Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

the audience applauded

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Bus driver Stan Butler (Reg Varney) gets engaged to Suzy (Janet Mahoney) at his depot much to the chagrin of his family. When his brother-in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins) loses his job, it seems that his plans to move in to a new flat with her are scuppered as he will now be the sole supporter of the family including his sister Olive's (Anna Karen) kid Little Arthur. So with the help of his conductor, Jack (Bob Grant), he teaches Arthur to drive a bus and blackmails the new depot manager, Mr Jenkins (Kevin Brennan), into giving him the job of driving the new tour bus to Windsor Safari Park. Predictably, whatever Stan and company touch turns to disaster.Following the tremendous success of the first On The Buses feature film,Hammer put out this sequel that made it to No. 17 in the Box Office top 20 of 1972. Holiday On The Buses followed in 1973. The title was chosen via a competition in The Sun newspaper, which offered a cash prize to whoever came up with the best and it went to - guess who? - a bus driver! It is all pretty familiar stuff with the cast going through the familiar gags and, on the whole, they are pretty poorly presented. For instance, Stan and Jack sabotaging Blakey's radio control and Stan towing his brother-in-law's motorcycle behind his bus. All of these were lifted from the TV series. The scenes at Windsor Safari Park include Stan and Blakey being trapped in their bus by a lion and being attacked by monkeys. But, it is funny in places especially Blakey's fire drill where he attempts to show his staff how to operate the new fire fighting equipment with absurd but, predictably, catastrophic consequences. Fans of the series - me included - will no doubt love it but people looking for something original will be sorely disappointed and, yes, like its predecessor and the TV sitcom series, the critics tore it apart.

In July 1971, 'On The Buses' made its way to the big screen. Its astonishing box office performance not only won it the title of 'most popular film of 1971' ( even beating 'Diamonds Are Forever' ) but also prompted a sequel in June 1972 - 'Mutiny On The Buses'.The first film drew some complaints for the coarsening of the humour. 'Mutiny On The Buses', if not worse, was no better, with toilet humour ( Little Arthur constantly trying to take a dump on his potty while the family are eating ) and even violence ( Olive and another clippie have a cat-fight at the busmen's darts match ) being introduced. Wolfe and Chesney yet again wrote and produced while Harry Booth was brought in again as director.The main basis of the plot is this - Stan becomes engaged to sexy clippie Suzy ( Janet Mahoney ). She wants them to buy a house together but when he fails to come up with enough money for the deposit, he suggests that they live with his family for the time being, but Suzy is reluctant to settle down unless they have their own space. However Stan's dreams of moving out are thwarted when Arthur loses his job and is unable to support the family. In desperation, Stan teaches Arthur to drive so he can get a job as a bus driver.Arthur's first attempt at driving is a disaster. He takes of at great speed, with Stan dangling from the door of the cab, only then to crash into a nearby stable. Eventually, he improves and gets a job as a driver. A sub-plot has Stan and Blakey driving a tour bus around Windsor Safari Park, only for a lion to climb aboard the bus and then later a chimpanzee!It's an okay film, but in my view the first one is better. It is by and large episodic, one scene where Stan and Jack tow Arthur's motorbike on the back of the bus was a direct lift from the series two episode 'The Used Combination' while Stan and Jack tampering with the radios newly installed in their buses was taken from the series three instalment 'Radio Control'. The Safari park sequence towards the end for me is when the film starts to grow tiresome. However Hammer Films must have been impressed enough with it as a third and final film - 'Holiday On The Buses' - went on release in December 1973. Among the best scenes were the cat-fight between Olive and 'Nymphie Norah' ( a clippie who Arthur seems to have a thing going with, played by Pat Asthon ), which culminates in Norah getting a jug of water tipped over her head by Mrs. Butler, a botched fire drill at the depot in which the whole depot is engulfed in foam, Stan reversing into the bus company's new van, crushing it like a beer can and Olive falling off of Arthur's bike and down a manhole. The film's catchy theme tune was an accordion arrangement composed by Ron Grainer.A continuity problem occurs here - Olive at the end of the film claims she is pregnant for a second time yet the new baby never appeared in the next film. Did she have a miscarriage? Was she lying in order to guilt Stan into not leaving home? We never found out.Funniest bit - the twice mentioned cat-fight sequence!

A less successful sequel to the first ON THE BUSES movie, although not without its moments. MUTINY ON THE BUSES offers up more of the same for fans of the comedy show, with various dated, sexist and sometimes amusing antics taking place on and around a bus depot.The gang's all here for this sequel outing, including enhanced roles for Stan's sister Oliver and her husband Arthur. Best of all is the presence of Stephen Lewis, shining once more as the chief antagonist Blakey. The jokes come thick and fast, many of them sexist and mildly offensive to modern audiences, but then that's part of the fun.Once again, the spirit is very much in the CARRY ON vein, and there are certain set-pieces to enjoy; the sojourn at the Windsor Safari Park is a definite highlight here. The film trilogy concluded with the final outing, HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES.

One of the better film comedies of the early seventies trend of making the transition from the small to the big screen. All three films easily surpassed the blandness of the TV series which is currently (Aug 2000) enjoying a re-run on Granada Plus in the UK.