My Favourite Scene: Carry On Camping

This is very much a matter of personal preference, but that kind of thing normally sparks an interesting debate! Rather than review each individual Carry On film, I've decided to look at the films and choose my favourite scene from each film. 

So far I have picked out favourite scenes from Abroad, At Your Convenience, Regardless and Sergeant. Today I'm going to choose my favourite scene from another Carry On classic, Carry On Camping!

Camping is often voted the very best Carry On of them all. It was certainly big box office and ticked all the major boxes for classic, bawdy fun. It also boasted a prime cast of brilliant team regulars, all on top form. Camping lacks any real plot as such, it's just a bunch of familiar faces playing familiar characters who eventually descend on a camp site that very much represents dreary British holidays of the era. 

While Camping is famous for Barbara Windsor's bra popping scene, which proved a real turning point for the future direction of the franchise, this isn't my favourite scene of the picture. Instead, I love the very first scene in the movie. It's sets the film up beautifully and features four wonderful comedy actors who shared terrific chemistry together. Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw have taken their reluctant girlfriends Joan Sims and Dilys Laye to the cinema to see a nudist film. Some brilliant dialogue ensues, principally between James and Sims.

While the scene pushed boundaries with the first glimpses of on-screen nudity, it's the dialogue we all remember. As the four principles sit sucking their ice lollies, Sid is on lusty form, obviously enjoying the film very much indeed! Bernie meanwhile is all slow witted innocence, dragged along for the ride by his savvy mate. Dilys meanwhile is constantly feeling sick at the sight of all the bottoms bouncing up and down on the screen, so it is left to Joanie to take Sid on, bringing him down a peg or two with superb comic timing! Michael Nightingale pops up in the background as an irritated cinema patron who's enjoyment is being spoiled by Sid and Joan's argument!

The opening scene sets the whole film up and these four actors are the very heart of the picture. You could tell they all got on - the warmth and affection is genuine and comes leaping off the screen. 

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