The movies of Derek Ford that have been cut or banned in Australia.
See also, GROUPIE GIRL (1970) in the Film Censorship Database No. 2.
Commuter Husband
Directed by Derek Ford / 1972 / UK / IMDb
In October 1973, a 2240-meter (81:39) ‘reconstructed version’ of COMMUTER HUSBANDS was censored by a further 108.34-meters (03:57) for an R-rating.
The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
Roadshow Distributors released the film theatrically.
Video release
In December 1984, Palace Home Video had an 83:20 tape passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex, which was labelled as:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
The Palace Vibrant Video is reportedly uncut.
Where was the ‘indecency’?
Simon reports.
In 1973, the censor would have targeted the second story, as it is the most explicit of the six. It takes place when the plumber stops and watches a couple having sex in bed (18:30) and again when it becomes a threesome (23:45).
The third story has some sex scenes with the bikers (30:00) and the fourth has Arnold spying on a neighbouring couple having sex (35:00).
The remaining three of the six stories in COMMUTER HUSBANDS contain little if any sex.
Keep It Up, Jack
Directed by Derek Ford / 1974 / UK / IMDb
In May 1974, a 2425.00-meter (88:24) print of KEEP IT UP, JACK was censored by 128.01-meters (04:39) for an R-rating.
The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
Roadshow Distributors released it theatrically.
Simon reports.
83:38 (PAL)
The main sex scenes that the censor would have tampered with are Virginia masturbating (12:45), a lesbian threesome (50:30) and Jack and his girlfriend having sex (62:00).
Video release
In September 1985, Roadshow Home Video had an 86-minute tape passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Roadshow released it on their Men’s Club International Video label.
Sex Express
Directed by Derek Ford / 1976 / UK / IMDb
In January 1976, a 2439.90-meter (88:56) print of SEX EXPRESS was banned because of ‘excessive and indecent violence’. This running time indicates that it was the hard ‘export version’ which was known as DIVERSIONS in some countries.
A 1947-meter (70:58) ‘reconstructed version’ was passed with an R-rating in March 1976.
Roadshow Distributors released it theatrically.
Police bust
In July 1986, an 84-minute tape of SEX EXPRESS was refused because of ‘gratuitous sexual violence’.
The Victorian Police were the applicant.
Three versions compared
Simon reports.
SEX EXPRESS is something of a rarity, a 1970s British sex film that actually delivers hardcore sex. With this in mind, it is easy to see how 18-minutes managed to be removed for an R-rating. Still, this is better than how it was treated in the UK, where a version missing 37-minutes was released with a BBFC X-rating.
The film consists of five stories, linked by a wraparound of a female prisoner being transported by train.
The first story (09:00 to 13:00) has a couple having sex in a barn, the third (37:00 to 50:00) has a man answering an ad for a flat rental that leads to sex with the owner, and the fifth (73:00 to 85:00) is set in Victorian times and has a photographer having sex with two women. All contain hardcore footage, so all would have been censored to some extent.
The second story (15:00 to 36) is the most infamous. It begins with a couple having sex on a sofa. The woman begins to fantasise about being gang-raped by soldiers. This is eventually intercut with her again having sex on the sofa where she proceeds to stab the man in the back before masturbating with the bloody knife. She then climbs on top of his corpse and in sexual ecstasy, cuts off his penis, rubs it over her body, finally she puts it in her mouth and sucks it. After disposing of the body, she picks up a second victim who she fails to kill as he turns out to be a vampire.
The fourth story (52:00 to 72:00) is also notorious. Communist soldiers hold a woman captive, force her to fellate the barrel of a gun and urinate in her face. She is then tied up and threatened with a knife by the female commander. A lengthy lesbian sex scene follows and the story ends in a threesome when one of the male soldiers joins in.
The combination of hardcore sex, bloody violence and rape fantasy mean these two stories would have received most of the cuts.
In the US, it was released as DIVERSIONS and it was under this title that it was issued by Alpha Blue Archives. Their 89:06 (NTSC) print is scratched and choppy and is missing the simulated golden shower scene at 54:20.
It was also released as GEFANGENEN-EXPRESS in Germany on the Mike Hunter label. I have not viewed this version, but it is reportedly in better condition than Alpha Blue’s print and also includes the golden shower scene. Unfortunately, it is missing footage from story two where the girl stabs the man in the back, castrates him, and sucks his severed penis.
Currently [2020], there does not appear to be a full version of SEX EXPRESS. The best option would be to take the German print, dub it with the Alpha Blue soundtrack and splice in the missing footage from story two.
