Carry On Fundraising for The Silver Line

Please excuse the non-Carry On related blog post! This January I will be giving up the booze to raise money for The Silver Line, a charity very close to my heart.

I volunteer for the Silver Line, a telephone befriending service for older people who live alone. The charity provides vital support for thousands of people across the country. I have gained so much from my experience as a volunteer and The Silver Line need as many charitable donations as possible to keep this important service going.

The statistics about older people and loneliness are frightening. More than half of all 75 year olds in the UK live alone and one in ten suffers “intense” loneliness but is reluctant to ask for help. In a poll conducted to mark the national launch of The Silver Line on 25 November 2013, 9 out of 10 older people told researchers that “a chat on the phone” is the most helpful solution when they feel lonely but 1 in 4 older people say they never or seldom have someone to chat to on the phone. 

The Silver Line is the confidential, free helpline for older people across the UK* open every day and night of the year. Our specially trained helpline staff:

- Offer information, friendship and advice

- Link callers to local groups and services

- Offer regular befriending calls

- Protect and support those who are suffering abuse and neglect

The Silver Line is free to callers so we rely on charitable donations from organisations and individuals who care about the welfare and safety of older people to fund this vital new service.

So this January I'll be going alcohol free for a very special cause. All donations gratefully received!

Thank you.

You can donate via my Just Giving Page 

You can find out more about The Silver Line by visiting their website 

Happy Birthday Carol Hawkins!

 

Many happy returns to the lovely Carol Hawkins who celebrates her birthday today. Carol was a regular presence in many classic British comedy films and television shows during the 1970s and 1980s and continues to delight fans at film conventions.

After making her name as Sharon in the big screen version of Please Sir! and the subsequent spin-off series The Fenn Street Gang, Carol joined the Carry On team in 1972 for the first of two adventures with the gang. As Marge in Carry On Abroad, she jetted off to Elsbells with her friend Lily (Sally Geeson) and found love with Brother Bernard! 

Carol returned to the Carry On films with another supporting role as Sandra in Carry On Behind in 1975. In this Carry On Camping II, Carol played a glamorous young camper alongside Sherrie Hewson. The pair led Jack Douglas and Windsor Davies a right merry dance. 1975 also saw Carol appear in two episodes of the ATV series Carry On Laughing, starring alongside the likes of Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw and Joan Sims. 

Away from the Carry Ons, Carol has had a long and successful career appearing in films such as Bless This House, Confessions of a Pop Performer and Now Now, Comrade. On television she has worked popped up in such diverse productions as The Two Ronnies, The Bill, Robin's Nest, Blake's 7, Porridge and Trial and Retribution. 

 

Now retired from acting, Carol lives in Spain. Whatever Carol is up to today, I hope she has a great birthday!


See also: Whatever Happened to Carol Hawkins?

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Carry On Faces of 1963

 

This is part of a new series of blogs on Carry On Blogging. I plan to blog each year of Carry On, featuring photos of the most prolific actors for each year. Hopefully it will provide an interesting overview of the changing face of Carry On during the series' original mammoth twenty year run. 

It will turn the spotlight on the familiar faces who endured over the decades as well as those artists who came and went along the way. We are continuing today with 1963. Two films were made that year: Carry On Cabby, originally not a Carry On at all but "Call Me A Cab", was shot in April and May 1963 while Carry On Jack was filmed in the September and October. Both films were written by new Carry On scribe, the legendary Talbot Rothwell.

Pictured above we have the most prolific actors to appear in 1963. They are as follows: Charles Hawtrey, as Walter Sweetly in Jack; Jim Dale as Young Carrier in Jack; Hattie Jacques pictured above as Peggy Hawkins in Cabby; Bernard Cribbins as Albert Poopdecker in Jack; Sidney James as Charlie Hawkins in Cabby; Juliet Mills pictured as Sally in Jack; Esma Cannon as Flo Sims in Cabby; Kenneth Williams as Captain Fearless in Jack; and finally, Kenneth Connor as Ted Watson in Cabby. 

Of those featured four actors (Connor, Jacques, Hawtrey and Williams) were original cast members from the very first film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958. Hawtrey and Dale were the only actors featured to appear in both films produced in 1963. Hattie Jacques made her sixth Carry On in 1963 however after shooting Cabby, she would take a break from the series, not returning until Carry On Doctor in 1967.

