Holiday On The Buses

 Sun, sea, sex and sand who could want more from a vacation? But how about lost, wet luggage, mystery tour mayhem, nosey neighbours, exploding toilets and perhaps the luckiest middle aged men ever, you get all this and more when you take a holiday on the buses.

 The 1970's for the British film industry wasn't a great decade, horror films, sex comedies and TV spin offs made up most of the nation's cinematic output, amongst all of these films were a few diamonds in the rough but by and large most have now been forgotten, much to the delight of the actors still alive today, Joanna Lumley may be absolutely fabulous now but back then was stripping down for the camera. The 1960's had seen sweeping changes in values and social trends and by the end of that decade it seemed we were living in a far more promiscuous society (no safe sex campaigns back then), into this new era came attitudes that today we may cringe at, feminism to many was a joke, sexual preference was still something that could be poked fun at, as was racism, watch certain TV series' from this era and some would probably gasp at what they heard, with language that many would find offensive, it's not that the writers were trying to shock or be crude its just that 'it was a different time' when people were less sensitive to others and people in general knew how to laugh at themselves, depending on your point of view, that however is a whole different topic that I wont go into here!

From this era came the programme On The Buses, a comedy about the staff at a bus station and those around them. On The Buses had begun in 1969 and became so popular that a film version was released in 1971, the first On The Buses movie followed a film version of another popular 60's television comedy series, Till Death Us Do Part which had begun several years prior in 1965 and by 1969  had also produced a movie spin off, this film, using the same title as the series, would go on to become the UK's third biggest box office hit of  1969, behind Carry On Camping and Carry On Up The Khyber. The film version of On The Buses, again using the same title as the series went one step further and became the biggest box office hit of 1971, signalling the start of a wave of tv series spin off movies, Steptoe & Son, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and many, many more all tried to capitalise on their television success. The On The Buses (movie) script told of female bus drivers (oh the thought of it) taking on their male counterparts when staff shortages occur at the depot. After the success of the first film a second was released the following year, Mutiny On The Buses and after the success of this second film a third was released a year later, Holiday On The Buses, this film rounded out the film series and was shown six months after the tv series had ended.

Personally my favourite of the three films is Holiday On The Buses, providing different locations and comic potential. Stan our bus buddy now works at a Pontins Holiday Camp after he gets the sack from the bus depot (I wont tell you why), once there he invites his family, mom Mabel, sister Olive, brother in law Arthur and not forgetting his nephew little Arthur to visit, much to his embarrassment and dismay. Getting to the holiday camp in Prestatyn, North Wales turns out to be an adventure for the gang and that is just the start of their troubles.

Stan's friend Jack continues to chase virtually any young woman in a tight skirt, just how these two middle aged men manage to 'pull' female 'talent' remains a mystery, would a young woman really fancy a cross between Worzle Gummidge and the Pied Piper? (a bit harsh perhaps but you judge for yourself) this perhaps provides some of the comedy and indeed hope to men of a certain age everywhere, if these two are able to go round sleeping with young women, you are in for a chance too! All this activity comes under the watchful eye of inspector Blakey who now has the position of  Head Of Security. I have always found the supporting characters in On The Buses funnier than the leads and this film is no exception, Olive get's herself into all sorts of trouble from wading through a river to mistakenly repaint the bedroom she even engages in a bit of bed hopping herself. Mable has a holiday romance with a familiar and rather cleaner than usual faced character from another famous sitcom of the era and tries her hand at ballroom dancing (watching her first attempt should provide a giggle or two) Arthur however it seems is not destined get much relaxation at all in their North Wales Pontins paradise as every time his offspring creates mayhem it is left to him to literally clean up the mess.

Blakey has love on the cards and even marriage with the local nurse (can you just imagine a baby Blakey?), this however doesn't seem to stop Jack from showing his true, selfish colours by having a last minute fling with her. I personally have never liked Jack, different times maybe but he often comes across almost as a villain, still bite your tongue! Stars of the 1970s Queenie Watts (whom an older friend of mine once met at a party, she called him gorgeous and yes she was drunk) and Arthur Mallard turn up as neighbours in the next door chalet which appears to have very thin walls and in a funny example of 'pot calling the kettle black' Queenie announces upon their arrival, in her most regal of cockney tones 'they're bleedin common'.

The Pontins setting is used to every advantage, from the chalet blocks and nightclub, to the ballroom hall and swimming pool, even the entrance gates make an appearance. For those of you, like myself who weren't around when the film was made it also give us an insight into the holidays and entertainment of the 1970s, when people were more than happy to be entertained by variety shows, silly contests or simply lying around doing nothing much at all, a holiday for the whole family with something for everyone and isn't that what holidays are for! Thankfully these holiday camps are still around, dotted along the coast and elsewhere, of course they have moved with the times, so just remember this is a time before the internet or computer games, before mobile phones and endless tv channels and yet. somehow people seem to be enjoying themselves. They say the old days were a lot simpler and maybe they were!

So is the film any good? It certainly has, like it's 'parent' series come in for criticism over the years largely due to the sexism of the lead characters, well if you are going to watch the film you must remember, as said before it is from a different time and in similar vein to the 'Carry On' films of the 1970s that although it hints at sex apart from a brief shot of a woman exposing her breasts the film thankfully doesn't show any more than undressing and kissing (can you imagine any of the cast in sex scenes? This is a comedy not a horror film!), there is one homosexual slur when Blakey gets called a 'fairy', a 'bleedin fairy' at that by Arthur Mallard's character. The continuous chasing of women does get a bit repetitive well before the end of the film and although their antics are probably no different to many young men and women on a Saturday night, I feel if only they had toned it down a bit the film would of been better, saying that however there are plenty of funny moments, mainly from the supporting cast, to keep the film entertaining enough for it's 1hr 25mins length and as a result I found the film quite enjoyable.