Mutiny on the Buses

Mutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare.[1] The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses (1971). It was followed by a third film Holiday on the Buses (1973). The film was produced by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe for Hammer Films. Mutiny on the Buses came 17th in the 1972 box office.[2]

Mutiny on the Buses
UK theatrical poster
Directed byHarry Booth
Written by
Produced by
  • Ronald Chesney
  • Ronald Wolfe
StarringReg Varney
Doris Hare
Bob Grant
Anna Karen
Michael Robbins
Stephen Lewis
CinematographyMark McDonald
Edited byArchie Ludski
Music byRon Grainer
Production
company
Distributed byMGM-EMI Film Distributors
Release date
  • 9 June 1972 (1972-06-09)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Bus driver Stan Butler (Reg Varney) agrees to marry Susy the clippie (Janet Mahoney), much to the anguish of the rest of Stan's family. Arthur loses his job so Stan, as the main money earner, agrees to delay his and Susy's wedding while teaching Arthur to drive the bus. Meanwhile there is mutiny at the depot when the new Depot Manager, Mr. Jenkins () installs a new radio control system in all the buses (borrowing an idea previously used in the episode "Radio Control"). Stan and his best mate Jack (Bob Grant) tamper with the radio system and crosses the wires with the police and airlines frequency and several misunderstandings ensue. Blakey (Stephen Lewis) is then issued with a new van to follow the buses around their routes, but when Stan and Jack accidentally cause a fire in the bus depot, the van is crushed between two buses in the ensuing chaos. The fire highlights the inadequacies of the depot's fire fighting equipment, which the general manager orders to be upgraded. Blakey stages a fire drill with the new equipment, but it goes spectacularly wrong when the foam machine goes out of control and floods out the depot. When Olive (Anna Karen) suspects that Arthur (Michael Robbins) is dating his clippie, Norah {Pat Ashton) she arrives at the bus depot to find herself breaking Arthur's motorbike in the foam.

Stan and Jack get into various scrapes, including a darts competition at the depot and a special tours trip to Windsor Safari Park, all to the exasperation of Inspector Blake.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Production

Apart from the location work, the film was shot at EMI-MGM Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England.

The bus at the safari park in Mutiny on the Buses was NRN 607, a Metro-Cammell bodied Leyland Atlantean, new to Ribble Motor Services.

Reception

The film was one of the most popular movies of 1972 at the British box office.[3]

References
  1. "Mutiny on the Buses". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  2. I. Q. Hunter; Laraine Porter (2012). British Comedy Cinema. Routledge. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-415-66667-1.
  3. Harper, Sue (2011). British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure: The Boundaries of Pleasure. Edinburgh University Press. p. 270. ISBN 9780748654260.
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