Esma Cannon made her fourth and final Carry On appearance in 1963, retiring from acting shortly afterwards. Both Juliet Mills and Bernard Cribbins made their Carry On debuts in Carry On Jack. Mills, in her only appearance in the series, had already starred in Twice Round the Daffodils for Rogers and Thomas. Her role as Sally had previously been offered to Liz Fraser. Fraser had decided to leave the series after Cabby and would not return until Behind, filmed twelve years later in 1975.

Stay tuned for the Carry On Faces of 1964 coming up soon!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Joan carries on ... as Lily Duveen

This blog is part of a new regular series on Carry On Blogging. I'm going to attempt to blog about each of Joan Sims' wonderful roles in the Carry On films. Joan was the most prolific of all the actresses involved in the series, clocking up 24 films. Indeed, only Kenneth Williams made more Carry Ons.

This time, it's Joan's role as Lily Duveen in Carry On Regardless that's under the spotlight. This was Joan's fourth Carry On in quick succession and Regardless was the fifth in the series. The franchise had quickly established itself and the audience couldn't get enough. Joan was regularly employed by Rogers and Thomas, not only because she was a belting actress but also because she could work quickly and efficiently without any starry nonsense. She was also, by now, a big hit with the rest of the gang forming close friendships with Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams. 

Joan was also lifelong friends with the latest Carry On recruit for Regardless, Liz Fraser. As the two female leads in this film, they excel. The arrival of Liz meant the end for Joan's role as the glamorous Carry On pin up, which was a shame but Regardless still provides her with some excellent opportunities to shine. 

The basic premise of Regardless is the Helping Hands Agency with Sid James and Esma Cannon at the helm. They employed the regular gang of goons to undertake all kinds off odd jobs and the film that results is really just a collection of loose sketches. It works really well but at some points, because the cast is so big, you forget they are all in it!  Kenneth Connor gets the majority of the film and is superb throughout although this means actors like Bill Owen, Charles Hawtrey and Terence Longdon are criminally underused.

Joan's role as Lily Duveen is fantastic although there is a very early incident of her being used as the butt of the joke, with her figure being criticised. This aside, Regardless provides Joan with one of her finest Carry On sequences: the infamous wine tasting scene! Lily attends the wine tasting to act as hostess but is invited to stay for a drink and several scoops later she ends up punching Nicholas Parsons! This scene has gone down in Carry On legend. Joan's versatility and comedic timing are exemplary and she looks stunning too. Always the professional, Joan carried on regardless (as it were) even when the director Gerald Thomas spiked her "wine" with neat gin, at 8.30 in the morning!

Joan also shares scenes with Kenneth Connor again, as she tries to persuade his character to give up smoking. It's a relatively ordinary scene but beautifully played by the two actors. She also ended up in a bath with Kenneth Williams at the Ideal Homes Exhibition. Need I say more?

Carry On Regardless in undoubtedly more farcical and episodic than any of the previous Carry Ons. I love it though and Joan does well with the material she is given. My only complaint is that because the cast is so vast, it does feel like her scenes are rather few and far between. For whatever reason, Regardless marked the end of a run of four original Carry Ons for Joan. She would miss the next for films in the series before returning for Carry On Cleo which began filming in the late Summer of 1964.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan 

Carrying On Regardless

 

As you know I entered Carry On Blogging into the Arts and Culture section of the 2016 UK Blog Awards. The shortlisting process is now complete and the lists have now been revealed. Sadly Carry On Blogging has not made it to the next round.

It was a long shot I know, the blog has only been going for 10 months and is pretty small in size to many of the other blogs I was up against. It was still worth a go though and I'm still proud of this blog. I'm also thrilled with how much support I did receive from so many fellow Carry On fans out there. It's always great to hear from you all and to know that you appreciate the blog and my writing. 

So while I may not have been shortlisted this year, there's always next year's awards! All that remains to be said is that I plan to Carry On ... Regardless!

Thanks for your ongoing support!

