Holiday on the Buses (1973)

Pratfalls and smut a go go.

Come the 1970s we British really began to love our smut, it was a constitutional right to enjoy bawdy humour. Of course the quality was rarely above average, where the "Carry On" franchise would plunge the bawdy depths to try and get its laughs, and the "Confessions Of" series was never really any good to begin with anyway, but as long as they had people like Robin Askwith larking about amongst boobs, buttocks and innuendo unbound, then it was often enough for Brit cinema goers of a certain age.

On the Buses was a hugely popular TV series in the UK that ran for 7 series from 1969 to 1973. As was the case with many British situation comedies in the 70s, big screen outings would follow for the On the Buses crowd, three of them in fact, of which Holiday on the Buses was the last, and for many it was mercifully the death knell for such ventures.

It's a tired looking film when viewed now, the makers straining every sinew to keep the bawdy formula working, with much loved characters thrust into ever stupid situations to try and get laughs. Yet for fans of the series there is still some rewards to be found, but for interested outsiders looking in it's unlikely to generate more than a smile on the comedy scale.

It's hard to believe now that the likes of Stan Harper (Reg Varney) and Jack Harper (Bob Grant) could ever be seen as good looking enough to womanise and get sex on tap! But that's exactly what 1970s audiences were asked to buy into.

Just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean the fire has gone out down below.

So here Stan the bus driver and Jack the conductor are now working at a Pontins Holiday Camp (how 70s British is that?!) and they basically try and get laid at every opportunity. As does Stan's sexually frustrated sister, Olive (played by the wonderful Anna Karen), only she just wants a bit from her husband Arthur! (Michael Robbins). Even widowed Ma Butler (Doris Hare) is up for a bit of the other, courtesy of the king of dirty old men, Wilfrid Brambell.

Naturally nemesis Inspector Cyril 'Blakey' Blake (Stephen Lewis) is on hand to provide the roguish lads with some japery opportunities, with the Hitler lookalike even getting a love interest himself here in the form of the holiday camp Nurse played by Kate Williams.

There's some good moments such as a swimming pool sequence of events, or Arthur Mullard attempting to dance (you have to know the actor to understand how funny that can be), while even Brambell doing his normal pervy routine is fun enough at times, but ultimately it rounds out as a picture for fans only, and even then it asks much of us to forgive it its lazy sins. 5/10

The last film to come from the <em>'On the Buses'</em> television series, the weakest one at that.

<em>'Holiday on the Buses'</em> isn't far off the preceding two spin-offs, but it just felt a bit flat throughout to me. I didn't feel bored by any of it, though also didn't find that much entertainment either. It's just very meh. I am someone who enjoys the actual on the bus shenanigans most, which is somewhat lacking here - and even when they are on a bus, it's a tour one. The sexism remains, to the shock of nobody.

Reg Varney, Bob Grant and Stephen Lewis remain enjoyable, especially Lewis. As with the its predecessors, none of the support cast stand out majorly. There are a few amusing moments, but more limp ones to be honest. Most of the jokes felt repeated from the 1971 and 1972 productions.

No surprise they ended these films here.