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!

Stumbled upon the movie on the telly today. It was like watching a car crash. Horrific, but couldn't stop watching. The writing, the acting, the plot... All were competing to see which could be the biggest turd. Seriously, really, really bad. Don't say you weren't warned. The gentleman playing the boss of the other drivers was particularly pathetic, and I almost thought that the writers were trying to get him to make fun of the mentally deficient. Random scenes were added willy-nilly throughout the film which made this stinking pile of crap even worse, if that is even possible.Also, the actors when delivering their pathetic lines, were often staring off into space, as if there were no director on the set. I have seen fifth grade school plays that were more cognizant than this disgrace to movie making. The makers of this film should be deeply ashamed of themselves.

Watching it now it's still as skanky and sexist as I remember. comes from a time when girls were "Dolly Birds" and basically men's playthings. It's hard to take in that it is from the Hammer studios and the fact it's available on DVD when good films are not. Our nations shame where the working class are portrayed as work shy layabouts or worse! Trouble is you can't help feeling nostalgic for a Clippie on a bus. Try to hold your stomach contents when you see Olive in a fluffy? Blue "saucy" nightie or something similar like Shirley Bassey used to wear for a concert in 1972. Warning this film shows the illegal practice of towing a motorcycle combo by a red double decker bus, which I've been informed is not a Routemaster but a Bristol.Look just don't bother watch something decent instead like Porridge or Dad's Army...or a fly crawling up a wall.

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.