Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema

The British tradition of ‘saucy postcard’ humour is perhaps best exemplified by the long running Carry On movies. But there is a forgotten cinema of saucier ‘X’ certificate films. Joan Collins and Joanna Lumley were among those who appeared in such films. Most famously, Robin Askwith, Fiona Richmond and Mary Millington became seventies superstars in movies that put boobs on screen and bums on seats. 

Simon Sheridan traces the history of the British sex film from its coy beginnings in Nudist Paradise through to its boom years with the Confessions series, and its demise in the early eighties. Sheridan compiles the first definitive filmography of the genre, and coaxes facts from previously reclusive and reluctant interviewees.

The story that unfolds is often funny and sometimes tragic, but undeniably revealing. This new edition includes an expanded filmography and previously unpublished interview material and stills.