Tuesday 11 September 2018

Carry On Fan of the Week: Mel


I was delighted when Carry On fan and blog reader Mel, from Oxford, got in touch wanting to be one of my Carry On fans of the week. I featured many of these blogs a year or so ago so it's good to have them return. So let's see what Mel had to say...

What was the first Carry On film you ever saw? 

I 'think' it was probably Carry On Girls - I remember these films were shown frequently on Saturday afternoons in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I would watch these when I was at my Nan and Gramp's house as a young child! 

Who is your favourite Carry On actress and why? 

Joan Sims - she played so many different roles and, apart from her role in Carry On Doctor, I've enjoyed every single one. I actually get fed up of everybody claiming Barbara Windsor is the 'Queen of Carry On', she's not! To me, Joan played the widest variety of characters of nearly all of the Carry On stars, male or female.



Who is your favourite Carry On supporting actor? 

I think, although he only appeared in 2 Carry On Films, Richard O'Callaghan is my favourite supporting actor. If I'm honest, I just like his delivery.

Have you ever visited any Carry On film locations?  

Kind of! A few years ago, we went to see a comedy show being filmed at Pinewood and took the opportunity to drive around the local streets to see the houses that appeared in films such as Carry On Camping. That was interesting. Also, when we were at Pinewood, I'm sure I could feel the presence of Sid James, laughing away to himself! 

Have you ever met any Carry On actors? 

Unfortunately not.

Do you have any Carry On memorabilia? 

I have a few of the Carry On From The Film Books by Norman Giller, and a jigsaw puzzle - I prefer to watch the films and read biographies/books rather than collect memorabilia!

Finally, what's your all time favourite Carry On film? 

Carry On At Your Convenience. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is my favourite in the franchise. I know it didn't do so well when it was released but, to my mind, this is the one that was probably the truest representation of how life was in the 1970s! 



And Mel had a question for me too...

I have a question for you now - what film/theme would you like to have seen made into a Carry On movie? Personally, I would have liked to have seen a Carry On Butliins/holiday camp movie made! I know there was a holiday camp movie made at Butlin's in the 1940s (Holiday Camp from the Huggets series) but I think the Carry On team could have made something amazing in the 70s!

A difficult question to answer! I always think it's a shame that the much-heralded Carry On Again Nurse was never put into production. There were several versions of this film mooted over the years but my favourite idea came from the 1980s with the proposed film starring the likes of Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey. With the deaths of Williams and Hawtrey that year it didn't go ahead. I love the idea that the film was a tribute to Hattie Jacques with her great friend Joan playing the Matron character. 




A big thank you to Mel for taking the time to submit her answers to my questions. If you fancy having a go, do get in touch! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

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