Anita, still vivacious and as talented as ever, always speaks of her time working with the Carry On team with such fondness and enthusiasm and it's lovely to hear her stories. For her very first film appearance, and for someone who was primarily a singer, her role as Cork Tip in Carry On Follow That Camel was superb! She plays the sultry, devious belly dancer with aplomb and her dancing is certainly memorable!
Anita works well opposite Jim Dale in both her Carry On appearances, providing the same kind of role that Angela Douglas enjoyed in other films of the time. As Nurse Clarke in Carry On Doctor, Anita excels as the romantic interest for Jim. That role is in great contrast to the sultry Cork Tip from earlier the same year, showing Anita's versatility. For a new young actress, working with such experienced performers as Frankie Howerd, Sidney James and Hattie Jacques must have been daunting, however you would never know. Anita is assured throughout and provides a fresh interest for the films. She is also never over-shadowed by her fellow nurse in that film, the bubbly Barbara Windsor.
So why didn't Anita Harris make more Carry Ons? I know her music career really took off in the 1960s and she was also prolific in many stage shows and musical theatre, so perhaps she was just in demand elsewhere. I think it is a shame she didn't join up with the gang for later adventures, although perhaps, like Angela Douglas and Jacki Piper, she maybe wouldn't have been suited to some of the saucier adventures that followed in the mid-1970s.
What do you think? Do you wish Anita Harris had made more Carry Ons or was she best suited to the two she appeared in? Could you envisage her appearing in later offerings like Matron or Abroad?
You can visit Anita's website here
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