Carrying On … on a Last Holiday

A couple of weeks ago I had the great good fortune to catch a lovely little film on Talking Pictures TV. Last Holiday, made way back in 1950, is a darkly comic tale of an everyman character who is told by a under pressure doctor that he has weeks to live. Shocked by the news, George Bird takes steps to make sure his last few days on earth are lived as fully as possible.

What's the film about?

George Bird, an ordinary, unassuming salesman of agricultural implements who inexplicably speaks with a posh public school accent, visits a physician for a routine check-up and is told he has Lampington's Disease, a newly identified condition which allows him only a few weeks to live. He accepts the doctor’s advice to take his savings and enjoy himself in the little time left to him. A bachelor with no family or friends, Bird decides to spend his last days at an up-market residential hotel among its elite clientele. By chance, a salesman in a used clothing store has acquired two suitcases, covered with international labels. The cases are full of a deceased Lord's bespoke tailored wardrobe, that perfectly fits Bird. Bird acquires the wardrobe and luggage that give him the appearance of a wealthy gentleman.

Bird’s unassuming attitude generates a great deal of interest among the hotel's residents because he wears the same expensive clothes as all the other guests wear. He is seen as an enigma to be solved, with wild speculations offered as to his identity and possible noble lineage. The hotel's housekeeper guesses the truth, and Bird confides his secret to her. Bird quickly acquires friends and influence, falls in love (possibly for the first time in his life), sets wrongs to right, and is offered lucrative business opportunities. But these successes only serve to make him reflect on the irony that he will have no time to enjoy them.

Who's in it?

Last Holiday stars the great Sir Alec Guinness in one of his earlier starring roles. As George BIrd, Alec is the heart and soul of the film and it's a tour de force. Co-starring is Beatrice Campbell, playing Sheila Rockingham, a woman who is married to a bit of a dodgy customer and the pair are down on their luck. And the brilliant Kay Walsh (once the wife of director David Lean) plays Mrs Poole, the hotel's down to earth and rather canny housekeeper. 

Also look out for Helen Cherry as Miss Mellows, Jean Colin as Daisy Clarence and Bernard Lee as Inspector Wilton. Bernard would of course go on to play M in the first eleven James Bond films.

Carry On Faces?

Last Holiday features a major supporting role for a rising star by the name of Sidney James. Playing a slightly rough around the edges wide boy with a heart of gold, Sid really shines as Joe Clarence and shares many lovely scenes with Alec Guinness. There are definite shades of the Sid we'd come to know and love in many comedies of the future, but as with many of his earlier screen roles, Sid is given more room to show his true acting chops in this film and it's lovely to see.

Also appearing in a satisfying supporting part is the inimitable Esma Cannon. The future star of Carry On Constable, Regardless, Cruising and Cabby as well as countless other films and television roles, Esma was a much in demand character actress in the 1940s and 1950s and she's a welcome addition to Last Holiday. Playing to type as a meek and mild little lady, Esma is Miss Fox, companion and rubbing rag to the wealthy yet common Lady Oswington (Muriel George). While Esma does play for laughs, there is a quiet desperation to the role and as with Sid's turn as Joe, Cannon gives a much more rounded role than many of her later comedy parts would allow.

Carry On Nurse guest star Wilfrid Hyde-White has a smaller supporting role here as a hotel guest, Chalfont. Many of Wilfrid's recognisable acting traits are visible here and the role isn't that far removed from his pesky Colonel in Nurse, which would come along over eight years later. 

There are also two smaller, yet eye-catching supporting turns by two actors who would grace several Carry Ons in the years ahead. The exceptional character actor Brian Oulton plays Prescott, Cabinet Minister Bellinghurst's assistant. It's a small role but Brian imbues it with clipped posh tones as only he could. Oulton went on to appear in Carry On Nurse, Constable, Cleo and Camping. And keep your eyes peeled for an early screen appearance from future television and radio great Peter Jones as an uncredited Travel Agent, seen early on in the film. Peter had cameos in Carry On Doctor as the deaf chaplain who marries the characters played by Joan Sims and Frankie Howerd and returned in 1976 to play the dreadfully unfunny Brigadier in Carry On England.

