Carry On films

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The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low-budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. An energetic mix of parody, farce and double entendres, they are seen as classic examples of British humour.

30 films were made between 1958 and 1978 at Pinewood Studios, and another in 1992. The films relied on a repertoire of comedy actors which changed gradually over the years. The mainstays of the series were Kenneth Williams (26 films), Joan Sims (24), Charles Hawtrey (23) and Sid James (19). One of the most iconic Carry On stars was Barbara Windsor, although she only appeared in 9 of the films.

The films' humour was influenced by the British traditions of the music hall and seaside postcards, and many parodied more serious films. They often rely on deliberately bad puns, occasionally rising to inspired heights, as in Carry On Cleo, where Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams) staggers back from an assassination attempt crying "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" The mainstay of the Carry Ons' humour was innuendo and the sending-up of British institutions and customs, such as the National Health Service (Nurse, Doctor, Again Doctor, Matron), the Hammer horror film (Screaming), the camping holiday (Camping), the foreign holiday (Abroad), the seaside holiday (Girls), the caravanning holiday (Behind), the monarchy (Henry), the Empire (Up the Khyber) and the trades unions (At Your Convenience), among others. Although the films were very often slated by the critics, they were adored by audiences.

The series began with Carry On Sergeant (1958), about a group of recruits on National Service, and was sufficiently successful that others followed. Its title was based on an earlier Val Guest film, Carry On Admiral (1957), and became a standard form for the series, with a few exceptions. There was also an unrelated 1937 film Carry On London, starring future Carry On performer Eric Barker.

There was also a television series Carry On Laughing, and several Carry On Christmas specials. There were also three stage shows: Carry On London, Carry On Laughing and Wot a Carry On In Blackpool.

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Early films

From 1958 to 1962 the films' screenplays were written by Norman Hudis and mostly shot in black and white. Set in institutions of various types, the bungling protagonists usually initially fail, then eventually triumph in the face of some adversity.

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Classic Carry On

In 1963 Talbot Rothwell took over the role of screenwriter. The films became more ambitious, often parodying well-known films or genres. Coinciding with the sexual revolution, they featured more explicit sexual jokes and situations. The films made in colour in the '60s remain among the most popular of the series.

At one point, Talbot Rothwell sought and received permission to borrow several one-liners and quotes that Frank Muir and Denis Norden had written for the successful radio comedy series Take It From Here. They include the above-quoted line "Infamy! Infamy!". Rothwell was a friend and colleague of Muir and Norden.

A spoof horror film, with the Gothic atmosphere of a Hammer production. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted this the 40th greatest comedy film of all time. Harry H. Corbett guest-starred in the Sid James role.
The loss of the Carry On prefix from the titles of this and the next film was due to the change of distributor from Anglo Amalgamated to Rank. Both films were later re-issued with a Carry On... prefix.
A Foreign Legion parody, and an unsuccessful attempt to break into the lucrative American market by casting Phil Silvers as the lead.
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Into the 1970s

Although the series continued to be popular in the early 1970s, there was a growing feeling among the cast and critics that the quality of the films was declining. British society was becoming more accustomed to seeing sexual content on screen, and the innuendos of the series began to pale in comparison, although they became noticeably stronger. Rothwell continued as writer.

The Wedded Bliss agency, run by Sidney and Sophie Bliss, is a picture of domestic happiness,until the customers walk out the door! This film tried to introduce younger stars into the mix, with such people as Jackie Piper, Imogen Hassal and Richard O'Callahan.
This was the first box office failure in the series, something attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the realistic political themes of the trade union movement - with, crucially, the unionists portrayed as buffoons. This apparently alienated the traditional working-class Carry On core audience, and the film did not return full production costs until 1976 after several international and television sales.
After the problems caused by the topical and political nature of the previous film's story, this was a lightweight farce that returned to the familiar Carry On... setting of a large hospital. Matron featured all the main regular cast of the period with the exception of Peter Butterworth, and was the final Carry On for recurring players Terry Scott and Jacki Piper.
This film, about a disastrous package holiday where anything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong, was Charles Hawtrey's last Carry On.
This film tells the story of a struggling seaside resort's attempt to organise a beauty contest, and the efforts of militant feminists, to oppose it. The sexual humour in this film is notably less subtle than its predecessors, because Rothwell attempted to emulate the Confessions series of films. In a further attempt to attract the Confessions audience, one of that series' main actors, Robin Askwith, was cast in a similar role as a sexually naïve young man.
The last Rothwell film, and the last to feature Sid James, Hattie Jacques, and Barbara Windsor. It is widely acknowledged to be the last true Carry On.
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Decline