 

P.S - many congratulations to my fellow bloggers over at the Coronation Street Blog which has been shortlisted in two categories. I have contributed regularly to the Corrie Blog for over three years and it totally deserves this recognition.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Celebrating 50 years of Round The Horne

One of my all time favourite radio shows is the classic comedy sketch series Round The Horne. Originally broadcast between 1965 and 1968, the series starred Kenneths Horne and Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Douglas Smith. And now the classic scripts are being revived at the Museum of Comedy for the show's 50th anniversary.

Here are more details about the show from the Museum of Comedy's website:


From 1965 to 1968 there wasn’t a bigger radio programme in Britain than the ground-breaking Round the Horne.  For half an hour every Sunday afternoon, audiences of up to 15 million people would gather around the wireless to listen to Kenneth Horne and his merry crew get up to all sorts of mischief.

With its infamous movie spoofs and hilarious regular characters such as Rambling Sid Rumpo, Charles and Fiona, J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, and Julian and Sandy, Round the Horne was one of the biggest and best radio comedy shows of all time, and still endures today, 50 years on.

So come and take a step back in time to the BBC’s Paris Studios and experience this comedy classic live.

Original scripts by Barry Took and Marty Feldman

Compiled and directed by Tim Astley


“a superb evening’s entertainment and I left the theatre wanting more” – British Theatre Guide


“everyone on stage seems to be having great fun and so does the audience” – Spencer Media


“does a splendid job of recreating this extraordinary show… sterling performances from all” – Do More Mag


“Colin Elmer's Kenneth Williams was hilarious and endearing" - Reading Chronicle

“Jonathan Hansler does a truly remarkable job of emulating Hugh Paddick” – Get West London


“I laughed so much… I was in danger of being led out of the theatre” – Scene One


This sounds like a fantastic show, a great tribute to the original stars and a chance to wallow in some good old fashioned nostalgia. I will definitely be getting along to the Museum of Comedy to check this out for myself. The show is running now and is playing until 12 March.

For more information and tickets, you can visit the Museum of Comedy Website

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

The late great Donald Houston

I was looking up some of the less regular Carry On actors the other day when I came across a lovely blog on the BBC Wales website about that excellent Welsh actor Donald Houston. Donald had a long career in the acting profession, working almost non stop for decades in film, on television and on the stage.

Carry On fans will remember him for his supporting turn in 1963's Carry On Jack alongside Percy Herbert. Houston had appeared for Rogers and Thomas the year before, also with Jack co-stars Juliet Mills and Kenneth Williams, in the tear-jerker medical comedy Twice Round the Daffodils. Donald also starred in two of the Betty Box and Ralph Thomas Doctor films - first of all Doctor in the House in 1954 and then Doctor In Distress nearly ten years later in 1963.

 

Some of Donald's other famous films included the Second World War epic The Longest Day in 1962, The Red Beret in 1953, Under Milk Wood in 1957 and Room at the Top two years later. With the decline of the British film industry in the 1970s, Houston, like many of his contemporaries began to make more television appearances. These included roles in The Protectors, The Return of the Saint, The Boy Merlin and Jemima Shore Investigates. 

After making his last credited acting appearance in The Brief on television in 1984, Houston passed away aged 67 in Portugal. You can read more about his life and acting career here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/10c331cb-8cc2-3175-9b5a-b3d7a6e74702 

 

They just don't seem to make solid, reliable British character actors like Donald Houston anymore. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Carry On Voting: Kenneth Williams' Best Performance

Monday 22 February would have been Kenneth Williams' 90^th birthday. You will all know by now that Kenneth is one of my all time favourite comedy performers. I have adored him since I was a child and he always makes me laugh, no matter how often I have seen his role in a particular film, radio show or chat show appearance. While there is always a certain sadness identified when Kenneth is discussed, mainly due to his revelatory diaries and the manner of his passing, he brought so much joy, fun and laughter to so many people during his life time and in the years since his death.

The recent announcement that the British Library had taken possession of his infamous diaries seems all the more fitting in this, his 90^th year. There is regret that he is not still with us, entertaining us as only he could, but we fortunately have a wealth of archive clips, radio recordings and film appearances to remind us of his unique and memorable talents. Nobody could tell a story like Kenneth Williams. Nobody could flare their nostrils like our Ken and nobody could ever master that glorious vocal swoop from posh landed gentry to common East End scallywag like our much-missed Ken. 

