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	~~{{short description\|1974 film by Val Guest}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=July 2021}}~~
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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	~~\| name = Confessions of a Window Cleaner~~
	\| image = Confessions of a Window Cleaner FilmPoster.jpeg		\| image = Confessions of a Window Cleaner FilmPoster.jpeg
	\| caption = Theatrical release poster		\| caption = Theatrical release poster

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External links

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	* [http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/October%202010/barber.pdf ''The Pinnacle of Popular Taste?: The Importance of Confessions of a Window Cleaner'', by Sian Barber, Royal Holloway]		* [http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/October%202010/barber.pdf ''The Pinnacle of Popular Taste?: The Importance of Confessions of a Window Cleaner'', by Sian Barber, Royal Holloway]

	~~{{Val Guest}}~~
	{{Confessions}}		{{Confessions}}

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	[[Category:1974 comedy films]]		[[Category:1974 comedy films]]
	[[Category:1970s British films]]		[[Category:1970s British films]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

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en>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* External links */add Category:1970s British films

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External links: add Category:1970s British films

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{{short description|1974 film by Val Guest}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Confessions of a Window Cleaner
| image = Confessions of a Window Cleaner FilmPoster.jpeg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Val Guest]]
| producer = [[Greg Smith (film producer)|Greg Smith]], [[Michael Klinger (producer)|Michael Klinger]] (executive producer)
| writer = Val Guest [[Christopher Wood (writer)|Christopher Wood]]
| narrator =
| starring = [[Robin Askwith]] [[Antony Booth]] [[Linda Hayden (actress)|Linda Hayden]] [[Sheila White (actress)|Sheila White]] [[Dandy Nichols]] [[Bill Maynard]]
| music = Sam Sklair
| cinematography = [[Norman Warwick]]
| editing = [[Bill Lenny]]
| distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|1974|11|08|df=y}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = £150,000 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/Confessions-of-a-Window-Cleaner_1974/ |title=Confessions of a Window Cleaner 1974 | Britmovie | Home of British Films |publisher=Britmovie |access-date=2012-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905065924/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/Confessions-of-a-Window-Cleaner_1974 |archive-date=5 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
'''''Confessions of a Window Cleaner''''' is a 1974 British [[sex comedy]] film, directed by [[Val Guest]].<ref name=leach132>Leach, p.132</ref>

Like the other films in the ''Confessions'' series; ''[[Confessions of a Pop Performer]]'', ''[[Confessions of a Driving Instructor]]'' and ''[[Confessions from a Holiday Camp]]'', it concerns the erotic adventures of Timothy Lea, based on the novels written under that name by [[Christopher Wood (writer)|Christopher Wood]]. Each film features [[Robin Askwith]] and [[Antony Booth]].

==Plot==
The optimistic and inept Timothy Lea is freshly employed by his brother-in-law Sid as a window cleaner. With Sid an impending father to be, he looks to Timmy to fully 'satisfy' his customers, little realising that Timmy's accident prone ways often stretch to his sex life with his clients. Timmy bed hops from unsatisfied housewives to even a lesbian love tryst, all the while with his main eye on successful police officer, Elizabeth Radlett, who will have none of Timmy's sexual advances. He proposes as a result, much to his family's upset, unaware that Timmy's usual run of luck will affect the outcome.

==Cast==
* [[Robin Askwith]] as Timothy Lea
* [[Tony Booth (actor)|Tony Booth]] as Sidney Noggett
* [[Bill Maynard]] as Mr Lea
* [[Dandy Nichols]] as Mrs Lea
* [[Sheila White (actress)|Sheila White]] as Rosie Noggett
* [[Linda Hayden (actress)|Linda Hayden]] as Elizabeth Radlett
* [[John Le Mesurier]] as Inspector Radlett
* [[Richard Wattis]] as Carole's Father
* [[Joan Hickson]] as Mrs Radlett
* [[Melissa Stribling]] as Mrs Villiers
* [[Sam Kydd]] as 1st Removal Man
* [[Lionel Murton]] as Brenda's Landlord
* [[Katya Wyeth]] as Carole
* [[Sue Longhurst]] as Jacqui Brown
* [[Anita Graham]] as Ingrid
* [[Brian Hall (actor)|Brian Hall]] as 2nd Removal Man
* [[Robert Longden (actor)|Robert Longden]] as Apprentice

