Film

The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones

Name: The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1976
Cast: Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard, Terry-Thomas, Arthur Lowe, Georgia Brown

Comedy
Romance
Light-hearted

A breezy 1976 comedy romp through Henry Fielding's picaresque novel of an 18th-century foundling's sexual escapades and romantic entanglements across England. Nicky Henson charms as the perpetually randy Tom Jones, supported by a sterling cast of character actors. It's silly, earnest, and committed to its own ridiculousness—less clever than fun, more interested in pratfalls than wit.

If you liked this

Tom Jones1963

The definitive film adaptation of Fielding's novel. Albert Finney is magnificent as the charismatic rogue, the direction is assured and inventive, and it won four Oscars for a reason. A genuine masterpiece that makes the book's chaos sing on screen.

But Over three hours long, and the 1960s sensibility—including scenes that wouldn't fly now—may feel dated. The pacing can drag when it stops being funny.

Vanity Fair2004

Another sprawling Fielding-era picaresque about a social climber navigating class, sex, and power. Reese Witherspoon is sharp and ruthless, the production is lush, and it has real bite beneath the period-comedy surface.

But The tonal shifts between comedy and darker material can feel uneven. It's also a long film that requires patience with its own story.

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders1996

Alex Kingston anchors this adaptation of Defoe's picaresque novel about a woman seducing and scheming her way through 18th-century England. Bawdy, energetic, and refreshingly unsentimental about female sexuality and survival.

But Lower production values than you might expect, and it can feel a bit rough around the edges. Some of the plotting is contrived.

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Wicked Lady1945

Joan Collins plays 'Black Bess' as a direct callback to Lockwood's Wicked Lady archetype—the seductive, dangerous woman who steals from the rich. Both films use the open road and criminality as zones of female freedom.

Margaret Lockwood as a respectable noblewoman by day, highway robber by night—the template Joan Collins echoes in this film. It's a gorgeous Technicolor melodrama with genuine thrills, moral ambiguity, and a woman who owns her own desires without apology.

But It's deadly serious where Tom Jones is frothy. Very 1940s in pace and sensibility. The crime plot dominates the sex comedy.

Joseph Andrews1977

Made just after this film, and adapted from Fielding's earlier novel. It has a similar picaresque energy and committed silliness, with a strong supporting cast. A gentler, more good-natured take on the same author's world.

But Suffers from uneven pacing and some truly dull stretches. It's not as confident as the best Fielding adaptations.

Carry On Up the Khyber1968

The Carry On films at their peak: silly, energetic, and genuinely clever beneath the double entendres. This one's got style, a real plot, and a large cast of reliable comedians doing what they do best.

But The sexual humor is very much of the 1960s, and some of it will make you wince. It's quite dated in sensibility, even by period-comedy standards.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon1949

John Ford's masterpiece of the American West as a world of ritual, honor, and masculine codes. It's gorgeously shot and genuinely moving—proof that a period film can be serious, beautiful, and completely engrossing.

But It's a serious film, not a comedy. Very long. The pacing is stately, which modern viewers sometimes find slow.

The Private Life of Henry VIII1933

Charles Laughton in a proto-Carry On romp through Henry's marriages, sexual appetites, and absurdities. It's witty, knowing, and genuinely entertaining, with real craft behind the camp.

But Very old—the acting style is broad and theatrical. Some plot threads collapse. It's only fun if you're in the mood for 1930s excess.

A Clockwork Orange1971

Both are adaptations of literary picaresques about an amoral protagonist whose appetites drive the plot. Both films embrace formal risk and stylization rather than realism. Both ask: what does society owe a man who won't be tamed?

Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess finds the same anarchic energy in a dystopian future that Tom Jones finds in the 18th century: a young man driven by appetite, moving through an ordered society that can't contain him. Visually audacious, philosophically restless, genuinely unforgettable.

But Extremely violent and disturbing. Not remotely funny—it's bleak and nasty. The famous rape scene is not something to sit through casually.

Bedazzled1967

Both pit a lustful, appealing protagonist against the world's absurdities and constraints. Both are comedies that use costume and stylization to explore desire as a fundamental human drive. Both were made in the same era of sexual libertinism and ask what freedom actually costs.

Stanley Donen's film of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's play: a London riff on Faust where a lovelorn cook makes a deal with the Devil (Cook, magnificent). It's witty, formally inventive, sexy, and unafraid to be silly while saying something real about desire and identity.

But Very British, very sixties camp sensibility. The humor is dialogue-driven and occasionally arch. It's not at all a romp—it's thoughtful between the jokes.