Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Christopher Neil | ... | Bob West |
Suzy Kendall | ... | Laura | |
Harry H. Corbett | ... | Sydney | |
Diana Dors | ... | Mrs. Horne | |
Fred Emney | ... | Sir Basil | |
Liz Fraser | ... | Violet | |
Irene Handl | ... | Miss Friggin | |
Ian Lavender | ... | Derek | |
Julian Orchard | ... | Police Cyclist | |
Jon Pertwee | ... | Judd Blake | |
Adrienne Posta | ... | Lisa Moroni | |
Anna Quayle | ... | Medea | |
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William Rushton | ... | Wilfred |
Robin Stewart | ... | Scott | |
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Veronica Doran | ... | Maud |
While a private detective is away on vacation, his not particularly bright assistant takes it upon himself to "solve" a case that comes in. Complications ensue.
Like its sequel, "Adventures of a Plumber's Mate", "Adventures of a Private Eye" is a cut above the average Brit sex comedy from the same era. There's more going on than just the standard "hapless lad has a job that involves meeting lots of frisky housewives with violent husbands", although there's that, too, of course. There's also a sub-film noir plot our inexperienced hero tries to solve, a gothic horror setting in a manor house with a macabre butler, and a séance.
More comedic set-ups - and the movie has more than you can count - means more jokes, which also means more likelihood that the jokes might land. Unbelievably, this time, a few actually do, and I found myself chuckling on occasion.
For future reference, this is the sex comedy where the other Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, plays a swinging private eye - though there's certainly nothing about him that would suggest being a babe magnet - who leaves his business in the hands of his young protégé, who ends up taking on one of his cases. He gets a new secretary, and expects a sexy, available "bird" like the one his boss had, but instead gets an odd, ageless woman with round spectacles.
There's also a scene where he ends up dressed as a woman - nothing too special about that - but then has to perform on stage with a burlesque dancer.
Both the actress who plays the dancer, and the one who plays the odd secretary, are superior to the material, especially the multi-talented dancer.
I say check it out.