==Background==
The film is essentially an adaptation of a [[Erotic literature|sex novel]] printed in [[paperback]] form. It was adapted for the screen in the 1970s, when the [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|British film industry]] produced a large number of [[film adaptation]]s of literary works. Sian Barber cites other examples of this trend: ''[[Jane Eyre (1970 film)|Jane Eyre]]'' (1970), ''[[Wuthering Heights (1970 film)|Wuthering Heights]]'', ''[[Black Beauty (1971 film)|Black Beauty]]'' (1971), ''[[The Go-Between (1971 film)|The Go-Between]]'' (1971), ''[[Kidnapped (1971 film)|Kidnapped]]'' (1972), ''[[Treasure Island (1972 live-action film)|Treasure Island]]'' (1973), ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1977 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1977), ''[[The Thirty Nine Steps (1978 film)|The Thirty Nine Steps]]'' (1978), and ''[[The Riddle of the Sands (film)|The Riddle of the Sands]]'' (1979).<ref name="Barber">Barber (2013), p. 94-95</ref> Sian Barber points that adaptations of [[highbrow]] material (for example, works by [[Henrik Ibsen]], [[Anton Chekhov]], [[Iris Murdoch]]) and [[Middlebrow]] material (for example, works by [[William Shakespeare]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[D. H. Lawrence]]) were hardly unusual by the 1970s, but points to ''Confessions'' as an early adaptation of [[Low culture|low brow]] popular literature.<ref name="Barber">Barber (2013), p. 94-95</ref><ref name="Barber2">Barber (2013), p. 110-124</ref>

The series of source novels about Timmy Lea had benefited from a [[literary forgery]], the notion that Lea was not a fictional character but the actual author. The series was a [[sexual fantasy]] masquerading as [[confessional writing]], a genre which tends to attract audiences. When novice film producer Greg Smith became interested in adapting the novels to screen, the hoax was maintained and Timmy Lea received credits as the author of the source material. The actual author and screenwriter, [[Christopher Wood (writer)|Christopher Wood]], hardly resembled his creation.<ref name="Barber2"/>

''Confessions'' was a [[low-budget film]], with a budget of £100,000, but not really an [[independent film]]. Producer [[Michael Klinger (producer)|Michael Klinger]] tried to secure funding from independent investors, but most of the funding actually came from [[Columbia Pictures]], a fact telling for its period. The condition of the [[Economic history of the United Kingdom#1960–1979: the Sixties and Seventies|economy of the United Kingdom]] in the early 1970s had left part of the British film industry dependent on American funds.<ref name="Barber2"/> Being also released through Columbia, the film was the beneficiary of a marketing campaign. It was promoted through advertisements in television and tie-ins in bookstores.<ref name="Hunt">Hunt (1998), p. 31-33</ref>

The film benefited from changes in the [[culture of the United Kingdom]], with an increasingly [[permissive society]] and changes in aspects of the [[Censorship in the United Kingdom|censorship standards]].<ref name="Barber2"/> Its aesthetics, themes, and characters derive in part from the then-popular genre of the [[British sitcom]]. The [[working class]] family, as depicted by the Leas, is not much different from its counterparts in ''[[On the Buses]]'' (1969–1973) and ''[[Bless This House (UK TV series)|Bless This House]]'' (1971–1976). Timmy's father has the habit of collecting discarded items and bringing them home, making him reminiscent of Albert Steptoe from ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'' (1962–1974). His mother has the habit of buying consumer items on credit, making her reminiscent of Mrs Butler from ''On the Buses''.<ref name="Barber2"/>

