'King of sexploitation' Stanley Long dies

Film-maker Stanley Long, who was behind a string of saucy British movie romps and once dubbed the "king of sexploitation" has died at the age of 78.

His cheeky X-rated films in the 1960s and 1970s included a number of household names such as Diana Dors, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl and Ian Lavender and gave Pauline Collins her first big break.

Long - a director, producer and cinematographer - was known for titles such as On The Game, Eskimo Nell and The Wife Swappers. He also launched a series of Adventures films, which began with Adventures Of A Taxi Driver, as a rival to the successful Confessions movies starring Robin Askwith.

His family said the movie-maker - who lived in Buckinghamshire - died on Monday from "natural causes".

Long produced a series of successful movies over the period of a quarter of a century blending bawdy comedy with female nudity and he was a millionaire by the age of 36.

He once said: "It wasn't easy making an exploitation movie. It needed a fresh script, careful planning and a lot of skill."

He began his career as a photographer for Picture Post and after serving in the RAF he began taking nude photos for a men's magazine, then turned to making moving pictures with his company Stag Films turning out more than 150 short films.

One of his 1960s films West End Jungle - a documentary about Soho's sex industry - was banned when it was made in the early 1960s, and caused an outcry at the time, but went on to be screened by BBC4.

His Adventures of a Taxi Driver, made for £30,000, became a box office hit and was sold to 36 countries.

Long also set up a successful distribution firm and his post-production company Salon has gone on to work on films such as Batman Begins.

In 2008, he worked with writer Simon Sheridan on his memoir X-Rated - Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker.

PA