The Sex Therapist (1973)

Australian waterbed salesman Alvin Sees a psychiatrist about his irresistibilty to women

Director:

Tim Burstall

Writer:

Alan Hopgood

Stars:

Graeme Blundell, Abigail, Lynette Curran

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Graeme Blundell	...	Alvin
Abigail	...	Girl in See-Through
Lynette Curran	...	First Sugar Girl
Christine Amor	...	Peggy
Dina Mann	...	Shirley
Dennis Miller	...	Mr. Horwood
Jill Forster	...	Mrs. Horwood
Frederick Parslow	...	Alvin's Father
Valerie Blake	...	Alvin's Mother
Alan Finney	...	Spike Dooley
Gary Down	...	Roger Hattam
Elli Maclure	...	Tina
Peter Aanensen	...	Ed Cameron
Jenny Hagen	...	Agnes Jackson
Kris McQuade	...	Samantha

Storyline

Alvin is a quiet, urban Australian male who finds himself the unlikely object of female lust. The film tracks him from his schooldays through early jobs - water-bed salesman, sex therapist where he seeks psychiatric help to solve his problems. His psychiatrist is, of course, a woman. He ultimately falls in love with the one girl who doesn't throw herself at him. She becomes a nun, and he ends up a gardener in the convent's garden, but even then he inflames the nuns with a desire to fornicate with him.

---

Plot Keywords:

australia | sex therapy | part of trilogy | female pubic hair | female full frontal nudity | 

---

Taglines:

Australia's first big (R) comedy

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sex Therapist

Filming Locations:

Pakington Street, St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bi-Jay, Hexagon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is considered an "Ozploitation" (Australian exploitation) picture.

---

Connections

Referenced in Boronia Boys (2009)

User Reviews

A classic tale of sex and alienation

A tremendous film that is an excellent example of the Ocker films that characterized Australian cinema in the early 70s. Alvin Purple is not a good looking man, in fact you could say that he is pretty ugly. Nor is he funny or a man of great character in any sense. But somehow, for reasons unknown, he is irresistible to women. He attracts women wherever he goes: on the bus, in the park, even just walking down the street.

The film contains a significant amount of sex and could be classified as a soft porn movie, but the sex is not for erotic purposes, but for comedic purpose as the audience cannot stop laughing as this awkward man who seems to know nothing about women has sex more times in a week than most people do in a lifetime.

But there is more to the movie than just comedic sex, the film is also a character piece as it shows the alienation that Alvin feels as he struggles to make his way through life. The multitude of sex that Alvin engages in contrasts his life of total isolation, as he tries to find someone that he can truly connect with.

This film is truly an original and a must for students of film. Australian Cinema has an amazing history and the Ocker Films and Alvin Purple are an instrumental part of it.