AU
PAIR GIRLS (1972)Director: Val Guest
Image Entertainment
AU
PAIR GIRLS (1972)It's mind-boggling to think that the director of such British sci-fi classics as THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT and THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE could end up doing sex comedies like this (he also did CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER with Robin Askwith in 1974). Guest co-wrote this Tigon production (with David Adnopoz) and perhaps it was stimulating work like this that keeps the retired director so spry today (90+ and still going strong!). For those unfamiliar with the term "Au Pair," it refers to young foreign girls who come to England to perform domestic chores, but here, the duties go beyond washing the floors and windows.
AU PAIR GIRLS tells four different stories about four different girls arriving in England to work in various situations. All of them of course are gorgeous. Randi (Gabrielle Drake) is a Danish brunette who is assigned to work for a grumpy businessman. The dorky son (played by Richard O'Sullivan, star of "Man About the House," the British prototype of "Three's Company") is assigned to pick her up from the airport, but screws up everything and screws Randi too. On route to her employer, Randi rolls in the hay, has her clothes drenched, has to remove them, and eventually ends up sleeping with the son in an office parking lot.
Anita is a playful blond Swedish girl Anita (Astrid Frank) who moves in with an average middle-aged couple. The husband, Mr. Howard, is played by Hammer/Amicus character man Geoffrey Bayldon, easily spotted in films like HORROR OF DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED and ASYLUM. Anita roams around the house in the buff, much to the delight of Mr. Howard. But while on a date with the fellow who drove her from the airport, she is picked up at a casino by a wealthy sheik (THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLER'S Ferdy Mayne), who wants to make her part of his harem.
Christa (Nancie Wait) is a German babe who is escorted into swinging London by her employee's wild daughter. Her heart is broken as she looses her virtue to a hairy, arrogant rock star who nonchalantly moves on to the next bird. Lastly is the Chinese Au Pair, Nan (Me Me Lai) who is taken to a stuffy manor and starts a romance with a child-like concert pianist. These two stories end on a more serious and sad note, while the other two are more jolly. By the time enough skin has been shown and the 80-minute running time has been appropriated, the four allegories end abruptly and all the girls depart with the aforementioned sheik. How shallow!
Also recognizable in the cast are two members of the "Are You Being Served" TV cast: Trevor Bannister, who played "Mr. Lucus" and Harold Bennett, who played "Mr. Grace" ("Are You Being Served?" also had its pilot episode in '72). Also look for horror film regulars Rosalie Crutchley (BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB), John Standing (TORTURE GARDEN), and Milton Reid (NIGHT CREATURES).
Through Salvation's "Jezebel" arm, Image has released AU PAIR GIRLS on DVD with an attractive full frame transfer. The colors look bold, but the contrast is a bit dark in places. The source print is in very good shape, and the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack is fine. Extras include the U.K. trailer, a still gallery with posters, advertising materials and video art, and liner notes by Marc Morris. (George R. Reis)