Spanish Fly

Simply awful waste of the talents of Terry Thomas and Leslie Philips.

If you like extended titillation of buxom beauties, then this is for you, but I can't imagine what it must have been like actually going to the cinema and viewing this rubbish.

I was hoping that with Leslie Phillips and Terry Thomas in the cast that this would be reasonably funny.However this film gets sillier and sillier as goes on.Sad that Terry Thomas has to end his days playing in this sort of film.This also reflects the sorry state of the British film industry in the seventies.

While all too readily replacing witty banter with fulsomely fleshly frolics, the boorishly bawdy 'Spanish Fly' (1976) occasionally proved itself to be a rather 'comely', far from 'slack-stick' farce of generously wine-soaked, ceaselessly bottom-goosing, lingerie-languishing absurdity! The pleasantly ample-sounding, entirely shapely score by the mercurial music-maker Ron Goodwin being an especially slinky highlight of an otherwise altogether half-baked, Menorca-set, low-browed lark, where, sadly, the usually triumphant titter-titans Terry-Thomas & Leslie Phillips were wholly unable to revivify the rather flaccid screenplay, perhaps their signature shtick was entirely lost in translation! When all is said and done, it might have been better for ALL concerned if writer Robert Ryerson had experienced such a catastrophic lack of lead in his pencil, that instead of 'writing' the frequently flightless 'Spanish Fly' he went on an imagination-restoring Mediterranean holiday instead! Even sans sting, this salaciously silly, terminally tepid tale of trouser-dropping tedium was plentifully endowed with a deliciously jaunty theme song 'Fly Me', a truly exquisite melody performed quite beautifully by saucy songbird Geraldine.

The plot and the setting rather resembles David Cronenberg's The Parasite Murders' (1974), but I would guess only by coincidence. Or at least I hope so!

Shot in Menorca, with an onscreen credit for the Janet Reger underwear, those stars would have promised well fifteen years earlier. But in the seventies? Forget it...!

Roaring and humorous film with odd characters , surreal imagery and nutty plot . Crazy humor gives way to sexy as well as hilarious happenings , closely followed by embarrassing events that doesn't take long in coming to a head in undisguised pandemonium . It deals with English merchant Mike Scott (Leslie Phillips) complaining to his G.P. (Frank Thornton) about his lack of sexual desire . Mike then goes to Island of Menorca to a shooting session for his lingerie line . There he is received by his photograph assistant Juan (Ramiro Oliveros) and four gorgeous fashion models called Bruce (Andrea Allan) , Francesca (Sally Farmiloe) , Annette (Jaleh Haddah) and the Spanish diva Nadiuska . Then , Mike meets an old school friend, a British aristocrat businessman named Sir Percy de Courcy (Terry-Thomas) who is making a deplorable and poisonous wine to sell tourists and local people (Emiliano Redondo as a barman and Jose Lifante) . Realizing that the wine is undrinkable ,Sir Percy and his helper , loyal chauffeur (Graham Armitage), collect several spices to improve the taste but by accident they add Spanish flies, in the blending , resulting in an aphrodisiac wine . Sir Percy invites Mike and the beautiful fashion models to have dinner and they take wine and obviously takes place a night of passion . However , wine has side negative effects from the use of Spanish Fly ,as they begin barking and behaving like dogs . Then , there shows up Mike's wife (Sue Lloyd) and she also takes wine and the events go wrong .

This an amusing but mediocre picture full of laughters , silly events , embarrassing humor , a lot of lingerie and and some nudity in charge of the three models and the Spanish beauty Nadiuska . This is a full-on surreal Psychotronic sex comedy , it is so excessive and outrageous that blends bemusing deeds , as well as a funny script full of absurd humor , entertainment , and exciting situations . Packed with scenes of absurd nature , this story is a fantastic farce, as we follow the ridiculous situations of a varied group of quirky characters whose destination is dictated by an aphrodisiac wine . As the wine becomes aphrodisiac and all are looking forward to making love but subsequently everyone starts barking like dogs . This main premise about the sexual wine is overspread throughout the movie , but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . The narration is so filled with crazy characters , nutty comedy, mixed with surreal elements and an underlying sense of humor . The film works on various levels , however contains some embarrassing , contriving moments and also certain excess . Fine acting by Leslie Phillips as a rogue entrepreneur who lacks sex drive and very amusing , as always , Terry Thomas as a crafty aristocrat who want to have his own fraudulent business for a sexualized wine and at whatever cost . Nice support cast plenty of Spanish actors sch as Ramiro Oliveros , Nadiuska , Emiliano Redondo , Jose Lifante , Marisa Porcel , Sergio Mendizabal as well as British players as Graham Armitage , Frank Thornton and Sue Lloyd .

Atmospheric musical score by Ron Goodwin , including disco music and adding catching songs at the beginning and the end . Colorful cinematography showing splendidly the local beauty , and being filmed on location in Menorca, Cales Fonts , Balearic Islands, Spain . The motion picture was middlingly directed by recently deceased Bob Kellett (1927–2012) . He was a director and producer, known for Are You Being Served? (1977), Up Pompeii (1971) , Up the chastity bell (1971) , Girl stroke girl (1971) , Futtocks End (1970) and this Spanish Fly . Rating : 5 , average but amusing .