This film series also made a point of casting actors already familiar to television audiences. The idea was probably to attract that audience to the cinema. There was a trend at the time for successful sitcoms to be adapted in film, which produced hits such as ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' (1971), ''[[On the Buses (film)|On the Buses]]'' (1971), ''[[Up Pompeii (film)|Up Pompeii]]'' (1971), ''[[Steptoe and Son (film)|Steptoe and Son]]'' (1972). The sitcom-like ''Confessions'' could probably appeal to the same audience.<ref name="Barber2"/> Leon Hunt, when examining the success of these films, notes their positions in the Top Twenty of the British box office. In 1971, ''On the Buses'' was the second greatest hit of the year, following ''[[The Aristocats]]'' (1970). ''Up Pompeii'' was eighth and ''Dad's Army'' was 10th. The only other British comedies which surpassed them were ''[[There's a Girl in My Soup]]'' (1970, fourth in its year) and ''[[Percy (1971 film)|Percy]]'' (fifth).<ref name="Hunt">Hunt (1998), p. 31-33</ref> Hunt argues that the ''Confessions'' films combined the style of the "sitcom films" with sexploitation. He suggests the terms "sexcom" as the result of this blending of genres.
<ref name="Hunt">Hunt (1998), p. 31-33</ref>

The interior of the Lea house was depicted as brightly lit and filled with eccentric items of doubtful use, such as a moose head and a gorilla suit. The characters are confined to the "cramped" space of every depicted room, again reminiscent of the sets of a sitcom. The confinement itself suggests [[claustrophobia]], and Sian Barber suggests a connection to another low-budget genre of the time with cramped locations and gaudy scenery: the British [[horror film]].<ref name="Barber2"/>

In criticising the original novels, sociologist [[Simon Frith]] had argued that the books derived their unflattering depiction of the British [[working class]] from stereotypes. In particular, the stereotypes which the [[middle class]] associates for "[[Hoi polloi|the great unwashed]]". Making the series an expression of [[class discrimination]].<ref name="Barber2"/> Sian Barber argues that the films inherited the same attitude towards the working class by embracing negative stereotypes of it. Sidney Noggett and his [[promiscuity]], Rosie and her [[hair roller]]s, and the [[kleptomania]]c tendencies of Mr. Lea all derive from these stereotypes.<ref name="Barber2"/> Yet, the films actually tone down the criminal tendencies of the Lea family. In the books, Timmy himself is a former prison convict, having been arrested for stealing the lead off a church roof. In the films Timmy has no such history, probably in an effort to make him more sympathetic to the audience. Production notes reveal that a sequel called ''Confessions from the Clink'' was considered by the production team, but the idea was abandoned by February, 1974.<ref name="Barber2"/>

Part of the humour of the film derives from a situation based on [[class stratification]] in the United Kingdom. The Leas are positioned at the bottom of the working class, barely above the criminal [[underclass]], while the Radletts are [[upper middle class]]. The romance of Timmy and Elizabeth across the wide class divide serves to showcase both positions, and contrasts the two families. But the Leas are those depicted as ridiculous in the scenes relating to the aborted wedding, while the Radletts remain respectable.<ref name="Barber2"/>

While the premise of the film would be suitable for a [[pornographic film]], the film focuses less on [[sexual intercourse]] and more on associated problems and anxieties. Timmy at first fails to perform, and the film deals with his embarrassment over his sexual inexperience and ineptitude. His sexual encounters are either awkward grappling attempts, or the result of Timmy being seduced and/or dominated by women.<ref name="Barber2"/> This anxiety over the male performance in a sexual relationship is one aspect of the film's humour. Another is a reliance on more traditional elements of a [[comedy]], such as [[slapstick]] and characters seen naked by accidental spectators. The sexual acts themselves are typically depicted as "confusing, difficult, and troublesome" throughout the film.<ref name="Barber2"/> A [[running gag]] seems to be that Timmy, a [[cleaner]] by profession, gets dirtied in several scenes involving sexuality. The implication is that sex itself is a "dirty" activity.<ref name="Barber2"/>

