Bachelor of Arts – 1971 | 30 mins | Comedy | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Bachelor of Arts was based on an original idea by Michael Bentine and written in conjunction with director Harry Booth. Bentine was a founder member of legendary Goons but subsequently found roles hard to come by and became predominantly recognized with the long-running children’s television show Michael Bentine’s Potty Time. His one moderate solo success was the feature-length semi-silent comedy The Sandwich Man (1966). Here Bentine attempts to recreate that formula but the skits are neither funny nor engaging and the whole picture has an atmosphere of forced wackiness.

Miklos Durti (Michael Bentine) is an artist of undisclosed nationality who arrives in England after disembarking the ferry. His first encounter is with a bemused a customs officer (David Lodge) who bides Miklos farewell and desires he doesn’t return whilst he’s on duty. Miklos rides his ice-cream tricycle into town, and when halted by a traffic jam, begins sketching the elfin policewoman (Una Stubbs). She in turn is so flattered by the attention of the amorous artist that she hitches up her skirt up and begins striking sexy poses in the street.

Miklos stops beside the river, borrows a fishing rod from a small boy and unintentionally causes trouble when attempting to cast off. But the artist is stopped in his tracks when the young boy’s auntie, a leggy blonde barmaid, beckons the boy to join her in a nearby pub – the red-blooded Miklos hotfoots it after them. Inside the pub, Miklos proceeds to drink all the regulars under the table and spend a passionate evening with the barmaid in her seaside caravan. Afterwards, Miklos spends an enjoyable afternoon cavorting in a nudist colony but as he makes his way back to port in a state of undress, two police officers (Johnny Briggs and Bob Todd) stop him to determine whether he is a religious nut, sex maniac or John Lennon!