A Promise of Bed

Not a particularly good film but, as a glimpse of London in the last gasp of the swinging sixties, it serves as an interesting historical record.

Shot in less than three weeks for just £8,500. Despite the presence of Victor Spinetti and a remarkably youthful-looking John Bird and an onscreen caption introducing the film as "A Trilogy of Comedy", Derek Ford's debut British feature is throughout more melancholy than funny. (Most of the men are lonely, and Spinetti is discovered about to commit suicide at the start of his episode). Ford and his brother Donald were well-connected socially, hence the presence of some actresses with respectable c.v.s already behind them like Alexandra Bastedo and Valerie Leon; and their use of a millionaire's home in the Chevreuse Valley, just south of Paris, in which unfolds a bizarre fantasy in Day-Glo colours resembling the work of a heterosexual Kenneth Anger embellished with psychedelic musical effects.

Of the women the late Vanda Hudson - already washed up and making her final film appearance - registers most strongly in a tale reminiscent of Colette in which she initiates virginal young photographer Dennis Waterman after he confesses that there's no film in his camera. Of all the females on show the ripe Ms Hudson displays the most flesh, but like the other women in the film mostly she cavorts in a series of provocative outfits for Waterman's delectation rather than actually does a striptease.

There was an attempt here to make something better. Now I would say the stories theirself were individually enjoyable. Though odd in the case of the last one. Acting could be better in places but I was happy to see a young dennis waterman, he was good as the photography. Overall not a great film but it did have little bits that could be better explored.

This-That-and the Other' aka 'A Promise of Bed'. (1969) Derek Ford.

Prolific low-budget smut-slinger Derek Ford's mostly amiable farce might prove to be a wee bit meagre in the rampant nookie department for the more actively degenerated Sinophile. Ford's film-making aesthetic is often crude, luridly garlanded with an occasionally giddy swathe of ersatz psychedelia to add some much-needed visual pizazz. Cast performances prove exuberant, rather than nuanced, while Ford's text is unforgivably flaccid, the consistently lively score remains engagingly buoyant throughout. For all the narrative inanities, Derek Ford's tremulously titillating triptych is fabulously festooned with top tier totty like tantalizing telly temptress Alexandra Bastedo, gamine crumpet Vanessa Howard, and voluptuously vulpine vamp Yutte Stensgaard. The stridently 70s grooviness is absurdly contrived, happily making 'This-That-and the Other' aka 'A Promise of Bed' all the more Kitschy delicious! Recidivist Tadger Tuggers, wanton wang whackers, jaded Jizz lizards, salacious slap n' ticklers, craven knob Jockies and spunky monkeys aught to give it at least 10cc's of their boggle-eyed attention.

This was produced by Stanley Long,self proclaimed king of the sex films.Most of his films are entertaining but not this one.Only the first story was worth watching.The second was bizarre,the third was plain silly.The raucous. pop music backgrond was a real annoyance.