Stanley Long
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Stanley A. Long (26 November 1933 – 10 September 2012) was an English
exploitation cinema An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...
and
sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, Low-budget film, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition o ...
filmmaker. He was also a driving force behind the VistaScreen
stereoscopic Stereoscopy, also called stereoscopics or stereo imaging, is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
(3D) photographic company. He was a writer,
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
, editor, and eventually, producer/director of low-budget exploitation movies.


Career

Long began his career as a photographer with the RAF, and helped found the stereoscopic souvenir/collectible outfit VistaScreen with the Spring Brothers in 1956. Selling out to
Weetabix Weetabix is a breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited in the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized (approx. 9.5 cm × 5.0 cm or 4" × 2") wheat Biscuit#Variations in meaning of biscuit, biscuits. Variants include Org ...
in 1961, Long considered other outlets for his talents. He produced striptease shorts or "glamour home movies", as they were sometimes known, for the 8 mm market, under the banner of Stag Film Productions. Beginning in the late fifties, Long's feature film career would span the entire history of the British sex film, and as such exemplifies its differing trends and attitudes. Long was the cameraman on several British horror movies of the 1960s, including ''
The Blood Beast Terror ''The Blood Beast Terror'' (U.S. title: ''The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood''; also known as ''Blood Beast From Hell'' and ''Deathshead Vampire'') is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng a ...
'', '' Repulsion'' (uncredited) and '' The Sorcerers''. For the latter he was strapped to the top of a car to film one sequence. In 1963, Harry Clifton (producer) re-financed Long's Circlorama cinema (which used the Circular Kinopanorama process based on the idea of Cinéorama) near Piccadilly Circus in London, requesting that the filmmakers make a film with some
hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his '' A Midsummer Nigh ...
s in it, but the ensuing film, "Circlorama Cavalcade", instead featured circus lions, Formula 2 cars, ice skaters, trains at Clapham Junction and
The Swinging Blue Jeans The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the His Master's Voice label: " Hippy Hippy Shake", " Good Golly Miss Molly", and " You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent sin ...
. His work ranges from coy nudist films (''
Nudist Memories ''Nudist Memories'' is a 1961 British naturist short film directed by Arnold Louis Miller and starring Anna Karen. It was inspired by the success of '' Nudist Paradise'' (1959) and was a success at the box office.Sheridan, Simon (2011). ''Keep ...
'', 1959) to moralizing documentary (''
The Wife Swappers ''The Wife Swappers'' is a 1970 British drama documentary film by sexploitation director Derek Ford and starring James Donnelly, Larry Taylor, Valerie St. John and Denys Hawthorne. It was written by Ford, Barry Jacobs and Stanley Long, and ...
'', 1970) to a more relaxed attitude to permissive material (''
Naughty! ''Naughty'', also known as ''Naughty! A Report on Pornography and Erotica'', is a 1971 British dramatised documentary film directed by Stanley Long and written by Suzanne Mercer. Long said although the movie was sold as a sex film it was "a fai ...
'', 1971, ''
On the Game ''On the Game'' is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stanley Long and starring Charles Gray. It was written by Suzanne Mercer, who spent two years researching it. The film is a dramatised comedy documentary about prostitution throug ...
'', 1974), to out-and-out comedies at the end of the 1970s. He made several
sex comedy Sexual comedy (also known as, sex comedy and erotic comedy) is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sexual comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary wor ...
movies in the 1970s, the most successful being ''
Adventures of a Taxi Driver ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Barry Evans, Judy Geeson and Adrienne Posta. There are two sequels, ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' (1977) and ''Adventures of a Plumber ...
'' (1976), ''
Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976), and was followed b ...
'' (1977) and ''
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. It was written by Stephen D. Frances and Aubrey Cash. Following '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976) a ...
'' (1978); stars included Barry Evans,
Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...
,
Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...
, Harry H. Corbett,
Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of b ...
and
Fred Emney Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1900 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian. Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1900 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: RG ...
. Like Norman J. Warren, Long also made horror films. He made the anthology movie '' Screamtime'' in 1983 and was due to film a Jo Gannon script entitled ''Plasmid'', about albino mutants living in London’s Underground. While the film was never made, confusingly a tie-in novel of ''Plasmid'' was released.Review of ''Plasmid'' tie-in novel
/ref> Long retired from film directing in the early 1980s; however, he briefly returned to direct ''The Other Side of the Screen'' in 2006, a one-off documentary about various aspects of filmmaking. This was hosted by
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...
, star of ''
Flog It! ''Flog It!'' is a BBC television series presented by Paul Martin (TV presenter), Paul Martin that was broadcast from 27 May 2002 to May 2020. Description The show follows a similar formula to ''Antiques Roadshow'', with members of the public b ...
''. As an entrepreneur, he was the creator of Salon Productions and, later, Alpha Film Distribution. The "Adventures of" comedies were released to DVD on 2 June 2008. The following year several of his other sex films, ''On the Game'', ''Sex and the Other Woman'' and ''This That and the Other'' were also released on DVD for the very first time. Long was interviewed for the BBC's ''
Balderdash and Piffle ''Balderdash and Piffle'' is a British television programme on BBC in which the writers of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' asked the public for help in finding the origins and first known citations of a number of words and phrases. Presented b ...
'' programme (broadcast 25 May 2007), and the British horror and comedy episodes of the ''British Films Forever'' series ("Magic, Murder and Monsters" broadcast 25 August 2007, "Sauce, Satire and Sillyness" broadcast 9 September 2007). Simon Sheridan’s biography of Long - ''X-Rated - Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker'' - was published in July 2008.


