SWINGING IN THE 70S

A triple-headed offering of softcore odes to swinging couples in the 1970s.

Disc 1 provides our first two films, KEEP THEM HAPPY and HARVEY SWINGS.

HAPPY begins with bored housewife Betty reading "The How-To Book Of Sex" on her settee one afternoon. Her husband returns home from the office early but rejects her advances, advising he's just popped back for a file - then off he goes, back to work. Frustrated, Betty strips to reveal unfeasibly big nipples and frigs herself off.

Later she visits her girl friends - a sexy brunette and plain blonde - and the three of them discuss their moribund marriages over a cup of coffee. As blondie says, their respective husbands are "so busy getting up in the world they can't get up at home".

After a topless massage which leads into a lesbian session between Betty and the brunette, the trio resolve to find excitement for themselves during the daytime from now on. Then, conveniently, Betty remembers the insurance salesman is due a visit. She races back home and catches handsome young Harry at her door, inviting him for seduction.

More lazy saxophone music and softcore fumblings follow when the brunette has her way with a local plumber who unconvincingly claims to have a PHD (in what - looking dumb?), while the blonde bint pays her milk bill by fucking the Fred West-lookalike milkman.

Drab and lifeless in-between, KEEP THEM HAPPY can at least boast sex scenes which are shot with some thought given to colourful lighting and interesting editing techniques. Interesting for such a no-budget quickie production, anyway.

Elsewhere, performances are willing and likeable, and the film flows at a decent enough pace, never outstaying its 50-minute running time.

HARVEY SWINGS is better though, playing out with more style and a keen eye towards comedy. Some moments - such as the comical opening scenes of Harvey driving around looking for a house while his wife bickers into his ear - have a look and feel of silent era farce, nodding towards the slapstick of Charlie Chaplin etc.

Harvey and wife Sheila (the one and only Suzanne Fields) drive across middle America in response to a newspaper ad from a couple looking for others to "befriend". When they finally arrive at their destination, they're met at the door by camp butler Manners. He introduces the pair to seasoned swingers Reggie and Marina.

Through some decently written gags, it takes an age for Harvey's penny to drop - he doesn't realise that he's there to do anything other than play chess, hide-and-seek etc. Even when Reggie and Sheila race off to hide upstairs while Harvey counts to 1000, he's oblivious to the fact they're shagging in the bedroom - or even that Marina is trying to get off with him.

Events become more and more bizarre, with maid Dollface prone to fellating Manners in the kitchen. That is, when Manners isn't busy dancing in drag for Harvey's benefit in the lounge.

But still, Harvey is slow to click on to what's happening - even as his wife continues to get serviced by Reggie in the pool.

When he finally does cotton on, it takes a suicide attempt by Marina and a gentle bit of persuading from Dollface to get Harvey in on the action. And that's when … the film ends abruptly, sans credits.

Rough, cheap but getting by on sheer energy and wit, HARVEY SWINGS works well as a primitive comedy of manners. More so than it does as a porno, despite boasting the hottest women in this entire set. The liner notes are spot on too: it's heartbreaking to witness the gusto the lead actor throws into his performance, as if he truly believes an Oscar will be forthcoming.

All in all, a thoroughly agreeable little film.

Disc 2 brings the fun to a close with YOUR WIFE OR MINE. This opens with a narrator introducing us to "sex swappers" Paul and Myra. He tells of how Myra searches her local town for new swinging partners during the day while her husband works.

We're offered a glimpse of how she does this, in our first soft vignette where she calls in on Juan. Juan is home alone, slobbing out sweatily on the settee. She sits beside him and tells of how she knows his wife "intimately". Then she explains what she and Paul are all about. Juan's a little dim and it's not until Myra's stripped off and asked him if he's ever had his "penis sucked" that it starts to sink in. You can guess how this scene unfolds.

The action then cuts to Paul at his day job, calling in on married couple Sheldon and Vicky at their home. Paul shares a beer with Sheldon while inviting the pair to join him and Myra for nookie. Sheldon seems willing but Vicky is mortified and storms out.

Sheldon predicts she'll be back and reckons it would be a great idea if both men stripped and aroused themselves in preparation for her return. So they do! In an unintentionally hilarious scene, the men stand together naked comparing willy sizes. So you can imagine Vicky's bemusement when she does return. Still, that doesn't stop the ensuing threesome …

Next we meet Willie, Sheldon's best mate, who despite being a hunk is lumbered with frigid wife Cora. He's heard of Sheldon's new friendship with Paul and Myra, and wants in. As luck would have it, they're due to hold a swinging party on the very weekend that Cora's away on business …

Of all the people Willie should meet at such a party, he gets it on with Juan's wife Kay. Who's played by Rene Bond, the jammy sod …

There's not much plot in this one either, and in time-honoured tradition when the story has nowhere else to go it all concludes with an orgy.

So: no originality, no production values of any note and no discernible attempts at acting. Nothing new there! But, as with the two films on disc 1, there's a naïve enthusiasm and charming sincerity that ultimately wins the viewer of YOUR WIFE OR MINE over. And despite its softcore content, it's the most 'near-hardcore' of the three films on offer.

Both discs offer their films in anamorphic 1.78:1 presentations. The best of these is arguably YOUR WIFE OR MINE.

Each film looks its age (30+) with vertical lines and specks aplenty. However, images are reasonably sharp beneath the print damage and grain is not too problematic. Colours are generally strong, aside from KEEP THEM HAPPY which looks very faded.

English mono audio is fair and clear on all three films, with only minor hiss evident on occasion.

Although both discs have animated main menus, there are no scene-selection menus provided. However each film does have chapter navigation: KEEP THEM HAPPY (8 chapters); HARVEY SWINGS (9 chapters); YOUR WIFE OR MINE (10 chapters).

The only extras are 26 trailers on disc 2 (among which are INGA, MISTY, DRACULA'S DIRTY DAUGHTER and THE BUSTY STAG COLLECTION) and a respectable 8-page booklet with liner notes by 'The After Hours Collector'.

Beware a lack of explicit content, but prepare to succumb to some good old-fashioned "marriage manual" nonsense. Fun.

Review by Stuart Willis