Adventures of a Plumber's Mate

Elaine Paige made her film debut in this British sex film.At the time the British film industry was in a very poor state.Often sex films were the only opportunity for actors to appear on screen.So that is the reason that Richard Caldicott appears.This film is a smaller budgeted version of the Confession series,which in turn took over when the Carry Ons had their day.This film is actually amusing in parts unlike the Confessions which were unfunny and crass.There is one very funny shot of a amateurs wobbling breasts.However Arthur Millard in his last film does rather exhibit his acting limitations.Rather redolent of the period.

For once, a protagonist who doesn't smoke! I swear, they love their cigarettes in Great Britain, and it seemed in every sex comedy, someone is lighting up.

One of the movies from the British-made "Adventures" series, this one is actually a good one. A likeable Lothario plumber named Sid is having trouble paying the bookies and must get 1000 pounds paid to them or "else". In between plumbing jobs, he works for a small-time crime boss who gives him "jobs" to do, and they all go wrong for him. As with all movies in this series, people go naked, but here, there aren't any sex scenes for once, but there are some funny scenes created from the situations the plumber gets into.

Stephen Lewis, who played Inspector Blakey from "On The Buses", has a small role as Sid's boss, the aptly named B.A. Crapper. Yes, this is a very British film, with some people's accents being very difficult to decipher, but it's still worth seeing, although it's probably unavailable in the U.S. If you live in a British Commonwealth country, you'll find it.

Compared with the tacky 'Confessions of' series, the first two 'Adventures of' films felt a little more classy with actual plots. This however is horrible. It's a humourless, very poorly made crime film with an exceptionally unpleasant lead character.

Christopher Neil, who was the taxi driver in the first movie plays an absolutely detestable character. He's a cruel, spiteful and ignorant sexist yob. Sexist! OK, you wouldn't expect a film like this to be particularly woke but in a so-called comedy you wouldn't expect such aggressive misogyny - or for that to be a basis of humour. There's also a plot which is the dullest crime story imaginable. That introduces a series of unlikeable, unfunny boring characters. These help to drag the tedium out for what seems hours.

Is it worth watching for the sexy ladies? No. The progression of characterless one-dimensional naked cardboard cutouts are as erotic as Chinese shadow play. The knickerless girl on the motorcycle at the beginning however is pleasant but the rest of the supposed erotica is just crude, dirty and cheap looking.

I'm obviously not a prude or I wouldn't be watching this but this is a vile, shabby excuse for entertainment which makes you feel dirty and annoyed that you wasted an hour and a half on.

"Adventures of a Plumber's Mate" is definitely a cut above the average British sex comedy, and I realise that isn't saying much. Looking at the title you would expect a rip-off of those "Confessions" movies with Robin Askwith, and you wouldn't exactly be disappointed. The set-up is the same: a hapless young man with a working class job has a series of misadventures at work, usually involving loose women and their uptight husbands. There's a lot of nudity and low-brow humour, none of which is really funny, and silly accents and ridiculous characterisations.

However, there's quite a bit more going on in this movie than that. The movie is less episodic than those "Confessions" films, and all the other movies that came in its wake, with generic jobs in the title. The thing is this one has a plot about the protagonist trying to get out of debt that he owes to his landlord and a local bookie who has two henchmen after him. Although his forays into people's homes as a plumber are the typical sex comedy fare, what with women's dresses getting stuck in garbage disposal and torn off, leaving them naked, and a seductress handcuffing herself to the hero when her criminal husband is on his way home from the klink - the overarching narrative is more grounded in reality and thus feels a bit more relatable.

I enjoyed this movie - I say check it out.

What happened here? The first two movies in the ADVENTURES OF... series were quite funny. Yet somehow a trilogy was formed when the series was tied up with this painfully unfunny movie. It comes as no surprise that the series ended here and no fourth movie was made.

As another person has commented on this page, this movie has a dreary, depressing tone hanging over it. I would like to add that the first two movies were nothing like this. Indeed, from seeing the first two, you would never guess Britain had descended to harsh economic times. In this movie, it's all too clear with its constant reminders of debt, unlikeable aggressive characters, nasty unrepentant officials and painful lack of humour.

What happened to Christopher Neil? His character in ADVENTURES OF A PRIVATE EYE was a very funny and likable accident-prone. I thought his performance in that movie was even better than that of Barry Evans in ADVENTURES OF A TAXI DRIVER. In ADVENTURES OF A PLUMBER'S MATE, Christopher Neil seems to be sleepwalking his way through the movie, he didn't seem to enjoy being here and unlike the previous movie, his character was more annoying than likable and none of the ideas funny on paper were funny on the screen.

As if the lead actor weren't bad enough, some first-rate supporting talent is wasted as well.

Arthur Mullard plays a Mr. Big type character but he was too overly aggressive to be funny. Mr. Mullard deserved better than this. Jerold Wells was equally wasted as his sidekick who was given nothing to do other than stand around looking dumb. Mr. Wells had more fun on THE BENNY HILL SHOW and his great cameo in VAULT OF HORROR.

Willie Rushton is also wasted as a quick-buck artist who allocates a number of jobs to the main character to help him pay off debts. His performance here was completely uninspired (who could blame him?) and a long way departed from KEEP IT UP DOWNSTAIRS or ADVENTURES OF A PRIVATE EYE.

Suzy Mandell, a veteran of British sex comedies is wasted in a role as a tennis player whose only purpose is to get her kit off and go in the shower. Unlike movies such as COME PLAY WITH ME and INTIMATE GAMES, she is given nothing to do or say that is in the least bit funny. For those who want to see Miss Mandell full-frontal nude, the two mentioned movies will deliver whereas this one doesn't.

But perhaps the most criminal waste of talent here is Stephen Lewis. He plays the boss of the main character and is in full Blakey mode. Not even he could save this movie. Not even the funniest person from the ON THE BUSES franchise could make me laugh here. This is how bad this movie was.

On a positive note, Anna Quayle has a good time with her character, who is the owner of a club or something like that. She has a few funny lines and is backed up by Christopher Biggins, who also has a good time.

The only genuine standout on the cameo list is Claire Davenport who raises a laugh or two as a battleaxe-type masseuse who handles her clients very roughly. Her scene was funny but it couldn't save this movie.

All in all, this is a colossal disappointment for anyone who has seen the first two entries in this series. It brings a sad end to a franchise that was moderately funny in saucy British tradition. My recommendation is to stick to the first two movies and disregard this one as though it doesn't exist.