Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse

This film marks the end of Columbias production of British films,going out with a wimpy rather than a bang.

The film reflects the parlous state of the British film industry at this time. You only have to look at the cast to wonder just how desperate they were. You wonder,were the likes of Beryl Reid,John Le MesurierArthur Askey that broke that they decided to appear.

I actually quite liked Arthur Askey when he appeared on television,but his films,by and large weren't very good. His appearance in this film is quite cringe making.

This film doesn't even have the bonus of being funny or in the least bit erotic.

British bawdy Doctors 'n' Nurses film in standard theme plot(?) introduced in the "Carry On" series of comedies. Updated for mid-1970s with introduction of full nudity. Very risque for its day, no doubt. Also very distinctive cheesy theme tune. Probably persuaded as many British adolescent males to become interested in studying for medical profession as more conventional methods.

Matron: "Are you intimidated?" Nurse Rosie Dixon: "I don't think so but I've had the flu jab." That line folks is about as funny as this 1970's British sex "comedy" gets. Eighteen year old Rosie decides that she wants to become a nurse but when she starts work at a very grotty looking hospital she is bombarded with sexual attention, from male patients and doctors alike. I am no snowflake but the way that the young female nurses are looked upon as sex objects is really quite sad, they are subjected to inappropriate language, unwanted physical touching (what could now be classed as assault) and one has her drink spiked with an aphrodisiac pill. This, along with some "Carry On" type slapstick, is meant to be funny but, with a few exceptions, the comedy aspect is woefully poor. There is full frontal female nudity but as was typical of the time any naked men are only seen from the side or rear, hiding their private parts. There is very little in the way of sex though a scene in which randy nurse Penny strips off and "rides" a man (who turns out to be gay!) in a full body cast is very memorable! There are some well known faces in the cast - Beryl Reid is always a delight to watch but John Le Mesurier as the head surgeon, who is more interested in talking about sport than in performing operations, is wasted. Arthur Askey plays a patient who keeps pinching the nurses bottoms, I was never a fan of him as a comedian and his dirty old man role here is quite pathetic. Films such as this and the "Confessions" movies were a product of their time and have to be viewed as such, viewer discretion is advised, but in my opinion this effort left me feeling let down as to how low things got with this genre.

As with the Confessions films, this is another of those movies from the dark days of British cinema that is perhaps best forgotten.

Chances are you're only willing to watch because of the nudity. Well there's not much of that but there are a host of well known faces, many of whom have long since died.

Films such as this obviously kept the wolf from the door but it's a sad fact that this was Arthur Askey's last film.

To see him wheeling around as a lecherous, demented old man is heartbreaking.

The main reasons to watch are to see a young Leslie Ash as the sister of the eponymous heroine and Patricia Hodge who no doubt cringes every time she sees the movie.

The script must have taken all of 10 minutes to write, with not a trace of wit or originality to be seen or heard anywhere. Dixon's weedy boyfriend is a comic foil with one track mind who falls into a pond to raise an, er, titter.

Yes, it really is that sophisticated.

An 'erotic comedy' unique in the fact that it is neither erotic, nor funny.

Just be thankful it didn't spawn a host of sequels.

It seems like many of the specialty channels owned by CHUM here in Canada enjoy airing these British sex comedies from the 1968-1982 era. I have to admit that I've always found them to be middling at best but they are much better than anything produced by the Americans. I'd rather see French sex comedies but the British output isn't too bad and the 70's era ones have always offered up an honest slice of life in England.

Rosie Dixon is about a teenager who has come to work at Adelaide Hospital as a nurse. Unfortunately for her, the hospital she's working at has some absolute rakes in it. The whole movie sees her being sexually assaulted (in humorous ways, mind you) and sexually harassed by patients and the young doctors. However, she also finds love.

Pretty much everything about General Hospital and medical dramas are spoofed here. Yes, there is the requisite T&A. Of course, there is no way we could see a hospital be allowed to run today with rampant sexual harassment by the staff but here they seem to mask it with the fact that everybody here is open to some loving.

Also, unlike a lot of films that have an exclusive British cast, this film has a few Scots and Irish characters in the mix. The acting is actually good here; as they are actually trying. It's a lot better than 2006's hardcore pornstars attempts at method acting.

A pretty good effort; I don't think this is on DVD but I'm sure in the British Commonwealth Nations it can be seen occasionally.