 

In the week of his 90^th birthday I will be posting a wide range of blogs on Kenneth. Some are old, some are brand new. They all seem fitting tributes to the great man. I have also decided, as with June Whitfield's 90^th birthday back in November, to run a poll on Carry On Blogging asking readers to pick their favourite of Kenneth's many performances. I have limited the poll solely to Kenneth's Carry On roles although as there as 26 of them there are still a myriad of choices! I will keep the poll open until the 20 February so there is plenty of time for you to cast your votes.

It may be an impossible choice for you though with so many classic roles to choose from. There's his definitive Khasi in Carry On Up The Khyber, not to mention his Citizen Camembert in Don't Lose Your Head and his memorable take on Julius Caesar in Carry On Cleo. Or perhaps you preferred his modern day roles? Maybe you enjoyed his turn as Dr Soaper in Camping or his clash with Professor Vooshka in Carry On Behind. 

 

Kenneth also created some wonderful characters in the medical Carry Ons. From the disgruntled patient Oliver Reckitt in Nurse and Dr Tinkle in Doctor to Frederick Carver in Again Doctor and finally Sir Bernard Cutting in Carry On Matron. We must also remember his earlier roles in those charming black and white Carry Ons – he turns in some terrific acting performances in the likes of Sergeant, Nurse, Teacher and Constable. 

 

Kenneth worked well with so many of the Carry On team. He was at his best when at loggerheads with his complete opposite, Sidney James. He bickered and flounced with aplomb in many, many films with Joan Sims. He displayed wonderful comic timing alongside Fenella Fielding in Carry On Screaming and both he and Peter Butterworth always brought out the best in one another.

The rules are quite simple: You can vote as many times as you want and for up to four characters each time. Voting will close on Saturday 20 February with the results announced on Kenneth's birthday.

Carry On Voting! 

 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

 

Carry On Faces of 1962

This is the beginning of a new series of blogs on Carry On Blogging. I plan to blog each year of Carry On, featuring photos of the most prolific actors for each year. Hopefully it will provide an interesting overview of the changing face of Carry On during the series' original mammoth twenty year run. 

It will turn the spotlight on the familiar faces who endured over the decades as well as those artists who came and went along the way. We are continuing today with1962. Only one film was produced in 1962: Carry On Cruising. The first colour Carry On was filmed in January and February of that year and featured a departure from the regular casting of previous adventures.

Pictured above we have the most prolific actors to appear in 1962. They are as follows: Sidney James as Captain Crowther; Kenneth Williams as Leonard Marjoribanks; Kenneth Connor pictured above as Dr Arthur Binn; Liz Fraser as Gladys Trimble; Dilys Laye pictured as Flo Castle; Esma Cannon as Bridget Madderley; Lance Percival as Wilfred Haines; Cyril Chamberlain as Tom Tree and finally, Jimmy Thompson as Sam Turner. 

Of those featured only three actors (Connor, Chamberlain and Williams) were original cast members from the very first film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958. Unlike all the previous series entries, several of the main cast members audiences would be familiar with were absent from Cruising - Joan Sims, Leslie Phillips, Hattie Jacques, Bill Owen, Terence Longdon and Charles Hawtrey were all missing from the cast. 

Charles Hawtrey had an infamous dispute with Peter Rogers over billing and was replaced with Lance Percival, in his only Carry On role. Dilys Laye made the first of four appearances, replacing an ill Joan Sims at three days notice. There were also bigger than usual roles for the likes of Esma Cannon, Cyril Chamberlain and Jimmy Thompson.

Stay tuned for the Carry On Faces of 1963 coming up soon!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Thank you for supporting Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards!

As you will no doubt be aware I have entered Carry On Blogging into the Arts and Culture section of this year's UK Blog Awards. I have been plugging this repeatedly on Facebook, Twitter and this very blog for the past month, so thanks for putting up with that!

Voting closed at 9pm last night and those shortlisted will be revealed on 29 January. Although Carry On Blogging has only been going since March 2015 and is still a very small, not for profit hobby for me, I thought I should try my luck. As ever, I am so grateful to all my loyal friends on Twitter and Facebook who have voted, supported, favourited and retweeted. No matter what happens, I am chuffed to bits that so many of you both enjoy my writing and also took the time and trouble to vote for me. It means a lot.