Did you Know?

Last Holiday was written and co-produced by J.B Priestley, perhaps best known for his 1945 play, An Inspector Calls.

A loose remake of Last Holiday was released in 2006 and it starred, amongst others, the French film actor Gerard Depardieu. 

The film split critics on release. While some praised it for being "simple and modest in structure but delightfully rich in character" another called it "shabby" and its ending "disastrously inappropriate". Can't please 'em all!

Never mind them. I was charmed by this film and if you haven't seen it, I urge you to hunt it down and give it a go. After all, you can't go wrong with a bit of Sid James and Esma Cannon!

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The Wonderful World of Wilfrid

 

Wilfrid Hyde-White represents the quintessential English character actor, as far as I am concerned anyway. During a long, varied and successful career in films, on the stage and latterly, on television, Wilfrid often played to type and yet never seemed to be typecast. For such an English figure, he also transferred the second half of his career to the United States where he became prominent in guest spots on television during the 1970s and 1980s. Much of this popularity stateside was probably due to one of the films I'm going to mention in this blog.

I've found myself watching several films recently featuring Wilfrid Hyde-White so I thought I would put together a blog on some of my favourite Hyde-White performances over the years. I guess I have to start off with ...

 

Carry On Nurse (1959)

Carry On Nurse was the immediate follow up to the original Carry On, Sergeant, made earlier the same year. Many of the same faces returned for this gentle romp around the hospital wards however there were one or two new additions to keep the action fresh. In a prominent guest starring role was Wilfrid Hyde-White as the grumpy, yet kindly old Colonel. Apparently Wilfrid's role was filmed in under a week, mainly due to his scenes being shot in a private room away from the other patients. Indeed only once is he seen on the main ward with the likes of Kenneth Williams and Bill Owen. It's a delightful supporting role though and Hyde-White shares some very natural scenes with fellow racing enthusiast Mick, the hospital orderly played by Harry Locke. He also has a lot of fun with the young nurses (as it were) in the form of Joan Sims and Susan Stephen.

Despite limited screen time, Wilfrid does stake a claim to being part of one of the most infamous, legendary finales in Carry On history. He features in the very last sequence which sees Sims and Stephen get their own back on the old Colonel involving a certain daffodil. However the prank is interrupted by the arrival of the bombastic Matron (Hattie Jacques) who's hard exterior finally softens when she spots the offending flower! This ending made the film however allegedly Hyde-White was unhappy with being involved with something so indecent (even though nothing was shown) and threatened to sue the producers! Fortunately all was resolved amicably in the end!

 

Northwest Frontier (1959)

One of my favourite BBC Two Saturday afternoon matinee treats, I would often watch this with my dad or my grandmother. It's quite simply a belting little film of the kind we don't seem to make any more in this country. J Lee Thompson's film is set in British India at a time when tensions were rising between Hindu and Muslim Indians. The film is basically a good old fashioned adventure movie with plenty of lovely set pieces, action, peril and glorious stiff upper lip performances. The wonderful Kenneth More stars as Captain Willoughby Scott who is charged with taking the young son of the maharajah to safety on an old steam train through enemy territory. Joining him on this journey are the boy's nanny (Lauren Bacall), the British governor's wife (Isabel Jeans) and a rather dodgy journalist played by Pink Panther actor Herbert Lom. 

And of course Wilfrid Hyde-White is along for the ride too as cheerful British ex-pat Mr Bridie. This is classic Hyde-White as he jollies along his fellow passengers, acts as the perfect gentleman to the ladies present and is wise to the fiendish cunning of his enemies. Wilfrid works really well in this rather tense picture, never losing his old fashioned British cool and providing some much needed light moments amidst all the tension. I could quite easily watch the likes of More and Bacall reading from the Yellow Pages however Hyde-White almost steals the show from these great movie stars with his gentle, unassuming performance.

 

Crooks Anonymous (1962)

Back to comedy now and another classic from the golden age of British cinema. This Ken Annakin film sees one of the earliest appearances on screen from a certain Julie Christie, playing stripper Babette but we're more interested in Wilfrid. The film follows perpetual criminal and habitual liar Dandy Forsdyke (Leslie Phillips) as he attempts to give up his life of crime so he can marry his girlfriend Babette. Unfortunately he can't resist temptation for long so Babette gets in touch with an organisation called Crooks Anonymous, which helps criminals go straight. 

Picked up mid-job by Stanley Baxter's Brother Widdowes we soon meet the founder of the organisation, the kindly but firm Mr Montague (Hyde-White). Together Montague and Widdowes put Forsdyke through a series of tests before he is eventually released into the wider world, securing a job in a department store as Father Christmas. However he can't resist temptation for long, but I won't spoil the ending. Again dabbling in the wrong side of the law, Wilfrid Hyde-White plays to type as the gentle Englishman of a certain age, belying his criminal past. You can't go wrong with a film that features Phillips, Baxter and Hyde-White along with the likes of James Robertson Justice, Michael Medwin and Norman Rossington. 

 

Two Way Stretch (1960)

I watched this film again only last night and it stands up remarkably well for something that was made nearly fifty years ago. This prison crime caper starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins and David Lodge is light, bright and hilarious from the off. One of the successes of the film is the casting of so many delightful British character actors who add real depth and quality to their parts. Surely any film which co-stars the likes of Irene Handl, Beryl Reid, Maurice Denham, Lionel Jeffries, Liz Fraser and George Woodbridge has got to be worth watching more than once?

Wilfrid grabs joint top billing opposite Peter Sellers and his eye-catching, yet under-played role as Soapy Stevens is totally memorable. In disguise as a gentle, kindly old vicar, Stevens is actually a sharp as they come villain with a new and tantalising job in mind for Sellers, Lodge and Cribbins. Easily working his way round the daft as a brush prison governor (Denham - regular references to his prize marrow never fail to amuse), Stevens soon masterminds the perfect crime. It's a brilliant role for Hyde-White, so often cast as the mild, gentle, posh Englishman. With his role as Soapy he manages to turn that ideal on it's head. It's probably my favourite of all Hyde-White's film performances and he's easily a match for all the other prime comedy talent in this amazing, wonderful British film comedy.

 

My Fair Lady (1964)

I can't go any further without mentioning what was probably Wilfrid Hyde-White's most famous film role, as Colonel Hugh Pickering (he played a lot of Colonels) in the Hollywood musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Starring Audrey Hepburn as poor flower seller Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as the arrogant phonetics Professor Henry Higgins, the film charts Eliza's journey from Cockney rags to the world of high society and "proper English". The film also stars Stanley (father of Julian) Holloway and Gladys Cooper.

Without a doubt this was the film which cemented Hyde-White's career in the United States. it was hugely successful at the time and continues to be so in the present day. As Colonel Pickering, Hyde-White is at the centre of the narrative as the idea that Higgins could teach anyone how to speak properly and improve themselves comes from his character. The joy of this role is that it's simply Hyde-White doing what he always did on screen, only in a much bigger budgeted picture and to a larger, transatlantic audience. In much the same way as Charles Hawtrey always played to type, so did Hyde-White and it worked out very well and very successfully for him over a career that spanned seven decades. In saying he always played to type, that does not diminish his qualities as an actor. Far from it, Wilfrid was always worth watching and as I hope I've demonstrated, appeared in many brilliant films. 

 
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Hattie Carries On ... As Matron!

 

Having covered every one of Joan Sims' 24 Carry On roles it now only seems fair that I turn the spotlight onto another great and loyal member of the team. Sticking with the wonderful women, I've decided to focus on all 14 of Hattie Jacques' Carry On appearances. Hattie's contribution to Carry On comedy was immense. Although appearing in far fewer films that Joan, Hattie created some iconic roles, none more so that the infamous Matron, a character which came to dominate her later career.

However there was far more to Jacques than that. She played Matron in all four of the medical films but there were ten other roles to enjoy too, from a budgie obsessed housewife to an angry, aggressive Spanish cook! So sit back and enjoy a run of blogs which looks at Hattie's Carry On contribution from the very first film in 1958 right through to her last supporting role in Carry On Dick 16 years later. So let's continue our journey today with a look back at Hattie's career-defining role as Matron in the second Carry On film, Carry On Nurse.

After the surprise success of Carry On Sergeant earlier in 1958, Peter Rogers seized on the opportunity of a follow up and set writer Norman Hudis the task of coming up with a medical comedy, tackling another great British institution - the National Health Service. Fortunately Norman's wife Rita was a nurse so he had plenty of real life experience to help make Nurse the biggest hit of the year and also a massive success in the United States. Rogers was clearly beginning to form a team for a series of films as Nurse sees the return of several key faces who not only contributed to Sergeant's success but would also go on to be series regulars for decades. As well as popular actors Shirley Eaton, Terence Longdon and Bill Owen, Nurse saw the return of Kenneths Williams and Connor, Charles Hawtrey and yes, Hattie Jacques. Other new faces included the important additions of Joan Sims and Leslie Phillips.

Hattie is back in a bigger role this time, clearly building on her success as Clark in Sergeant. Again in a medical-themed role, Nurse sees Hattie play the formidable Matron for the very first time. It's not as comedic a role as the Matrons that followed, indeed for the most part she plays it completely straight. She is extremely believable as the senior member of medical staff who strikes fear into the young nurses and demands respect from the male patients (Kenneth Williams being an exception!) Matron is blessed with some wonderful support from the likes of Joan Hickson, Shirley Eaton, Susan Stephen and Joan Sims. Jacques and Hickson make a wonderful double act as Matron and Sister and their scenes together as Matron goes round the ward are a joy. Hickson is superb as the cow-towing subservient who is quick to dump the load on her junior members of staff as soon as Matron's back is turned.

 

One of my favourite sequences involving Hattie sees a rather bombastic intellectual Kenneth Williams take on the formidable Matron and challenge her over one of her many bureaucratic hospital rules. The scene which sees Kenneth flout the rule not to lie on top of the bed clothes provides a masterful performance from both actors and there is a hint of real tension and animosity between the pair. There is a strong comic edge in both performances but it still, briefly, punches the film into a different direction. It showcases the skill of both Williams and Jacques and raises the film to a different level. It's also a very human scenario as once Jacques has to back down in the face of an unforgiving Williams, she immediately takes it out on her staff, with the list of jobs being past lower and lower down the chain of command. Great stuff, brilliantly played. 

As always there is a glimmer of humanity in Hattie's stern comedy characters and there is no better example of this than in the classic daffodil scene at the very end of the film. It has gone down in Carry On history as one of the funniest endings to any Carry On. At the time it was also quite a daring gag to pop in and although nothing is actually visible, guest actor Wilfred Hyde White was actually on the point of starting proceedings against Peter Rogers as he didn't like it one bit! Fortunately the scene stayed in the film and it provides us with a last image of Hattie's Matron, showing a brief glimpse of humanity and affectionate teasing as she begins to enjoy the joke. It's a great way to end the picture and shows just what an accomplished actor Jacques was. 

 

The legacy of Carry On Nurse cannot be underestimated. While Sergeant was the film that began all the fun, it was the huge success of Nurse which allowed a series to develop. It also created a long-lasting role that Hattie Jacques would capitalise on in further films, while also providing an image that would be hard for Hattie to shake off for the rest of her career. Did it limit her ability to take on different roles as an actress? Probably. Fans around the world still love both Hattie and her unforgettable Matron and as a legacy, surely that's not too bad.

Watch out for my next blog on Hattie's Carry On career. Next up is my take on Grace Short in the brilliant Carry On Teacher.

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