Carry On Faces in Different Places: The Green Man

Here we go with another in my series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money. 
  
More recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up! and the the Gordon Jackson drama, Floodtide. 

I've also looked at the Carry On links with the wonderful film I'm All Right Jack

Recently I blogged about the Billy Fury and Amanda Barrie musical film I've Gotta Horse , the classic 1954 school comedy The Belles of St Trinian's and the 1959 romantic comedy from the Betty Box and Ralph Thomas stable, Upstairs and Downstairs. You can also check out my blog on the 1956 drama Lost. 

Today I am going to write about the 1956 black comedy, The Green Man. 

What's it about?

Freelance assassin Hawkins is contracted to blow up Sir Gregory Upshott, a prominent and pompous London businessman. By courting Upshott's spinster secretary, he learns that his target will be taking one of the firm's typists for a weekend at a seaside hotel, the Green Man. Hawkins hides a bomb in a radio, which he plans to leave in the hotel lounge. Finding out his treachery, the secretary comes to his house to confront him but is attacked and left for dead by Hawkin's assistant who, as nobody is in, hides the body next door. 

The body is found by a young vacuum cleaner salesman called Blake who calls there, and he alerts the owner's pretty fiancée Ann. The two are terrified, and when the owner comes home he finds them hiding under the bed. He storms out, but coming back to pick up something he forgot finds Ann on the floor in her underwear, again innocently entangled with Blake. His furious exit creates doubt over the future relationship. Blake and Ann then face another moment of horror as the corpse comes to life and, before collapsing again, tells them Upshott will be blown up that night in the Green Man.

Not knowing what Upshott looks like or what name he will register under, the pair rush there and, obstructed at every turn by the landlord, try to evacuate the place and locate the bomb. Blake has the brainwave that it will be on a timer in the radio, which he throws into the sea seconds before it explodes. Driving back to London, he stops and the two share their first kiss.

Who's in it?

The Green Man stars the terrific trio of Alastair Sim (Hawkins), George Cole (William Blake) and Terry-Thomas (Charles Boughtflower). It really doesn't get better than that! Sim and Cole had worked together many times before, probably most famously in the St Trinian's films. 

Also look out for great performances from Raymond Huntley as Sir Gregory Upshott, Avril Angers as Marigold and Colin Gordon as Reginald Willoughby-Cruft.

Carry On Faces?

Several! The delightful Jill Adams grabs a major supporting role as Ann Vincent. Jill went on to play W.P.C Harrison in Carry On Constable and also popped up in a couple of the Doctor film comedies. The one and only Dora Bryan adds comedy class as Lily at the Green Man Hotel. Two years later Dora would star as Norah in the very first Carry On, Carry On Sergeant.

Quite a few Carry On supporting players also make appearances in the film. Cyril Chamberlain, a regular in the first seven Carry Ons, plays Police Sergeant Bassett who engages in a rather prolonged game of chess with Sim's Hawkins. Carry On Spying actor Richard Wattis pops up paling a Doctor while Willoughby Goddard, seen as a passenger in Carry On Cruising, here plays a Statesman. 

Also, look out for familiar Carry On face Lucy Griffiths (Nurse, Regardless, Doctor, Again Doctor, Behind) as one of the musicians at The Green Man, Annabel.

Did you know?

Future Coronation Street and Dad's Army legend Arthur Lowe makes a small, almost unrecognisable appearance early on in the film as a radio salesman. 

Eileen Moore, playing Sir Gregory's weekend companion Joan, was at the time of filming married to one of the stars of the film, George Cole.

Another future sitcom great, Arthur Brough, appears as the Landlord of The Green Man. Arthur went on to play Mr Grainger in the long running BBC department store comedy, Are You Being Served?

Future Bergerac star (and Carry On Regardless cameo actor) Terence Alexander has a small, uncredited role as a radio announcer.

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Carry On Faces in Different Places: I'm All Right Jack

Here we go with another in my series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money.
  
More recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up! and just last week I blogged about the Gordon Jackson drama, Floodtide

Today I'm going to blog about the 1959 comedy film, I'm All Right Jack.
 

Who's in it?

I'm All Right Jack boasts one of the strongest casts of any British film comedy of the era. Ian Carmichael stars as the innocent of the piece, Stanley Windrush. Peter Sellers takes on one of his best loved film roles as Union boss Fred Kite and Terry-Thomas stars as Major Hitchcock, boss of the factory.

The film also features several high profile guest stars in Margaret Rutherford as Stanley's Aunt Dolly, Richard Attenborough as Sydney DeVere Cox and Dennis Price as Tracepurcel. 

Carry On Faces?

Loads! Liz Fraser grabs her first big starring role in the film playing Fred Kite's daughter Cynthia. Playing her mother in the film is reliable character actress Irene Handl. Familiar Carry On supporting actor Victor Maddern has a sizable role as factory worker Knowles while some of the other workers are played by the likes of Fred Griffiths, David Lodge, Cardew Robinson and Terry Scott.