I have absolutely loved my Carry On Blogging journey so far. When I started the blog at the end of March this year I had no idea if I would even still be writing it in the run up to Christmas, never mind entering for an award. I have now written well over 500 blogs on all things Carry On, have over 3000 followers on Twitter and have received over 85,000 hits on the blog.

I wouldn't get half as much pleasure out of running this blog if it wasn't for all you lovely fellow Carry On fans, so thank you for supporting the blog this far.

Carry On!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Carry On Sherrie!

It wasn't until recently that I discovered Sherrie Hewson once lodged with Joan Sims early on in her career. I've always been a fan of Sherrie, mainly thanks to her four year stint in my favourite television programme, Coronation Street.

Sherrie made her Carry On appearances very early on in her acting career. She would go on to star in a wide variety of shows, forming a well known association with the comedian Russ Abbot during the 1980s, starring in a wide range of classic television including The Gentle Touch, Jackanory, Minder, Within These Walls and Juliet Bravo. Sherrie of course went on to star alongside Gwen Taylor in the ITV sitcom Barbara and these days is most famous for being a panelist on Loose Women and starring in the Carry On-esque comedy series Benidorm.

I love Sherrie as Maureen Naylor/Holdsworth in Coronation Street. It was a rare occasion where my own surname, Naylor, appeared in the credits of a telly programme! She brought some wonderful comedy to the Street as well as some classic drama. Her relationship with on-screen mother Maud (the fantastic and much missed Elizabeth Bradley) was vey real and beautifully played. I still wish Maureen would pay the residents of Weatherfield another visit.

Sadly, Sherrie joined the Carry On team just as their star was on the wane. Carry On Behind was her only film appearance with the gang but it's a smashing last great attempt at Carry On on the big screen. As one of the bright young girls giving Windsor Davies and Jack Douglas the run around, Sherrie displays fine comic timing and works really well with Carol Hawkins. It's a shame she didn't join the team for earlier outings as she was a natural fit with the rest of the gang.

Sherrie also appeared in four episodes of the ATV series Carry On Laughing the same year. While the series wasn't a run away success, Sherrie is a high point, forming a wonderful double act in several episodes with the master, Peter Butterworth. I don't remember hearing Sherrie talk much about her involvement with the Carry Ons over the years. It would have been great if she had been involved with Carry On Forever earlier this year. 

As a postscript, it's fantastic that Sherrie follows the @CarryOnJoan Twitter account. It's always great to hear from her.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

Carry On Hero of the Week: Sherrie Hewson

 

Every week I write about a particular person who has been involved in the Carry On phenomenon and deserves greater recognition for it. So far I've written about a variety of different cast and crew including the likes of Eric Barker, Norman Hudis, Dave Freeman and Marianne Stone. 

Today I am going to add another actress to this growing list of heroes - the lovely Sherrie Hewson. I have been a fan of Sherrie for years, ever since her original stint as Maureen Naylor in Coronation Street in the 1990s. She is a talented actress who is equally adept at drama and comedy, although most of us know her for her comedy performances. Over the years she has starred in countless television shows, developed a long-lasting working relationship with Russ Abbot, been a regular panelist on Loose Women and more recently become a fixture in the ITV sitcom Benidorm.

Back in the mid-1970s though, Sherrie was the newest recruit to Carry On. 1975 was a prolific year for Sherrie as she starred in both big and small screen Carry On productions. Sherrie was a cast member for four episodes of the ATV series Carry On Laughing, which were mainly historical half hours and featured familiar players such as Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. She also co-starred in the main Carry On film that year too - Carry On Behind. Behind is one of my guilty pleasures, for a later Carry On I think it ticks nearly all the right boxes. 

Sherrie formed an effective double act with the lovely Carol Hawkins and together as a pair of rather devious young campers, they ran rings round middle-aged married men Windsor Davies and Jack Douglas. It was an eye-catching turn for Sherrie and it's just a shame she didn't return for further adventures with the gang. Sadly just as Sherrie was joining the films the series was beginning to run out of steam. It must have been terrific for a young actress to work alongside some of the greats though. 

