The Naughty Victorians (Man With A Maid) is a film of rare wit and style.  It cleverly combines the elements of both mainstream and adult cinema in one delightful package. It concerns the sexual adventures of a schoolteacher and his mistress, during a time when sexual repression was at a peak and chivalry was king.

Jack (Beerbohm Tree) loves nothing more than seducing women in his spare time (which he seems to have plenty of) and is particularly fond of taking the “maidenheads” of young virgins.  We find him at the opening of the film introducing his fiancé to his soundproof “gymnasium and photography studio,” the setting around most of which the picture revolves.

Naturally, the gym is equipped with the latest of Victorian pleasures, including shackles and mirrors that descend from the ceiling and an electric bed which slides under the whole contraption.

The Naughty Victorians is more episodic than story-oriented, as Jack converts his lover to surrender. Later, they both satisfy their blossoming sexual desires by seducing innocent victims.  The highlight of the film (besides the snappy twist ending) must surely be when Jack and Alice secure a very proper lady and her very proper, very underage daughter in their nest of perversions.

The appeal of The Naughty Victorians lies mainly with the star, Beerbohm Tree, a Roger Daltry look-alike who steals the show with typical British charm.  He plays Jack as a mixture of Oscar Wilde and the Marquis de Sade: one moment tender, mocking and sly the next.  These qualities give him a winning nature, and leave no doubt as to why all of the women end up begging for more.

Apparently great care was taken to give this film true period atmosphere.  The lighting and staging suggest the best of the British “Hammer” horror series so popular here in the States, with lavish attention to props and appropriate classic style music.  In fact, it’s finally seeing video release after a theatrical run in 1976.  However, the handling of the sexual scenes is the movie’s most outstanding feature.

The Naughty Victorians breaks the mold of standard porn: the explicitness lingers somewhere between hardcore and soft.  And most of the time, the action leaves something to the imagination, which is very appropriate for this kind of production.  Occasionally though, there is an explicit close-up that serves to punctuate the proceedings at just the right moment.

All told, The Naughty Victorians gets a solid vote for one of the best adult videocassettes of the year.  It’s breezy, charming, and altogether arousing.