After Rothwell ended his run as writer in 1974, the already variable quality of the series took a sharp downturn. British society had changed significantly and Carry On humour now seemed dated and innocent. Moreover fewer and fewer of the established cast were now appearing in the films; Abroad had been the last Carry On film appearance for Charles Hawtrey and Dick the last for Sid James (who died in 1976), Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor. Owing to the withdrawal of American funding from British films, with a few exceptions, many of the most profitable British films during the 1970s were those adapted from television series (such as Steptoe and Son), or erotic comedies. The influence of these genres is keenly felt in the Carry On series' output of this period, with an increased sexual content and more television stars (such as Windsor Davies) appearing in place of regulars.

Basically a remake of Carry On Camping with several established Carry On regulars along with an influx new actors in main roles including Windsor Davies, Ian Lavender, and headlining guest star Elke Sommer.
This film featured an almost entirely new cast. Although Carry On regular Kenneth Connor had a leading role the only other regulars present, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth, had only small roles in the film. A major commercial failure, this film was withdrawn from some cinemas after just three days.
A compilation of clips with specially filmed linking footage presented by Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor.
An attempt to revive the series by increasing the sexual content. This film is notable in that Jack Douglas plays a character other than his stuttering Alf Ippititimus-type persona, in this case a snooty butler, showing that he is more than capable of tackling other roles.
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Revival

During the 1980s the Carry On films were viewed by many as representing the worst side of British attitudes to women and to sex. However, they were still very popular and were regularly broadcast on television.

In 1992, an attempt was made to revive the series with Carry On Columbus, co-inciding with the production of two serious movies on the subject and the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. The producers managed to persuade a number of alternative comedians such as Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, and Julian Clary to appear in the film, but it did not achieve any great commercial success and was panned by some critics.

Of all the original Carry On stars, only Jim Dale (playing the title role) and Jack Douglas appeared in the film – many of the others were deceased. Barbara Windsor, however, refused to appear after reading the script. A handful of other actors who had played a few roles in the original films, such as Bernard Cribbins, Jon Pertwee, June Whitfield, and Leslie Phillips also appeared.

The script, by Dave Freeman, was more polished than those he wrote for the Carry On films during the 1970s, including comment on colonialism as well as the obligatory innuendo and slapstick.

In 2004, the magazine Total Film described the greenlighting of the movie, and the decision to use alternative comedians, as the number two "dumbest decision in movie history."

A new film, Carry On London, was announced in 2003, but was still in pre-production as of February 2006. However, Peter Rogers assured readers of The Sun newspaper (which was running a Carry On film promotion at the time) that the film would be released within the next year.

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Regular actors

There was a core group of regulars throughout the series (listed here with the number of films they were in):

Many of the actors portrayed similar characters in several films — for example Sid James was often portrayed as a womaniser, something that caused problems in his private life. Jack Douglas joined the series with a cameo appearance in Matron where he appears in just one scene and has a single line of dialogue. After an only slightly larger role in the following film Abroad where he again plays his established Alf Ippitimus-type character, his roles increased in size and increasingly diverged from the familiar Alf performance. Douglas ultimately appeared in all subsequent films in the original series.

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Memorable quotes

  • "Oh, helloooo." (Leslie Phillips, frequently and inimitably). Traditionally Charles Hawtrey's first line of dialogue in each of his films would also be "Oh, hellooooo!"
  • "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" (Kenneth Williams in Carry On Cleo)
  • "I hear they do funny things to you... In a 'sex' way, I mean."
    "'Ere, do they? Let's watch 'em for a bit, then!" (Kenneth Williams responds to Patsy Rowlands's knowledge of winkles in Carry On at Your Convenience)
  • "Ohhh, Matron!!" (Kenneth Williams in Carry On Matron towards Hattie Jacques, a recurring theme in many of the Carry On films were the doomed love affairs between their characters)
  • "Frying tonight!" (Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming as he falls into a vat of wax).
  • "Foul Feet Smell Something Horrible." (Individual words written on blackboard then quoted by Harry H Corbett's character in Carry On Screaming.
  • "Rank stupidity!" (Kenneth Williams in Carry on up the Khyber after the striking of a gong — a reference to the Rank Organisation's gong ident)
  • "Have you got a large one?"
    "I've had no complaints so far!" Sid James to Barbara Windsor, Carry On Abroad.
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See also

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External links

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