Another reason for featuring Sherrie as one of my heroes is her lovely presence on Twitter. It's great to interact with a Carry On actor and I love it when she retweets some of my daft twitterings. I've also discovered she's a great fan of the wonderful and under-rated character actress Esma Cannon. So she's got great taste too!

 

So here's to Sherrie - long may she Carry On making us laugh!

Please click on the link to vote for Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Last Chance to Vote Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards!

As you may have seen over on Twitter, I have entered Carry On Blogging into the Arts and Culture category at the 2016 UK Blog Awards. Although this site has only been going since March I thought I would try my luck!

Voting closes at 9pm this evening, Monday 25 January!

I have absolutely loved my Carry On Blogging journey so far. When I started the blog at the end of March this year I had no idea if I would even still be writing it in the run up to Christmas, never mind entering for an award. The awards begin with a public vote in January 2016 which is followed by a shortlisting process. This is where you, loyal Carry On Blogging followers come in. If you enjoy my little blog, I'd absolutely love it if you would vote for me. You can vote for me on the UK Blog Awards Website and you can vote more than once!

Why do I think I should be shortlisted? 

Although this blog is purely a hobby, it is a source of complete joy for me. It must be, because since the end of March I've written over 500 blogs! What started as a small uncertain venture is now a blog with over 75,000 hits and a Twitter feed with over 3000 followers. 

Since I started the blog I've celebrated the wonderful Carry On Forever series on ITV, written about my trip to see Jim Dale live on stage and I've blogged about meeting the gorgeous Anita Harris and Amanda Barrie. 

I've also run several polls on the blog, asking you to pick your favourite Carry On supporting actor and most recently, your favourite of all June Whitfield's many celebrated performances. I now run a regular Carry On Fan of the Week blog and it's always great to hear from my regular readers both in these blogs and through the wonderful world of Twitter. More recently I've started posting guest blogs and I love these too.

I wouldn't get half as much pleasure out of running this blog if it wasn't for all you lovely fellow Carry On fans, so thank you for supporting the blog this far and I hope you will vote for me in the UK Blog Awards this January!

You can find out more about the awards here 

Thank you! 

Please click on the link to vote for Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

Carry On Behind: A Guilty Pleasure

I love Carry On Behind. I know I shouldn't. I know it's scraping the bottom of the barrel but I just can't help myself. At a time when Carry On humour was being swiftly replaced by Robin Askwith going a whole lot further up at Elstree, Behind came along and (almost) returned the team to pole position.

Behind came in the wake of several big name departures. Although perhaps it wasn't known as such at the time, Carry On Dick had seen the last big screen Carry On contributions from stalwarts Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor (Barbara would return for That's Carry On in 1977 but that's not an original film in my mind). It was also the last credit for writer Talbot Rothwell who bowed out after an eleven year association with the series due to ill health.

Despite bringing on board a new writer and replacing several old, well loved faces with new actors, Carry On Behind does succeed on many levels. Sure it's not up there with the likes of Khyber, Camping or Cleo, but in my opinion it's better than Girls and Dick and miles ahead of the films that followed. I think we have to thank Dave Freeman for a lot of this. His script stayed true to the Rothwell legacy and while it pushed things further than perhaps some fans would have liked (there's more flesh on display than in some previous efforts) I think it is an effective homage to Carry on Camping and Tolly Rothwell's style of writing.

The regular team members who do appear are given good roles, on the whole. Kenneth Williams grabs the starring role of Professor Roland Crump with both hands and gives it his all. The usual indignities befall Williams during the film and I'm sure falling in that "cesspit" was bitterly resented! He did forge a wonderful double act with unlikely Carry On star and Williams love interest Elke Sommer. Sommer, who had worked for Peter Rogers' wife Betty Box on the Percy films, does well as Professor Anna Vooshka and Freeman certainly makes the most of the language barrier and continental misunderstandings.

Other regulars also grab plum roles. Bernard Bresslaw, in his last appearance in the series, takes third billing as henpecked husband Arthur Upmore. It's great to see the talented Bernie get plenty of screen time although you can't help but feel he misses Sid. Playing Bernie's wife in the film is the much welcome Patsy Rowlands, back for her ninth and also final film with the team. This is one of Patsy's biggest supporting roles in the Carry Ons and she works well teamed up with Bernard. Why she wasn't billed as a star and part of the main team for this film I'll never know. I also don't know why neither actor appeared in the following film, Carry On England? Was it out of respect for Sid following his sad death the same year?

