Casanova '73 (1973) User Reviews (4)

Loving With Leslie!

[ShadeGrenade · 7/10 · 24 November 2005]

Capitalising on the notoriety of the B.B.C.-2 series 'Casanova' ( written by Dennis Potter, and starring Frank Finlay ), 'Casanova 73' cast Leslie Phillips as 'Henry Newhouse', a suave lounge lizard, not far removed from the character he played in the 'Doctor' films.

The level of humour was epitomised by the title sequence; it showed Henry at the wheel of an open-topped sports car, eyeing up various mini-skirted lovelies, in particular a sexy garage attendant who suggestively inserts her pump into his fuel tank.

Henry seemed to charm the clothes off every gorgeous chick he met, such as Cyd Hayman or Maureen Lipman, but this being a sitcom, things would not go as smoothly as planned.

In one episode, Henry went mad trying to find a tape recorder hidden in the flat where he and his latest conquest had just had sex. In another, he panicked after a frumpy friend of his wife's ( Josephine Tewson ) spotted him dining out with his newest amour. In yet another, he travelled to his son's private school to investigate a complaint brought by a sexy maths teacher. Newhouse Junior had taken pictures of said teacher skinny dipping in some woods. Henry tried to smooth things over by wining and dining the woman, but they got drunk and wound up in bed. The evidence of Henry's guilt was visible when he removed his shirt in his wife's presence - in the heat of passion, the teacher had scrawled sums all over his back.

The show was pure farce, with innuendos flying around like confetti at a wedding. Why his wife Carol ( who knew of his adultery ) didn't divorce him was a real mystery.

Galton and Simpson intended it as a humorous comment on the so-called 'permissive society', but the Mary Whitehouses of this world didn't appreciate the joke, branding it 'lewd' and 'smutty'. The B.B.C. agreed, and shifted it to a post-watershed slot, where it was quietly forgotten.

One unmade script, in which Henry took Carol to a wife swapping party, was later used in the 1977 Yorkshire T.V. series 'The Galton & Simpson Playhouse'. Richard Briers played Henry on that occasion.

Galton and Simpson on autopilot in this dubious farce

[stephen-lambe · 5/10 · 4 February 2015]

This series is a real oddity. I was quite surprised that it was written by Galton and Simpson, since it has none of the wit, pathos or charm of some of their other work.

Leslie Phillips, essentially, reprises the lecherous, charming bounder that we know and love, but as a man in his mid 40s, his character takes on a creepier edge. The chief flaw in this series of 7 farces, which were, I understand, intended to send up the permissive society, is the relationship between Phillips and his wife. She knows he is cheating on her (a running joke in the series is his ever-more elaborate lying about his whereabouts), yet her reactions seem curious as much as angry or upset, as if the whole thing were a game for her too. Yet when offered sex herself by Henry, as in the last scene in episode seven, she is only too willing. Never mind where he's "been"...

That said, there are a few laughs, a few moments of perception and the odd nice performance (particularly a young Maureen Lipman in one episode) although the main cast, particularly Phillips, often seem a little under-rehearsed in the studio recordings...and at least his character normally comes a cropper, as in the Beauty Contest episode. Here he arranges to fix the content in favour of Miss Limburg (a funny Astrid Frank playing a terrible German stereotype), Miss England is voted for by the other judges as a result of a "party" the night before. Creepier and creepier! In the same episode, it's also interesting to see contest presenter Hugh Paddick as a very camp gay in rehearsal for the show morph into a macho stereotype for the actual show itself. This would have been funnier if the gay version of Hugh weren't such a terrible stereotype, but this was 1973 I guess.

The best moment is in episode 6, when having failed to help Madeline Smith lose her virginity due to erectile dysfunction (she wants to be more "experienced" for her husband) - after some appalling emotional blackmail from the girl, I might add - it turns out that the husband has clearly had more success in the same area - with Henry's wife. A nice twist.

So, far from a lost classic - it's really not that funny - but an interesting curiosity, and a damn site better than On the Buses!

Shamelessly sexist - but I liked it!

[Yonilikka-22 · 10/10 · 1 October 2018]

Galton and Simpson's 'Casanova 73' was a spoof of the so-called 'permissive society' which everybody believed to exist but nobody could actually find! Leslie Phillips played 'Henry Newhouse', a lech of the first order. Week in week out his philanderings landed him in hot water with his wife, the sexy 'Carol' ( the late Jan Holden ). It was funny farce, well performed and enjoyable. But Mrs. Mary Whitehouse and her sorry ilk did not see the joke and it was eventually cancelled. Looked at now, the show's a wonderful snapshot of its era - the sensational 70's. Of course now we have political correctness and its exponents have been keen to lump the show in with 'Love Thy Neighbour' as examples of 'unacceptable' television. Nobody complains when middle-aged women ( such as the 'Sex And The City' gang ) chase after handsome hunks so it seems unfair to brand Philips 'creepy' just because he lusts after younger women. Men like that did - and still - exist. My favourite episode was the beauty contest one.

The adventures of a 20th century libertine!

[Rabical-91 · 8/10 · 23 October 2018]

'Casanova '73' was from the pen of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The show was a parody of the so called 'permissive society' which was taking place at the time. The central character, Henry Newhouse, was played to perfection by Leslie Phillips. Henry is a successful businessman who despite being happily married cannot keep his eyes or hands off of other women, married or otherwise.

The show attracted the wrath of Mary Whitehouse for its boldness in that it did not shy away from sexual references. Henry smoothed his way into bed with every gorgeous woman he met. His wife Carol ( the lovely Jan Holden ) was well aware of his philandering yet still stayed married to him, presumably because of the good money he earned from his job.

The show technically started life as an edition of Galton & Simpson's anthology series 'Galton & Simpson Comedy' entitled 'The Suit'. Both Leslie and Jan reprised their roles for this show but this time around the public just didn't take to it. The large volume of complaints it stirred up meant it had to come off air and alas 'Casanova '74' never happened. A pity, these days it is relatively tame stuff.

It is odd watching it in the knowledge that it is written by Galton & Simpson. Once you have seen 'Steptoe & Son' and 'Hancock's Half Hour', you do not associate them with being involved in a show with the kind of humor in common with the 'Carry On' films.

'Casanova '73' is lewd, smutty, sexist and on the whole quite embarrassing but in some odd way enjoyable. One unused script in which Henry attended a wife swapping party later was reused as an edition entitled 'Swap You One Of Those For One Of These' for 'The Galton & Simpson Playhouse'.