Like the [[horror films]] of the 1970s, the film is set in the familiar urban landscape of [[Great Britain]]. Its contemporary horror films had largely abandoned the [[costume drama]] format of their predecessors and the "careful class distinctions" associated with earlier eras in favor of a contemporary setting. For example, ''[[Virgin Witch]]'' (1971) and ''[[House of Whipcord]]'' (1974) are partly set in a [[modeling agency]], ''[[Dracula A.D. 1972]]'' (1972) and ''[[Frightmare (1974 film)|Frightmare]]'' (1974) in [[nightclub]]s, ''Dracula A.D. 1972'' and ''House of Whipcord'' in [[House party|house parties]], ''Frightmare'' in a [[travelling funfair]], and ''[[House of Mortal Sin]]'' (1975) in an [[antique shop]]. The reason for the update in setting was that it allowed for depictions of [[Social mobility|socially mobile]] characters, rootless or transient. Adding variety to the social interactions and locations.<ref name="Barber2"/> A variety also embraced in ''Confessions''. For similar reasons, other genres had started depicting people whose work required them to constantly travel, such as a salesman in ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' (1973) and a [[truck driver]] in ''[[Alfie Darling]]'' (1975). ''Confessions'' manages this by placing Timmy in the fringes of the working world, and interacting with clients of varying backgrounds and eccentricities.<ref name="Barber2"/>

There is a contrast in the film between the character of Timmy and the women with which he interacts. His mannerisms indicate nervousness, hesitancy, clumsiness, and insecurity. While they tend to have a [[self-confidence]] which he lacks, they are forceful and proactive sexual partners. Yet these confident women tend to be accessible. The ease with which their clothes are removed underline their availability to Timmy. All but Elizabeth, the "nice girl" whom he cannot really touch. Her clothes are not less revealing, her short skirts showcase her legs and seem to invite his touch. She consequently functions much as a temptress. Yet she does not allow him to touch her beyond a certain point, setting the boundaries in their relationship. It is Timmy's desire for this unobtainable young woman which serves as an important story arc for the film.<ref name="Barber2"/>

Sue Harper and Justin Smith argue that the film can be seen as the initiation of a young man into a world of lustful women and adult sexual pleasure. The entire series of ''Confessions'' can be understood as a showcase for a simple notion, the notion that [[Sexual norm|sexual freedom]] can be achieved by people of all classes and genders.<ref name="Harper">Harper, Smith (2012), p. 144-145</ref>

==Critical reception and impact==
===Box office===
It has been called, "perhaps the best known and most successful British sex film" of the era, and was the top-grossing British film of 1974.<ref name=leach134>Leach, p.134</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=270|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTmrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|title=British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure: The Boundaries of Pleasure|first=Sue|last= Harper|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|date= 2011|isbn = 9780748654260}}</ref>

===Sequels===
As well as its sequels in the ''Confessions'' series it spawned another unrelated series of films which began with ''[[Adventures of a Taxi Driver]]'' (1976).<ref name=leach134/> The film made Robin Askwith a star in the UK.<ref name=leach134/> When the films were originally released they were regarded as very risqué and essentially [[soft core pornography]], owing to the amount of nudity involved – generally female, with Robin Askwith being the only male shown naked. However the sex scenes themselves are more suggestive than explicit, being essentially played for laughs. Nonetheless, it was not until 1997 that [[Five (channel)|Channel 5]] became the first British terrestrial channel to show the entire series of ''Confessions'' films.

