Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)

 

Another British sex comedy; the film followed Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976) and was followed the next year by Adventures of a Plumber's Mate.

The film begins with our hero Bob West (Christopher Neil) in bed with another man's wife (Nicola Austin).

The wife gets out of bed and her husband Mr. Prentiss (Graham Ashley) comes home.

The joke: Mr. Prentiss gets in bed with Bob, thinking he's his wife.

Bob breaks the fourth wall and tells us he's a private investigator.

Well, actually he's just the assistant to Judd Blake (Jon Pertwee - Dr. Who).  His hot secretary is Miss Walker (Maria).

Judd Blake and his his oft-naked secretary are going to be a away for a few days.  He has Bob mind the phones.

While hottie Miss Walker is away, Blake has hired a temporary secretary...

Maud (Veronica Doran)

Even though Bob is under strict orders to not take a case while Blake is away, a woman named Laura (Suzy Kendall) is very insistent he take her case. She was married to a rich old man named Ashley who recently died.  She says, "I only inherit everything if I've done nothing to bring the family name into disrepute."

Unfortunately for Laura, some compromising photographs of her are being used as blackmail.  Bob is to find out who's blackmailing Laura.

Disguised as a pest control worker, he gains access to the house of the photographer.  The housekeeper, Mrs. Horne (Diana Dors), lets him in.

Bob is busy laying mousetraps when Scott (Robin Stewart) the photographer comes home.

Bob surveilles the house and spies on Scott with a pretty woman (? actress)

The woman finds a bit of cheese in their bed.

Scott's dick gets caught in a moustrap.

Laura takes Bob to her manor where he's greeted by Craddock (Richard Caldicot) the creepy butler

Medea (Anna Quayle) is the late Ashley's daughter.  She's highly eccentric, thinking she has psychic powers.  She predicts Bob will soon die.

Bob meets the whole nutty family.

Violet (Liz Fraser), Ashley's other eccentric daughter, and her equally batty husband Sydney (Harry H. Corbett).

Zelda (Linda Cunningham) the buxom maid

Clarissa (Linda Regan), Violet's stepdaughter

Bob meets Clarissa down by the river.

They have sex in the boat which ends up going over a small waterfall.

Their misadventure gets captured in the tabloids.

Bob snoops around the manor.

He winds up behind a curtain in Zelda's room as she's getting out of her clothes.

As Zelda prepares a bath, Bob accidentally falls out the window.

Bob lands on Scott, thinking at first he's killed him.  But then finds that Scott has been shot.

Laura manages to convince Bob to not notify the authorities - and to hide the body instead.

Bob is transporting Scott's body and is beckoned by a neighboring housewife, Sally (Hilary Pritchard) 

Sally invites Bob inside.

When Bob turns around, he finds Sally dressed as a dominatrix with a whip.

Bob escapes but finds that the trunk holding Scott's body has been hauled off by movers.

Trying to locate the trunk, Bob finds himself in the company of Jane Hogg (Angela Scoular), the inspector's wife.

Naturally, she comes on to him, saying lots of double entendres like "Is it getting hard?.... finding work."

They have sex on the sofa.

And are nearly discovered by Inspector Hogg (Jonathan Adams).

The family holds a seance to speak with Ashley.

The joke being that Bob is under the table.

Disguised as a chorus girl, Bob meets with a man who he believes is behind the blackmail operation. Of course, he's completely incorrect and the man thinks he's paying to be with Bob (who he believes is a woman).

Performing at the club is Lisa Moroni (Adrienne Posta) - obviously a play on Liza Minelli 

Backstage, we see a nip slip from Adrienne Posta. According to Stanley Long's autobiography, she claimed that this was an outtake. Her lawyers demanded removal from the film; however, Long was able to provide evidence to prove that she had been fully aware of the exposure, and had not objected at the time.

It's out of the frying pan and into the fire when she has to hide Bob from her man, Legs Luigi (Nicholas Young), a mobster.

Back at the manor, Wilfred (William Rushton) and Maude find that Scott is still alive - and he's working with Laura.  It was their murderous plot all along to get Ashley's fortune for themselves.

Meanwhile, Bob is landing in one bungling predicament after another - at one point, landing a car in the river.

Maude interrupts the reading of the will and transfer of Ashley's inheritance to declare Laura a murderer

The room erupts into chaos.

Bob arrives at the last minute and causes a big stuffed vulture to fall on him (a bird which has haunted him from the start).

Epilogue: Judd Blake tells Bob to crack open a case.  Bob thinks he's finally entrusted with a case, but then finds it's a case of champagne. THE END

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Your standard naughty and wacky Britsploitation flick, but this seemed a little "bigger" - with lots of sets, action and side-gags. For me, the humor didn't quite land, so I can't see watching this again.  Worse, the sex is very tame; barely above a Carry On film (but less funny). Watch The Ups and Downs of a Handyman (1976) instead.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆6/10