Death

Stanley Long died in Buckinghamshire on 10 September 2012, at the age of 78, of natural causes.


Select credits

*''
West End Jungle ''West End Jungle'' is a 1961 British drama documentary film directed by Arnold Louis Miller and starring Andria Lawrence and Vicki Woolf. It focuses on the issue of prostitution.Simon Sheridan, ''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Sau ...
'' (1961) *''
Nudist Memories ''Nudist Memories'' is a 1961 British naturist short film directed by Arnold Louis Miller and starring Anna Karen. It was inspired by the success of '' Nudist Paradise'' (1959) and was a success at the box office.Sheridan, Simon (2011). ''Keep ...
'' (1961) *'' Nudes of the World'' (1961) *'' Take Off Your Clothes and Live!'' (1963) *'' London in the Raw'' (1964) *'' Primitive London'' (1965) *'' Secrets of a Windmill Girl'' (1966) *'' G.G. Passion'' (1966) *'' This, That and the Other'' (1969) *''
Groupie Girl ''Groupie Girl'' is a 1970 British drama film, directed by Derek Ford and starring Esme Johns, Donald Sumpter and the band Opal Butterfly. The film was written by Ford and former groupie Suzanne Mercer. The film was released in America in ...
'' (1970) *''
The Wife Swappers ''The Wife Swappers'' is a 1970 British drama documentary film by sexploitation director Derek Ford and starring James Donnelly, Larry Taylor, Valerie St. John and Denys Hawthorne. It was written by Ford, Barry Jacobs and Stanley Long, and ...
'' (1970) *''
Naughty! ''Naughty'', also known as ''Naughty! A Report on Pornography and Erotica'', is a 1971 British dramatised documentary film directed by Stanley Long and written by Suzanne Mercer. Long said although the movie was sold as a sex film it was "a fai ...
'' (1971) *''
Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
'' (1971) *''
Sex and the Other Woman ''Sex and the Other Woman'' (also known as ''The Other Woman'') is a 1972 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley A. Long, presented by Richard Wattis. It was written by Adrien Reid and comprises a quartet of stories on the subject of adulte ...
'' (1972) *''
On the Game ''On the Game'' is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stanley Long and starring Charles Gray. It was written by Suzanne Mercer, who spent two years researching it. The film is a dramatised comedy documentary about prostitution throug ...
'' (1974) * '' Eskimo Nell'' (1975) * ''It Could Happen to You'' (1975) *''
Adventures of a Taxi Driver ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Barry Evans, Judy Geeson and Adrienne Posta. There are two sequels, ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' (1977) and ''Adventures of a Plumber ...
'' (1976) *''
Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976), and was followed b ...
'' (1977) *''
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. It was written by Stephen D. Frances and Aubrey Cash. Following '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976) a ...
'' (1978) *'' Screamtime'' (1983)


See also

*
Derek Ford Derek Ford (6 September 1932, Essex – 19 May 1995) was an English film director and writer, most famous for sexploitation films such as ''The Wife Swappers'' (1970), ''Suburban Wives'' (1971), ''Commuter Husbands'' (1972), ''Keep It Up, Jack ...
*
Pete Walker (director) Pete Walker (born 4 July 1939) is an English film director, writer, and producer, specializing in horror film, horror and sexploitation films, frequently combining the two. Biography Walker was born on 4 July 1939 in Brighton, England, the son ...
* Norman J. Warren *
Robin Askwith Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions. Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in '' Brit ...


References


External links


Stanley Long's official website
* (
oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
) * Images
Long directing Adventures of a Plumbers Mate
Video * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Stanley 1933 births 2012 deaths English film directors English film producers English screenwriters English male screenwriters 20th-century English businesspeople