The Carry On films

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I finally made it up the Khyber Pass this week.

The photos aren't lined up perfectly with the production stills below as I was going from memory (there is one that's a closer match, but I'm in it).

It was nice to spontaneously add this immortal setting to my previously-visited Carry On locations. I realised I was going to be driving very close by, so it would have been rude not to.

Just as long as you weren't wearing underwear after what happened to poor Private Widdle!!

Never forget the motto of the Third Foot & Mouth, Always Ready For Action!!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Just as long as you weren't wearing underwear after what happened to poor Private Widdle!!

I needed underwear to keep my dangler warm (it was perishing the way the wind whistled up the Pass).

I did stop short of the hot water bottle, though.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I think the Rank films have been treated better for home media... It's only very recently that the Anglo-Amalgamated and Rank films have been packaged together on DVD. Prior to that it was the Ranks that had the sparkly box sets while the Anglos were only released individually. The Ranks also had special editions with bonus features for some time before the Anglos were given the same treatment.

Perhaps that trend is now reversing though. After all, the first four films to be cleaned up for Blu-ray are Cleo, Cowboy, Screaming and Jack.

Perhaps it's telling about the dwindling demand for physical media that, all these years later, these remain the only four given official UK Blu-ray releases. Perhaps it's indicative of a decline in the popularity of the films themselves, which seems a bit mind-boggling given their ubiquitousness for my entire childhood and young adulthood.

Ironically, the Carry Ons are being treated far more respectfully some ten thousand miles away, with all twelve Anglo-Amalgamated films now available on BD through Via Vision.

I've bitten the bullet and ordered all three gorgeous box sets which contain the twelve films:

The same company has also become the first in the world to release a number of other vintage British films on Blu-ray - mostly movie spin-offs from successful series - so several of these found their way into my basket as well.

Based on experience, I know I'm probably looking at Christmastime before the Carry Ons arrive - and possibly February 2024 for others since some aren't released until the end of the year. But I'm sure they'll be worth the wait.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Some notable Doctor Who actors in Carry On:

William Hartnell, Carry on Sergeant
Jon Pertwee, Cleo, Screaming, Cowboy, Columbus
Peter Butterworth (Meddling Monk)
Bernard Bresslaw (Ice Warrior)
Jim Dale (Candidate for 4th Doctor)
Joan Sims (Mysterious Planet)
Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150)
Wanda Ventham (Image of the Fendahl, Time and the Rani)
Beryl Reid (Earthshock)
Derek Martinus (Well-Respected Doctor Who Director)
John Levene (Benton)

 

[Mel O'Drama]

with all twelve Anglo-Amalgamated films now available on BD through Via Vision.

I've bitten the bullet and ordered all three gorgeous box sets which contain the twelve films

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And now everyone from Sergeant Grimshaw to Sergeant Bung has arrived in the O'Drama household... in glorious high definition.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Last year I read some discussion elsewhere that suggested ViaVision would not be producing any further Carry Ons, which prompted me to push the button on Collection Four.

Happily, Collection Five has now materialised and I've pre-ordered... just to be safe.

The colour grading on Camping is a little jaundiced... something that has haunted the film on its various restorations over the years, it seems. This one is the restoration done by ITV a while ago. Fortunately, the other three were done by ViaVision themselves and look gorgeous. Yes, the plastic greenery of Up The Jungle has never been more exposed, but that's part of the charm. I'm very impressed with how good Again Doctor and Loving look in the trailer.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Anyone who relies on AI for information should ask it some questions about a topic they know. This morning, out of sheer curiosity, I asked a well-known generative AI chatbot to rank the Carry On films with reasons. This is the result:

Rank	Film	Why it ranks here
1	Carry On Up the Khyber	Often considered the masterpiece. Brilliant ensemble cast, memorable dinner-party finale, sharp satire of the British Empire, and jokes that still land.
2	Carry On Cleo	Kenneth Williams and Sid James are at their best. Clever script full of quotable lines ("Infamy! Infamy!"), lavish production values, and great chemistry.
3	Carry On Camping	Peak Carry On popularity. Barbara Windsor's famous bra scene became iconic, but the film is also packed with strong comic performances.
4	Carry On Screaming!	A superb parody of Hammer horror films. Kenneth Williams, Harry H. Corbett and Fenella Fielding are excellent, and the jokes remain surprisingly fresh.
5	Carry On Doctor	One of the strongest hospital entries with a genuinely funny script and excellent ensemble work.
6	Carry On Sergeant	The original. More restrained than later entries but surprisingly warm and well-crafted.
7	Carry On Don't Lose Your Head	Fast-paced spoof of the French Revolution with energetic performances.
8	Carry On Cowboy	A funny Western parody with memorable characters and strong visual gags.
9	Carry On Jack	Naval comedy featuring excellent slapstick and one of Kenneth Williams' funniest roles.
10	Carry On Regardless	Episodic but consistently entertaining and showcases the classic cast well.
11	Carry On Constable	One of the best early workplace comedies.
12	Carry On Nurse	Hugely influential and one of the biggest British box-office hits ever.
13	Carry On Henry	Sid James makes an amusing Henry VIII; witty historical spoof.
14	Carry On Abroad	Great holiday-hotel chaos and one of the last truly classic entries.
15	Carry On Spying	James Bond parody that holds up well.
16	Carry On At Your Convenience	Satire on industrial relations with some clever social commentary.
17	Carry On Cruising	Pleasant if slightly overlooked.
18	Carry On Cabby	Better plot than many entries and an underrated cast.
19	Carry On Matron	Hospital heist premise works well, though it repeats familiar jokes.
20	Carry On Loving	Entertaining but already relying heavily on recycled innuendo.
21	Carry On Teacher	Charming and well-acted but less laugh-out-loud than later films.
22	Carry On Behind	Some amusing moments but uneven pacing.
23	Carry On England	Suffers from the absence of Sid James and declining energy.
24	Carry On Dick	A few inspired moments but middling overall.
25	Carry On Girls	Fun performances but weaker plotting.
26	Carry On Columbus	Better than its reputation suggests, but lacks the classic cast and timing.
27	Carry On Again Doctor	Recycles too much from earlier hospital films.
28	Carry On Emmannuelle	Heavy reliance on sexual humour at the expense of clever writing.
29	Carry On Girls	Funny cast but one of the less inspired scripts. (Some viewers would rank this higher.)
30	That's Carry On!	Essentially a clip compilation rather than a proper film.

I asked why Up The Jungle wasn't present, and was told it was a notable omission and would be ranked sixteenth (below Spying but above At Your Convenience). Then it went on to say there were "strong performances from Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims. Terry Scott is particularly funny as the dim-witted explorer Bill Boosey." When I pointed out that Kenneth Williams didn't appear in Up The Jungle, the chatbot apologised for the oversight but concluded that "Terry Scott takes on much of the fussy, flustered comic energy that Williams often brought". It seems this chatbot took the stance that Terry Scott did a lot of the heavy lifting in this film... in every role but his own.

As far as Girls appearing twice, I was told:
"You've highlighted enough issues that I'd be inclined to start the ranking again from scratch rather than patching it. A carefully researched ranking with a paragraph on each film would be a much stronger answer than trying to repair a flawed list."


Anyway, it's hard to argue with the top couple of choices, but there are certainly some questionable rankings.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The good people at ViaVision shipped Collection 5 just days ago and it arrived this morning. The shipping box was a bit battered but as always it was wonderfully wrapped inside the box which meant it arrived in pristine condition.

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Here's how the entire collection is looking at this point...

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Assuming (and hoping against hope) ViaVision continue to roll these out, I'd guess there are two or three more Collections to follow. If continuing at four films per set, the final one would contain only the glorified clip show that is That's Carry On! plus Emmannuelle, so would need to be padded out with A LOT of supplemental material to make it worthwhile (ideally including the remainder of the Carry On Laughing series which doesn't appear to have been transferred from DVD to Blu-ray beyond Collection 4). Alternatively, perhaps VV will roll out the last two collections with five films a pop. They'd look less matchy-matchy on the shelf due to adding width to the boxes, but I can live with that.

On the subject of them matching, Something I notice seeing them all together is that they've changed the font for the "Collection X" text and put it in upper case. Also the border round the titles is now much thicker (certainly on the side of the box). I'm not sure of the reason behind this, and it arguably looked better before, but at least things still look uniform at a glance. Just so long as they avoid having one collection with the titles at a different orientation (à la the highly controversial Sons and Daughters Collection 3) I'll be happy.

Now that it's back on again, I'm hopeful Collection 6 may land at the end of the year or early next year.

 

[James from London]

This has a completely nutty premise, but is a really great read:

The passage of time in Carry On films

Jacques, James and Joey while away the afternoon in Carry On At Your Convenience In the Carry On universe, time flies with the insouciance of a budgie that knows how to predict the winner of the th…

nearertotheend.co.uk

"Sometimes the hunt for a big, exterior truth succeeds only in obscuring the small, interior details." I've got a feeling I might be quoting that from time to time.