Adventures of a Private Eye

Adventures of a Private Eye is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser.^[1] It followed Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), and was followed by Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978).

Adventures of a Private Eye
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stanley Long
Written by	Stanley Long Michael Armstrong
Produced by	Stanley Long Peter Long Michael Armstrong
Starring	Christopher Neil Suzy Kendall Harry H. Corbett Diana Dors
Cinematography	Peter Sinclair
Edited by	Joe Gannon
Music by	De Wolfe
Distributed by	Salon Productions
Release date	March 1977 (1977-03)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Cast

• Christopher Neil as Bob West
• Suzy Kendall as Laura Sutton
• Harry H. Corbett as Sydney
• Diana Dors as Mrs. Horne
• Liz Fraser as Violet
• Adrienne Posta as Lisa Moroni
• Jon Pertwee as Judd Blake
• Irene Handl as Miss Friggin
• Anna Quayle as Medea
• Ian Lavender as Derek
• Willie Rushton as Wilfred
• Fred Emney as Sir Basil
• Julian Orchard as police cyclist
• Robin Stewart as Scott
• Veronica Doran as Maud
• Angela Scoular as Jane Hogg
• Jonathan Adams as Inspector Hogg
• Richard Caldicot as Craddock
• Hilary Pritchard as Sally
• Nicholas Young as Legs Luigi
• Linda Regan as Clarissa
• Leon Greene as Rosco
• Shaw Taylor as himself

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said " 'I've seen all the sex films, you know', says the suburban housewife who abandons her apron for black leather and subsequently quotes titles both real and spurious – Last Tango in Paris, Deep Throat, Nuns in Rubber. Had she been watching British films, however, she would doubtless still be properly dressed, for film-makers here prefer to avoid all direct contact with explicit sex. Adventures of a Private Eye is highly symptomatic: we see nothing of the heroine's compromising photographs, though the director grants us unrevealing glimpses of the British Rail station at West Byfleet and ITV's crime hound Shaw Taylor. Instead, the audience is titillated by unimaginative lashings of 'saucy' humour, delivered by a well-tried cast. It must be said, however, that this specimen is slightly above par for the genre. Newcomer Christopher Neil is lively and natural, while the script's incoherent lurchings and botched attempts at parody at least provide a kind of entertainment."^[2]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Following on from the surprisingly profitable Adventures of a Taxi Driver, this smutty romp sticks to the same formula. Christopher Neil, in the title role, strips at regular intervals to satisfy a blackmailer's demand that he sleep with every pretty girl he meets. Comic stalwarts aside, this is really no more than soft-core pulp."^[3]