but I admit I stopped paying attention for the first time during the last bits.

But, you know what? I still recommend "Tales of Tiffany Jones". It is exactly what we love Pete Walker for: he knew he wasn't making great art, or even legitimately good movies. He was just trying to have fun. And he invited the viewer to join him.

I didn't get far into this before, realising how bad it was, then skimmed through the rest of it to have that initial impression confirmed. It really is a cheap, nasty, offensive piece of junk. The one positive is the beauty of Miss Hempel, but neither her acting, the script, nor the people surrounding her can raise this above the level of disaster.

You may recall this kind of muck that was prevalent in the 70s - Mary Millington, Fiona Fullerton, etc. This is a prime example. The attempts at humour are sub-infantile, the nudity is unimpressive (imagine the desultory naked women from a 60s movie, like Woodstock, for example) and everything about it is simply an insult to the intelligence. I'm not surprised Miss Hempel tried to wipe it from history.

I just wish she had been successful.

The producers must have given up on this film before production even started. Very weak script, while based on a comic strip, the comic had better dialogue. Plot is simple but also juvenile. The acting extremely mediocre as if no one cared. Much of the sets, props & costumes are sparse or weak. Cinematography slightly above amateur. Music, very dated though nothing memorable even when made. So what is left? Bare bodies. You see the lead actress in states of undress a number of times, often as a running gag thru the movie, though no laughs by me. One extended scene has a number of girls getting undressed (some full frontal) but the camera jumps around so much, doubt anyone gets excited from it. I originally gave 4 stars but as I wrote the above review, changed it to only 3 stars. It really is an awful movie. An hour in I just wanted it to end. I recommend you save your time and watch any other movie.