Harry Locke, a regular in three of the medical Carry Ons, plays a trade union official while the diminutive Ian Wilson pops up as an Evangalist. One of my favourites, Esma Cannon, also has a small role as Spencer, Margaret Rutherford's maid. 

Carry On Nurse actor John Van Eyssen appears in a small role as a reporter alongside the brilliant Michael Ward. Another stalwart, Brian Oulton, turns up early on in the film as the Appointments Board Manager while Carry On Cruising actor Ronnie Stevens plays Hooper at the Num Yum's factory, alongside Martin Boddey, as an Executive. There are also blink and you'll miss them appearances from Robin Ray, son of Ted and brother of Andrew, and Marianne Stone as a T.V assistant (After all, which British film of the era could proceed without Marianne Stone?)

And one final Carry On connection. I'm All Right Jack's narrator is E.V.H Emmett - a regular newsreader and voiceover actor who provided narration for the 1964 classic, Carry On Cleo.

What's it about?

After leaving the army and returning to university, newly graduated upper class Stanley Windrush is looking for a job but fails miserably at interviews for various entry level management positions. Stanley's uncle, Bertram Tracepurcel  and his old army comrade, Sidney DeVere Cox, persuade him to take an unskilled blue-collar job at Uncle Bertram's missile factory, despite Aunt Dolly's misgivings.

At first suspicious of the overeager newcomer, communist shop steward Fred Kite takes Stanley under his wing and even offers to take him in as a lodger. When Kite's curvaceous daughter Cynthia drops by, Stanley readily accepts.

Meanwhile, personnel manager Major Hitchcock is assigned a time and motion study expert, Waters, to measure how efficient the employees are. The workers refuse to cooperate but Waters tricks Windrush into showing him how much more quickly he can do his job with his forklift truck, than other more experienced employees. When Kite is informed of the results, he calls a strike to protect the rates his union workers are being paid.

This is what Cox and Tracepurcel want; Cox owns a company that can take over a large new contract with a Middle Eatern country at an inflated cost. He, Tracepurcel and a Mr Mohammed, the country's representative, would each pocket a third of the £100,000 difference.

Things don't quite work out for either side. Cox arrives at his factory to find that his workers are walking out in sympathy for Kite and his strikers. The press reports that Kite is punishing Windrush for working hard. When Windrush decides to cross the picket line and go back to work (and reveals his connection with the company's owner), Kite asks him to leave his house. This provokes the adoring Cynthia and her mother to go on strike. More strikes spring up, bringing the country to a standstill.

Did you know?

The film is a sequel to the Boulting Brothers' earlier hit film, Private's Progress, with Ian Carmichael, Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough and Terry-Thomas reprising their roles from that 1956 film.

Peter Sellers won a BAFTA award for best actor for his role as Fred Kite.

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Carry On Faces in Different Places: Make Mine Mink

 

Here we go with another in my series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money.
  
More recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up! and just last week I blogged about the Gordon Jackson drama, Floodtide

Today I'm going to blog about the 1960 comedy film, Make Mine Mink.

 

Who's in it?

Make Mine Mink is a 1960 British comedy farce film directed by Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques and Billie Whitelaw. The screenplay concerns a group of eccentric misfits who go on a spree, stealing mink coats for charity in a Robin Hood-style gang. It was based on the play Breath of Spring by Peter Coke, and its sequels. Seyer and Elspeth Duxbury reprised their stage roles from the London production of Breath of Spring.

Carry On Faces?

Quite a few! Hattie Jacques grabs a leading role opposite Terry-Thomas and Athene Seyler, playing Nanette Parry. 

Carry On Nurse and Constable cameo player Irene Handl plays the part of Madame Spolinski, while Carry On Regardless actor Sydney Tafler also pops up as Mr Spanager. There is a small, uncredited role for Dorinda Stevens, who played the part of a scantily clad young woman opposite Kenneth Connor in Carry On Constable and one of the girls at Dirty Dicks in Carry On Jack.

And of course Carry On legend Kenneth Williams appears as the Hon. Freddie Warrington. 

Three other actors who also went on to work for Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas on the film Nurse On Wheels, appear in this film: the great Irish actor Noel Purcell, leading lady Athene Seyler and reliable character actor Raymond Huntley. 

 

What's it about?

