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“Confessions” Of The Sex-Obsessed British! 70’s Cult Sex Comedies Are Back!

By johnrieber on September 30, 2013 • ( 3 )

“Nudge Nudge Wink Wink…”

Time to celebrate a very “randy” time for British sex comedies – “confessions” of the 70’s time – because they are coming back, thanks to the digital revolution!

The Brits had a steady stream of comedic sex comedies in the 70’s, including a series that was based on books by Timothy Lea. That’s right, our friends in England grew up with a series of “sex comedies” that were based on all sort of dirty “confessions”!

In the US, the early wave of sexploitation always involved murder and mayhem, along with tons of nudity. For the Brits, their 70’s sexploitation films were comedies!

Check out the classic titles of this string of books!

Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1972)
Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1972)
Confessions of a Traveling Salesman (1973)
Confessions of a Private Dick (1975)
Confessions from a Nudist Colony (1976)
Confessions of a Milkman (1976)

“Nudge Nude Wink Wink, Know What I Mean? Know What I Mean”

The success of these books led to a cult series of “nudge nudge wink wink” sex comedies! Let’s take a look at a few…and then I will explain how modern technology is bringing this vintage series back for a whole new “randy” generation!

Confessions Of A Driving Instructor

As you can imagine, the plots are fairly straightforward: Timothy Lea and his brother-in-law Sidney decide upon opening a driving school as their latest get-rich-quick scheme.

“Hey, Is That A Stick Shift, Or…?”

Cue just about any sexual innuendo you like, because that is what drove these films to success! Though he sincerely wants to teach, young Timmy finds that his female students are far more interested in keeping their eyes on him than on the road! Of COURSE they are!

Check out this vintage trailer:

Plenty Of “Confessions” To Go Around!

The “Confessions” series of novels and films continued throughout the 70’s in Great Britain, and as you can see from the posters, subtlety was NOT the order of the day…

Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1971)

I probably don’t need to tell you what this one was about: the “randy” misadventures of a window washer, of course…and WHAT? There IS a girl taking a shower at the EXACT moment he’s washing!

Say No More, Say No More…

These films made it to the US primarily at drive-ins or grindhouse theaters in the big cities…as I said, the early wave of sexploitation film in the US was much rougher than this…and as you can see, these movies had a real English flavor to them…

Cue lots of sexual innuendo (“shall we try the 69 together?”, says Bellingam before opening a bottle of wine), plenty of Benny Hill style speeded-up shagging, and much full frontal nudity from Timmy’s conquests (although we only get a single boob from Bellingham, whilst Fraser is content to just wear some sexy lingerie).

For fans of un-PC humor, there’s also a tad of working class racism and a touch of homophobia for good measure (“you dirty queer… no wonder they call you Bender” shouts Windsor’s character at his lackey).

Remember, this was the 70’s…this was what passed for “suggestive” british humor…

Cue The “Dolly Birds!”

One movie publication called these films a cinematic time-capsule from the decade of wife-swapping, “dolly birds”, flared jeans, X-certificate movies, and Ford Cortinas, and one that even occasionally manages to be every bit as revealing about British folk as its more serious cinematic counterparts!

And Now, “Confessions” For A New Generation!

Thanks to technology, this vintage bit of “nudge nudge wink wink” humor is coming back! Just announced in the british press: the books are being reissued in England as e-books! Read all about it right here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/confessions-of-a-sexfarce-writer-timothy-leas-sexual-misadventures-to-be-published-as-ebooks-8558702.html

I can imagine that these films were VERY specific to an era in Great Britain – when London was the most “swinging” city on earth…in fact, I see a certain movie character who could have been modeled on these films: