On the Buses - Triple Feature [DVD] [1972]

The on the buses films are fantastic i have watched them many times and still dont get fed up, i know whats coming and they still make me laugh every time. It captures an era of time which was when some of the best comedys were made around. Holiday on the buses is my favourite, that is a typical holiday camp of that day and age and the way they wreck the chalet with one thing and another, oh its great! Think i will go and watch them again!

If you are a fan of the tv series then you will no doubt be aware of how good these three films are.
Classic British comedy at it's best. This double DVD has two discs containing the trilogy of films released in the 70's.
All the characters from the great tv show are there as well as some appearances from comedy greats such as Arthur Mullard, Wilfred Brambell and Kate Williams.
Lots of laughs ot be had here and great value for money.

The On The Buses TV series is one that I have always looked upon with nostalgia and fondness but recently having bought the boxset of the entire series I find that my memories are playing tricks, the show is not as good as I remember, it is still very funny and entertaining but it feels a little outdated.
The three movies on the other hand are perhaps the only spin-off adaptations to a comedy show that are better than the parent series itself.

The films manage to come up with three nicely contrasting storylines that admittedly do use various elements of plots from the tv shows, such as Stan messing up a radio control system and Olive being given a job in the bus canteen and so on, but unless you know the history of the show this doesn't really matter.

The first film 'On The Buses' deals with the idea of female bus drivers threatening the jobs of their male counterparts and Stan and the team dreaming up all kinds of plans to get rid of them, this is probably the most faithful film in regards to the format of the tv series in that it does feel like an extension to the show.

'Mutiny On The Buses' is by contrast a film comprised of set pieces or smaller plotlines, such as Stan's engagement, Olive's pregnancy, Arthur losing his job and being trained by Stan to be a bus driver, a new horrible manager taking over at the depot and even a trip to windsor safari park and many more. Most of these plots could have be used as a basis for a film in their own right but the fact that they are all in there and that they do form a coherent story is amazing. It is because of the fragmented approach to the film that it is most likely the weakest of the three but it is still very enjoyable.

'Holiday On The Buses' is generally regarded as the best of the three by the fans and the viewing public and that assessment is just about right.
It seems as though this was a case of "What can we do now to avoid repetition?" The answer! Have Stan, Jack and Blakey fired from the bus service and then have them wind up in new jobs at the same Butlins type holiday camp, and it works, there is a freshness and originality that seperates this movie from the rest of the franchise and yet at the same time anchors the situation into the ongoing threads of the previous films and series. Throw in Wilfrid Brambel, Arthur Mullard and a good cast of strong comedy actors and you have the funniest film of the three.

The three films were a financial and critical success for Hammer Pictures, better known for horror movies and a fourth film entitled 'Fun On The Buses' was planned, why it wasn't made I don't know, but these films are historic because they were the first big screen adaptations based on a popular comedy tv show and their success inspired a rush for other comedy shows of the era to be given the movie treatment and a whole new sub culture of films was born.

Very enjoyable indeed.