Kenneth Connor is on superb form as the ripe, randy old Major Leap who runs the campsite. He gets into all sorts of comic misadventures and fails with any lady who comes anywhere near him. By this stage Connor seemed happy to assume the mantle of older character player and he excels in Carry On Behind. While it is great to also have Peter Butterworth and Joan Sims in the cast, they do feel a tad sidelined and their talents slightly wasted. Neither has very much to do although they do share some lovely scenes together when reunited after years as an estranged husband and wife. Both actors demonstrate how well they could actually act when not struggling through some of the baser-level innuendos. Poor Joan spent her last years in the Carry Ons playing increasingly shrewish old harpies and Behind is no exception.

Of the new faces joining the team Windsor Davies is probably the most successful as butcher Fred Ramsden. This role has Sid James written all over it but Windsor puts his own spin on it and is very convincing. He also forms a pretty good double act with regular supporting actor Jack Douglas. We also get supporting roles from familiar television faces Ian Lavender and Adrienne Posta as a young couple with a very cheeky wolfhound! It's a shame both actors are reduced to fairly small roles in Behind. Lavender fills the Jim Dale role well while Posta is very obviously playing a Barbara Windsor type in this film. I'd have liked more of them.

I also think the pairing of Sherrie Hewson and Carol Hawkins is particularly effective. They play two young, rather opportunistic women out on the make and the take. As well as adding the necessary glamour to proceedings they share several funny scenes with Douglas and Davies. Behind also marked a return to Carry On for the lovely Liz Fraser after twelve years away. Sadly she is relegated to brief scenes that top and tail the film and they add little to the story. Having Liz back in the gang should have been a cause for celebration but I don't think it really worked.

The film, as with most of the very best Carry Ons, does not rely too heavily on a plot of any kind. It is very much a Carry On Camping 2 and works well on that level. I can't help but think if the series had continued in this vein with Dave Freeman in charge of the scripts, it would perhaps have produced several more half decent films before the end of the original run. For some inexplicable reason Freeman was not invited back to write the next film in the series. I think everyone would agree this was a mistake, given the substandard quality of the Carry On England script.

So there you go, my defence of Carry On Behind. i think it deserves to be remembered as the last of the classic Carry On films and I always enjoy a good wallow in it's dubious glories!


You can read why Carry On Behind makes it into my Top Ten Carry Ons here

Please click on the link to vote for Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

VOTE Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards

As you may have seen over on Twitter, I have entered Carry On Blogging into the Arts and Culture category at the 2016 UK Blog Awards. Although this site has only been going since March I thought I would try my luck!

I have absolutely loved my Carry On Blogging journey so far. When I started the blog at the end of March this year I had no idea if I would even still be writing it in the run up to Christmas, never mind entering for an award. The awards begin with a public vote in January 2016 which is followed by a shortlisting process. This is where you, loyal Carry On Blogging followers come in. If you enjoy my little blog, I'd absolutely love it if you would vote for me. You can vote for me on the UK Blog Awards Website and you can vote more than once!

Why do I think I should be shortlisted? 

Although this blog is purely a hobby, it is a source of complete joy for me. It must be, because since the end of March I've written over 500 blogs! What started as a small uncertain venture is now a blog with over 75,000 hits and a Twitter feed with over 3000 followers. 

Since I started the blog I've celebrated the wonderful Carry On Forever series on ITV, written about my trip to see Jim Dale live on stage and I've blogged about meeting the gorgeous Anita Harris and Amanda Barrie. 

I've also run several polls on the blog, asking you to pick your favourite Carry On supporting actor and most recently, your favourite of all June Whitfield's many celebrated performances. I now run a regular Carry On Fan of the Week blog and it's always great to hear from my regular readers both in these blogs and through the wonderful world of Twitter. More recently I've started posting guest blogs and I love these too.

I wouldn't get half as much pleasure out of running this blog if it wasn't for all you lovely fellow Carry On fans, so thank you for supporting the blog this far and I hope you will vote for me in the UK Blog Awards this January!

You can find out more about the awards here 

Thank you! 

Please click on the link to vote for Carry On Blogging in the UK Blog Awards

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook