Robin Askwith at 70

Robin Askwith, the definitive cheeky chappie from the seventies cycle of British sex comedies, is turning 70 years old this week, and is experiencing a resurgence of interest in his film career. The Confessions series for which he is most famous are obviously not to everyone's taste, but they represent an important footnote in British film history. Along with the Stanley Long produced Adventures films and movie versions of dozens of British sitcoms, Confessions made a small fortune at the box office, helping to keep the film industry alive.

The Confessions films (Window Cleaner, Pop Performer, Driving Instructor, Holiday Camp 1974 - 1977) were a natural progression to something more racier from the fading Carry On series. Indeed, Robin had already appeared in Carry On Girls as randy photographer Larry Prodworthy (defiantly heterosexual in a time when there was a curious casting trait in sex comedies for photographers to be mincing gay stereotypes) and was starring alongside Sid James in the movie version of venerable sitcom Bless This House.

The Confessions films are remembered mostly for the sex scenes, with Robin baring his arse on numerous occasions and bevy of respected actresses showing their assets to the world. The films are easily dismissed as crude artefacts of their time but beyond the sex there lies finely crafted comedies with many funny scenes featuring the working class Noggett family - Tony Booth, Bill Maynard, Shelia White and Dandy Nichols/Doris Hare. Many of these actors have now sadly passed on and Robin is an important link to many of these British comedy greats, indeed he has many tales to tell...

The roll call of actors he worked with on these films include: John Le Mesurier, Windsor Davies, Joan Hickson, Irene Handl, Peter Jones, Lynda Bellingham, Liz Fraser, Linda Hayden, George Layton, Lance Percival, John Junkin... er... Bob Todd... and, of course, endless crumpet.

This is not the sum of all Askwith's parts though. He was also in many other films. He was one of Lindsay Anderson's regular cast of actors and had parts in the seminal If... (1968) and Britannia Hospital (1982) portraying the role of Keating in both films.

Robin was also in a trio of early seventies horror - Anthony Balch's bonkers Horror Hospital with Michael Gough, Tower of Evil from producer Richard Gordon and the Flesh and Blood Show from seventies auteur Pete Walker. It was with Walker that Askwith also made the psychedelic sex comedy thriller, Four Dimensions Of Greta (in 3D!) in 1972. Yes you can see that famous
posterior in full 'realistic' three dimensional glory.

For me though, the best of the Walker films was Cool It Carol from 1970 which was an early lead role for Askwith, barely in his twenties. The plot concerns Carol and Joe who leave their small town for London and get embroiled in the adult entertainment scene. It is a great portrayal of the seedy side of the Capital via the inevitable swinging parties.

Robin Askwith was not just a star of sex and horror though, he was also in the art house classic The Canterbury Tales from Pier Paolo Pasolini and the pair struck up an unlikely friendship.

There is one film from this prolific output that has not yet been discussed. The cultest of cult films, the baddest of bad movies.
The phenomenon that is Queen Kong! Robin deserves all the accolades on Earth for agreeing to appear in this and having the good humour to still talk about it to this day. Mr Askwith is ashamed of nothing on his CV! For those who don't know this was a shameless cash in of the disastrous 1976 big budget Kin Kong remake. It features Robin as actor Ray Fay (see what they did there?) taken to an island by feminist film maker Rula Lenska, where a giant female ape falls in love with him. The ape follows them back to London where all manner of super low budget mayhem occurs. It truly is a spectacle, of sorts, to watch...

So please revisit the films of Robin Askwith, there is so much fun to be had.

And, Sir Robin Askwith, on your 70th birthday I salute you.