This 1971 big screen adaption of London Weekend Television's long running 'On The Buses' is remembered chiefly for being that year's biggest box office seller, even outdoing the '007' picture 'Diamonds Are Forever'. The main reason for its astonishing box office performance lay purely down to the fact that it saved British cinemas from the threat of closure ( big American studios had cut their funding to make films ).

The idea to make 'On The Buses' into a film was obviously inspired by the success of the cinematic release of 'Till Death Us Do Part' in 1969. The cast were all present and correct, Messrs Wolfe & Chesney inherited the writing duties yet again while Harry Booth directed.

This is how it begins - Stan and Jack have been securing a hefty amount of overtime recently thanks to the lack of available staff at the bus depot. Blakey, ever destined to ease the staff shortage crisis, suggests to the management that they take on women as drivers, a suggestion with which the management agree to. Realising their jobs are on the rocks, Stan and Jack devise a complex scheme in order to eliminate the use of female drivers. Dirty tricks come into play, such as placing spiders in the female drivers cabs, placing laxative pills in their tea and so on.

A sub-plot is also used here in which Olive becomes pregnant and later gives birth to Little Arthur. This distanced the film from its television counterpart as Little Arthur was absent from the series. Also, as another poster has pointed out, the buses here are red, not green.

Despite overall having the feel of a 'Carry On' film, 'On The Buses' still manages to appeal and in my opinion is probably the best of all sitcom to movie offerings. Some scenes from the television series are given a reworking here, such as Olive getting a job in the bus depot's canteen as a cook and making a pig's ear of everything. A catchy singalong item entitled 'It's A Great Life On The Buses' ( sung by Quinceharmon ) is used as the film's theme music.

Andria Lawrence is cast here as 'turnaround Betty' ( didn't this woman corner the market on playing sex-pots? ),with Nosher Powell as her disgruntled husband. Also in the cast are Pat Coombs, Pamela Cundell, Brian Outlon, the late Terry Duggan ( husband of Anna Karen ),Eunice Black and Pat Ashton. Wendy Richard has a small role as a young woman who accuses Blakey of stealing her laundry.

The success of this picture led to two sequels - 'Mutiny On The Buses' ( 1972 ) and 'Holiday On The Buses' ( 1973 ) but the first in my view remains the best.

'On The Buses', while not a patch on the series, is nevertheless still a pleasurable way to relax on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and a biscuit ( what else but Tunnock's Tea Cakes? ). A word of warning to the feminists though! Steer clear! It will probably give you a fit!

Funniest bit - At the London Transport testing centre, Stan is instructed to perform a left and right skid ( he has been made to resit his test following reckless driving ),which he successfully does. Unfortunately, Blakey is aboard the bus and ends being flung around like a rag doll!

On the buses was a series that you either loved or hated, this movie, that keeps the original cast is no exception to this. It is basically more of the same.

Stan and Jack are up to their usual capers, when Blakey decides to employ women drivers. Not standing for it the Boys all club together and make sure that the women Drivers can't succeed.

OK its dated, and it's sexist, but trust me if you liked the original series, this and the other two feature films are great fun, and packed with cheap laughs and innuendo.

If you've never seen the series or you simply didn't like it, then leave these alone, if not then you'll agree with me, and just enjoy it.

8/10

Watching this for the first time since I saw it and its mother series as a kid, I was struck not by its supposed naffness, nor by its vulgar humour but by its sheer authenticity. Surely the true face of the British Working class has never been so accurately portrayed. Here are people in all their sweaty, ugly, sexed-up un-glory. Everything has to be a vulgar laugh, sensitivity is outlawed, sex is a constant obsession and everyone is potentially the butt of a joke. Authority is mocked but never really challenged and money is continuously short. If, in years to come, people want to understand what it was like to be working class in Britain in the early 1970s, they could do no worse than catch this film!