13 September 2012
Film-maker Stanley Long – dubbed the “King of Sexploitation” following his string of X-rated films in the 1960s and 1970s – has died from natural causes, aged 78.
Having served in the RAF, he started out as a photographer for Picture Post and soon began making short films with his company, Stag Films.
Best known for mixing bawdy comedy with female nudity, Long served as a director, producer and cinematographer, earning millions by his late thirties. He was best known for Adventures of A Taxi Driver (1976), Adventures Of A Private Eye (1977) and Adventures of a Plumber’s Mate (1978) – rivals to the Confessions movies starring Robin Askwith.
Long’s low-budget comedies starred several household names, including Diana Dors, Liz Fraser and Ian Lavender and helped launch the career of a young Pauline Collins.
His 1964 documentary about Soho’s sex industry (West End Jungle) proved too controversial and was banned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) until 2008 before being shown on BBC4 the following year.
Having retired from directing in the early 1980s, Long briefly returned in 2006 to direct The Other Side of the Screen – a one-off documentary detailing various aspects of filmmaking.
In recent years he has worked with his production company, Salon, on films such as Batman Begins and V for Vendetta.