A group of lodgers - Major Rayne, Nanette ("Nan") and "Pinkie" Pinkerton - staying at the Kensington apartment of Dame Beatrice, an elderly philanthropist, are bored with their humdrum, restricted lives. Lily, Dame Bea's beautiful, young housekeeper, overhears an argument between their neighbours, the Spanagers. When Mrs. Spanager rejects her husband's gift of a mink coat due to his lies about his business trip, he pretends to throw the coat off their balcony, but actually just hides it. Lily snags it and gives it to her employer to show her gratitude for hiring her despite her criminal record. Dame Beatrice is at first delighted, but then assumes Lily has stolen it. She and the lodgers concoct a scheme to return the fur coat before its owners realize its absence. Despite several comical mishaps, the gang manage to do so using a plan drawn up by the retired Major. The four are so exhilarated by their escapade that they decide to steal more furs, with all the proceeds going to charity.

Did you know?

The part of Lily Thompson (Billie Whitelaw in the film) was originally played in the stage production of Breath of Spring by none other than Joan Sims. Perhaps Joan was too busy to appear in Make Mine Mink? Joan had played the role of Lily in the BBC television production of the play, which had been broadcast direct from the Cambridge Theatre on 29 April 1958. Athene Seyler, who starred in both productions, became a good friend to Joan and you can read more about that here

Actress Penny Morrell, who played Gertrude in the film, was married for many years to the actor George Cole, best remembered for his role as Arthur Daley in Minder and for the St Trinian's films, in which he played Flash Harry.

Dorinda Stevens has a small, uncredited role as Jean in the film. Apparently she was briefly married to the Jason King star, the late Peter Wyngarde, in the early 1950s.  

 

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Remembering Jack Douglas

I was reminded on Twitter the other evening by that font of all knowledge Morris Bright that 18 December sees the anniversary of the death of the comedian and actor Jack Douglas. Jack passed away nine years ago today at the age of 81. 

By the time Jack joined the Carry On team in late 1971 for his cameo role as the expectant father in Carry On Matron, he was a veteran of comedy and the entertainment world. Although not having found a regular niche in films until the Carry Ons, Jack had spent many years on stage all over the country, principally in his long partnership with Joe Baker. Together they toured the world, playing in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They also appeared regularly on the children's television series Crackerjack. 

Jack went on to form a similarly profitable double act with Des O'Connor, appearing with him on O'Connor's ATV series and even performing at the Royal Variety Show. It was through this association that Jack developed his famous character Alf Ippititimus, a persona which would dominate his Carry On career. It was a shame that Jack really got into his stride with the Carry Ons as they were beginning to falter. Following his cameo in Matron, Douglas was invited back to play in top and tail scenes in the pub with Sid and Joan in Carry On Abroad. Indeed Jack was the only actor to join the Carry Ons and appear in every single film from their debut. 

As with the likes of Jim Dale before him, Jack gradually grabbed larger parts (as it were) as he continued to impress Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas. Despite finding him a fascinating raconteur and obviously admiring his showbiz pedigree, I never really cared for his Alf character. I didn't enjoy his role as the hotel porter in Carry On Girls, although as you may know, Girls is hardly a favourite of mine to begin with. Better was his double act with Kenneth Williams in Carry On Dick in 1974. Douglas was also effective in Carry On Behind, working really well with newcomer Windsor Davies as a latter day version of the Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw character from Camping six years earlier.

Jack appeared in England, Emmannuelle (for once losing the twitching completely) and finally, in a very small cameo role in Columbus in 1992. He was also extremely prominent in the 1975 ATV Carry On Laughing series, appearing in the majority of the half hours and starring in several alongside the likes of Kenneth Connor and Peter Butterworth. He appeared in the last two Carry On Christmas specials in 1972 and 1973 and spent 18 months at the Victoria Palace theatre with Sid, Kenneth Connor, Barbara Windsor et al in the revue Carry On London. Despite coming late to the Carry Ons, he embraced the phenomenon wholeheartedly!

Later credits included roles in the film The Shillingbury Blowers and the series that followed, The Shillingbury Tales. Other later films included What's Up Nurse in 1977, Bloody Kids in 1980 and the Cannon and Ball vehicle The Boys in Blue in 1984 (which co-starred his Emmannuelle colleague Suzanne Danielle). A regular in pantomime throughout his career, although he pretty much stopped acting after Columbus in 1992, he continued to be a familiar face at reunions and get togethers and was always keen to talk to fans about his time making the Carry Ons. He took part in many interviews on television and radio and even recorded several DVD audio commentaries in the early 2000s. 

Jack Douglas was a trouper who had experienced almost every aspect of the business since he was a young boy. He worked tirelessly to keep the spirit and the memory of the Carry Ons alive and always spoke fondly of his late, great colleagues such as Sid James and Joan Sims. One of the most impressive stories I've heard about Jack was his involvement in arranging a charity gala for Terry-Thomas in the late 1980s. Very sadly Terry had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease and with his health deteriorating, this comedy great was found to be living in poverty. Jack together with many other wonderful volunteers put together an all star gala which took place at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in April 1989. It raised a lot of money for charity and enabled Terry's final days to be spent in comfort, receiving the medical care he so desperately needed. I think that's the measure of the man Jack Douglas was. 


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