The film was a popular hit for the British [[Sexploitation film|sexploitation genre]], while film critics reportedly loathed it and decried it as a "tawdry" and [[vulgarism|vulgar]] spectacle. Sian Barber points at this contradiction between the popular taste and the critics' notions of quality, and concludes that it offers significant insights on actual "audience preferences". Preferences shaped by "the tastes, values and frustrated desires of ordinary filmgoers".<ref name="Barber2"/> The film was a box office hit. In a cited example of a cinema in the [[West End of London]], the film was screened for nine weeks, with 29 performances per week, and earning over £30,000. In January 1975, the [[Eady Levy]] tax fund estimated that it had raised £200,000 from this film alone. By 1979, profits had exceeded £800,000. Yet, [[Robin Askwith]] recalled that film industry opinions were "totally negative" towards the film and dismissive of its success with the public.<ref name="Barber2"/> In retrospect, Leon Hunt concluded that the film benefited from a combination of [[Sex industry|adult entertainment]] with "good clean fun", an appealing cast, and the popularity of the source novels.<ref name="Barber2"/>

===Critical===
Leon Hunt, examining the reviews of the film series, notes some highlights. Margaret Hinxman, film critic of the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', wrote negative and increasingly exasperated reviews for every installment of the ''Confessions'' series. She called the original a "puerile sex farce" and compared the rest of them to [[latrinalia]]. Alexander Stuart, writing for the magazine ''[[Films and Filming]]''. claimed that the films is a real confession, a confession that the British people cannot properly create films, erotic images, comedy, or anything related to love. The films were unfavourably compared to the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' series (1958–1992), which the critics found harmless in comparison. [[David Robinson (film critic)|David Robinson]], writing for ''[[The Times]]'' claimed that the commercial success of the films was based on the [[Delayed puberty|sexual infantilism]] of the viewers.<ref name="Hunt2">Hunt (1998), p. 115</ref> A rare dissenting voice among critics was Virginia Dignam, writing for the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]'', who offered positive reviews of the film series.<ref name="Hunt2">Hunt (1998), p. 115</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{citation | last=Barber | first=Sian| title=The British Film Industry in the 1970s: Capital, Culture and Creativity | chapter =The Go Between: The Past, the Present and the 1970s| year=2013 | publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]| isbn= 978-1137305923 | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=tP1hLXw9HCAC&pg=PA198 }}
* {{citation | last=Barber | first=Sian| title=The British Film Industry in the 1970s: Capital, Culture and Creativity | chapter =Confessions of a Window Cleaner: Sex, Class, Popular Taste| year=2013 | publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]| isbn= 978-1137305923 | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=tP1hLXw9HCAC&pg=PA198 }}
* {{citation | last1=Harper | first1=Sue| last2=Smith | first2=Justin| title=British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure | chapter =Boundaries and Taboos| year=2011 | publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]| isbn=978-0748640782| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5LQzLFWzKUC&pg=PA145 }}
* {{citation | last=Hunt | first=Leon| title=British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation | chapter =Permissive Populism: Low cultural production in the 1970s| year=1998 | publisher=[[Routledge]]| isbn= 978-1136189364 | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=yXyMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 }}
* {{citation | last=Hunt | first=Leon| title=British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation | chapter =Coming Clean: From Robin Askwith to Mary Millington|year=1998 | publisher=[[Routledge]]| isbn= 978-1136189364 | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=yXyMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 }}
* {{cite book|title=British film|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|author=Leach, Jim |year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/britishfilm00leac|url-access=registration|isbn=0-521-65419-X}}
* {{cite book| title=Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema| author=Simon Sheridan| year=2011| publisher=Titan Books}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0071357}}
* [http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/October%202010/barber.pdf ''The Pinnacle of Popular Taste?: The Importance of Confessions of a Window Cleaner'', by Sian Barber, Royal Holloway]

{{Val Guest}}
{{Confessions}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confessions of a Window Cleaner}}
[[Category:1974 films]]
[[Category:1970s sex comedy films]]
[[Category:Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Val Guest]]
[[Category:Films set in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:British sex comedy films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Christopher Wood (writer)]]
[[Category:1974 comedy films]]
[[Category:1970s British films]]

Confessions of a Window Cleaner - Revision history

Kurt at 04:37, 20 February 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: /* External links */add Category:1970s British films