Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Alvin Purple (1973)

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clip Husbands see red over Purple education content clip 1, 3

Original classification rating: R. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Alvin relaxes in a pool, with friends. He is determined to give up sex. He asks Tina (Elli Maclure) if she agrees that their friendship is based on an absence of sex – she asks how he knows that it is absent. Dr McBurney (George Whaley) calls Alvin (Graeme Blundell) to say they’re in trouble. The newspapers have discovered that the doctor has been sending female patients to Alvin for sexual services.

Curator’s notes

Shows the film’s playful word games, and gives a clear idea of Alvin’s ordinariness – he’s always the victim, never the aggressor, which defuses the films’ potential to offend.