The Carry On Films. Any Ardent Fans?

Now I understand why Larry hired Jim Dale for the National Theatre. Because Dale was a popular Carry On-er, and could put asses in seats. Don't get me wrong, Dale measured up, but it becomes clearer. Larry had also asked Kenneth Wiliams, but he turned him down.

Michael Sheen did Kenneth Williams in the TV movie Fantabulosa! The whole movie is on YouTube as well.

I love Carry On films. I wish they were streaming.

R2. Thank you, thank you very much, I didn't know. I'll have a look.

I'm a big fan, and have most of the films on DVD. Favorites are Carry On Cruising, Carry On Up the Khyber, Carry On Camping, Carry On Doctor, and Carry On Don't Lose Your Head.

Oooh! matron!

Matron!!!

Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!

The chemistry between those cast members was nigh on perfect. They made so many moments funny that really had no right to be. The give-and-take, the timing... impeccable!

Yes, r9, and that's what is loveable about them. You can see the double entendres and puns coming right at you, yet we still laugh. And, it is likely these films wouldn't be made today. Oh Matron!

Doctor (with stethescope): Big breaths.

Patient: Yeth, and I'm only thixteen.

We used to watch and enjoy them as kids even though they were decades old then. They were frequently repeated on TV

The women of Carry-On:

Barbara Windsor was the tits and teeth girl. And she was having a scandalous affair with Sid James, the guy in the bed in the below clip. She’d later go on to play Peggy Mitchell (basically playing the mother of the Kray Twins) on EastEnders. Portrayed by Samantha Spiro in “Cor Blimey” who amazingly nailed the Barbara Windsor giggle perfectly.

Hattie Jacques played the battle axe. She was involved in a sex scandal, basically cuckolding her husband, actor John Le Mesurier. Portrayed by Ruth Jones in “Hattie.”

Joan Sims who was extremely versatile and excelled at playing snooty women. She’d later play Madge on Judi Dench’s show “As Time Goes By.”

How very dare you!

One of my favorite punch lines

Yes. I downloaded 15 Carry On movies from Cinemageddon yesterday. I like the very British (English) humor and the retro nostalgic look of the UK in the '60s and '70s. (I'm American so these are new to me.)

Which ones, R15?

I’ve only seen Carry On Camping and Carry On Cleo, and both were very funny. Way better than the so-called comedy films of today

I tell people who've never seen a Carry On film to start with Carry On Camping. Great cast, and very funny.

R16 I got: Carry On Abroad 1972, Carry On Camping 1969 , Carry on Cleo 1964, Carry On Constable 1960, Carry On Cowboy 1966, Carry on Dick 1974, Carry on Don't Lose Your Head 1966, Carry on Follow That Camel 1967, Carry on Henry 1971, Carry On Jack 1964, Carry on Loving 1970, Carry on Regardless 1961, Carry on Screaming 1966, Carry on Spying 1964, Carry On Up The Khyber 1968.

You got some classics there, R19! Let us know what you think of them.

I'm watching Carry On Up the Khyber right now.

Oh god, these films were terrible! I don't think I could sit through any of them to give them a second chance.

I was given the box set for Christmas, featuring all 31 films. The early ones were much more subdued (and in black and white). They peaked in the mid 60s to early 70s, but the mid-to-late 70s ones were noticeably poorer.

Carry On Emannuelle is just awful and Carry On Girls is too sexist - even by the series' low standards!

My favourites are Carry On Abroad, Up the Khyber, Cleo and Cruising.

R3 I believe they have many of them streaming on Britbox, There was a report that they were adding more of them earlier this year.

Carry On Jack is the pick of the litter, followed by the early black & white ones.

I'm a fan. I have most of them on disc that I downloaded from the Newsgroups long ago. I enjoy watching them only in the winter months though (yeah, weird, I know). But curling up on the sofa, wrapped in a thick blanket with a hot cup of cocoa on a frigid dreary day, is my kind of comfort.

Khyber, Cleo and Screaming (with an awesome Fenella Fielding added to the usuals) re all totally brilliant, adding the spoofing of specific films and genres to the overall approach. They used some of the sets from the Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra for Cleo.

Too broad for me, but I get that the seaside postcard and nostalgia aura has its colourful charm. The desperation in the comedy is underlined by what we now know about all those sad clowns. Hawtrey and Williams complained to their last about being underpaid.

My favourites are Henry, Camping, Convenience, Up The Khyber, Don't Lose Your Head, and Behind.

Other points of note.

1. I always thought that Imogen Hassall and Valerie Leon were much better crumpet than Babs, and Jacki Piper made a better ditz.

2. Carry On Behind is the best of the later movies, and the interplay between Kenneth Williams and Elke Sommer is one of the highlights of the entire series.

3. Carry On Dick is shite. It has nostalgia value because it's the last time the core cast were together, but it really isn't very good.

4. Phil Silvers doesn't work in a Carry On.

They are horribly sexist and intentionally rude -but good-natured and silly fun. Some hold up very well as light comedy, while others are strictly snapshots of an earlier age. If you've never seen one, start with something like Carry On Cruising, Carry On Camping, or Carry On Up the Khyber. The first is clearly a progenitor of The Love Boat...

Not in the US, r24.

Did Carole Lesley one do one?

Wasn’t aware if these , OP…thanks

There's a streaming app called Movieland TV that has a metric ton of Carry On films.

Stick to the 1960s ones.

I’m a huge Monty Python fan and had never even heard of the Carry on films but thanks to this thread I watched Camping and Up The Khyber last night and they were both hilarious! Especially Kenneth Williams! Will definitely check out more

Spying has a villainous Dr No-like mastermind who combines the qualities of male and female, leading to the great line from Barbara Windsor: 'I thought you'd be a man! Or a woman!'

I watched them on TV when I was younger and missed a lot of the jokes, but enjoyed the hijinks. They're (mostly) a treat as an adult, when you understand a lot more.

I'm glad you've enjoyed them, R36! The dinner party scene in Up the Khyber is quite possibly my favourite scene in the entire series!

Kenneth Williams is the real Lindsey Graham.

Kenneth Williams could've read Miss Lindsey for filth.

Kenneth on Joan Rivers

Hilarious nonsense song in French

I missed the video above, which I'd not seen before - thanks, R42.

I came back to post about how much I love Carry On Don't Lose Your Head. I saw it again at the weekend and it's a hoot. Particularly love Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams in it.

[quote]Now I understand why Larry hired Jim Dale for the National Theatre. Because Dale was a popular Carry On-er, and could put asses in seats. Don't get me wrong, Dale measured up, but it becomes clearer. Larry had also asked Kenneth Wiliams, but he turned him down.

I was just reading about Jim Dale this week - he went to America and became a star there! I don't know if any of the others managed that.

Do you mean Alan Dale, R44?

[quote] he went to America and became a star there! I don't know if any of the others managed that.

Joan Sims is well known in the US as Madge on Judi Dench’s show “As Time Goes By.” PBS has played that show constantly for the last 20 years.

There’s a large number of Americans who know Barbara Windsor from the soap EastEnders. They probably recognize her more for that as the Carry On films were never big in the US.

[quote]Do you mean Alan Dale, [R44]?

No, Jim Dale - I think he became a star on Broadway. What a thing!

Tawdry.

Poor Jim Dale. Had to listen to Glenn Close croak-sing eight shows a week.

Most of them were amusing though their last films were very, very weak. Kenneth Connor, probably one of the most underrated actors ever, did an awesome job in most Carry Ons.