''Suburban Wives'' is a 1971 British sex comedy directed by

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' ...

and starring

Eva Whishaw Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in ...

, Maggie Wright, and

Gabrielle Drake Gabrielle Drake (born 30 March 1944) is a British actress. She appeared in the 1970s in television series '' The Brothers'' and '' UFO''. In the early 1970s she appeared in several erotic roles on screen. She later took parts in soap operas '' ...

Plot

Newspaperwoman Sarah narrates a series of separate stories about the lives of various couples. Sarah describes a situation in which dissatisfied and bored middle-class housewives seek excitement and adventure outside their marital homes— and marital beds.

Cast

as Sarah *

Barry Linehan Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

as John's Boss *

Heather Chasen Heather Jean Chasen (20 July 1927 – 22 May 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in soap operas; playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera, ''Crossroads'', from 1982 to 1986 and guest roles in ''Doctors'', ''Holby City ...

as Kathy Lambert *

as secretary *

Richard Thorp Richard Stanley Thorp (2 January 1932 – 22 May 2013) was an English actor. He was best known for his 30-year tenure portraying Alan Turner in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1982 to 2013. He also appeared in films such as '' The Dam Bu ...

as Sarah's Husband *

Robin Culver Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

as photographer * Maggie Wright as Irene *

Peter May Peter May may refer to: * Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) (born 1951), Scottish television screenwriter, novelist and crime writer *Peter May (weightlifter) (born 1 ...

as John *

Claire Gordon Claire Gordon (16 January 1941 – 13 April 2015) was an English film actress and comedian known for leading and cameo roles in many British films from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, and for working with most of the television comedy stars of ...

as Sheila *

Denys Hawthorne Denys Vernon Hawthorne (9 August 1932 – 16 October 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland who was known for his work in theatre, film, television and radio. Life Denys Hawthorne was born into an upper middle-class Protestant family in Portad ...

as George Lambert *

Jane Cardew Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fi ...

as Carole * Nicola Austin as Jean *

Pauline Peart Pauline Peart (born 31 October 1951) is a Jamaican actress and model who rose to prominence from her roles in a large number of films and television series including parts the '' Carry On'' and Hammer Horror film series. Early life Born in Jama ...

as Mavis * James Donnelly as Client * Paul Antrim as bookmaker

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' said "An uneasy attempt to marry a thin veneer of pseudo-documentary to a series of

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include " The Gift of the ...

-ish but determinedly naughty tales, with the whole thing heavily laced by doses of nudity and titillation. With the possible exception of Kathy's story, nicely timed and beautifully acted by Heather Chasen, there is very little wit in evidence, and the film simply drags coyly on and on." It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a spicy satire of modern manners and mores." According to Leon Hunt the film represents the suburban wives as both "banal and voracious, passive and rapacious, timid and uncontainable. ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' described the characters as a "monstrous regiment of frustrated wives".Hunt, Leon, ''British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation'', Routledge, 2013, p.104-6. Stephanie Dennison sees it as an example of "soft-core porn films" that represent "naughty suburban housewives" as part of "democratization of female sexual desire".Dennison, Stephanie, "Sex and the Generals", ''Latsploitation, Latin America, and Exploitation Cinema'', Routledge, 2009, p.243.

References

External links

* {{Derek Ford 1971 films British sexploitation films 1970s English-language films 1970s sex comedy films British sex comedy films 1971 comedy films Films directed by Derek Ford 1970s British films