ITV3 are once again allowing the Carry On team to gatecrash their Christmas television schedule! So if you are looking for something to tickle your fancy on Christmas Day this year, there are wall to wall Carry Ons throughout the day, starting at 8.35am and running through until midnight! I'd be exhausted watching all that lot!
Anyway, the all important running order is as follows:
8.35am - Carry On Cruising
The weekend begins with the very first colour Carry On and it's all fairly innocent by today's standards! The last film in the series to be written by Norman Hudis, Cruising follows the chaotic happenings of a new crew on a luxury cruise ship, without actually leaving Pinewood Studios. The first of the films to feature less than the standard cosy main cast list which had been assembled during the black and white era, the mainstays appearing are Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor. While the film misses the likes of Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims, there is still much fun to be had from the likes of Liz Fraser, Dilys Laye and the ever excellent Esma Cannon.
Further Reading: Carry On Blogging: In Praise of Carry On Cruising
Carry On Blogging: Connor Carries On … As Dr Binn
Carry On Blogging: My Favourite Scene, Carry On Cruising
Continuing on in chronological order is this classic, one of my all time favourites and a film many would argue is the last truly great Carry On in the series. The gang take on the fashionable 70s trend for foreign package holidays and there is much rich comedy and farcical situations to be found in sending the great bunch of British eccentrics ever to take to the silver screen! Sid James and Joan Sims are the best pub landlords in comedy film history and Kenneth Williams excels as a rather posh, frustrated package holiday tour guide. A lovely supporting cast includes Bernard Bresslaw, June Whitfield, Kenneth Connor, Carol Hawkins, Jimmy Logan and Gail Grainger while Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques are the best as the Spanish hosts! Sadly this film also marked Charles Hawtrey's last Carry On and indeed his last ever film role.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging Interview: Sally Geeson
Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to Gail Grainger?
Carry On Blogging: My Top Ten Carry Ons - Carry On Abroad
12.10pm - Carry On Up The Jungle
Carry On Up the Jungle is the nineteenth in the series to be made, released in 1970. The film marked Frankie Howerd's second and final appearance in the series. He stars alongside regular players Joan Sims, Sid James, Terry Scott, Bernard Bresslaw and Charles Hawtrey. Kenneth Connor returns to the series for the first time since Carry On Cleo six years earlier and would now feature in almost every entry up to Emmannuelle in 1978. Jacki Piper makes the first of her four appearances in the series. This movie is a send-up of the classic Tarzan films.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging Interview: Jacki Piper
Carry On Blogging Interview: Valerie Leon
1.50pm - Carry On Follow That Camel
Follow That Camel is the fourteenth in the series to be made, released in 1967. Like its predecessor Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title (although for screenings outside the United Kingdom it was known as Carry On In The Legion, and is alternatively titled Carry On ... Follow That Camel). It parodies the much-filmed 1924 book Beau Geste, and other French Foreign Legion films. This film was producer Peter Rogers' attempt to break into the American market; Phil Silvers (in his only Carry On) is heavily featured in a Bilko-esque role. He appears alongside Carry On regulars Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims. Angela Douglas makes the third of her four Carry On appearances. Anita Harris makes the first of her two Carry On appearances.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Five Reasons I love Follow That Camel
Carry On Blogging: My Favourite Scene - Follow That Camel
3.50pm - Carry On Screaming
One of my all time favourite Carry On films, this Hammer Horror send up sees a prime cast of regular Carry On actors (Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth) joined by fantastic guest stars Fenella Fielding and Harry H Corbett. A joy from beginning to end.
Further Reading: Carry On Blogging: Five Reasons Why I love Carry On Screaming
Carry On Blogging: Bernie Carries On … As Sockett
Carry On Blogging Interview: Fenella Fielding
5.45pm - Carry On Matron
The next film in the series, made in the Autumn of '71 and released the following year, Matron was the ultimate tribute to Hattie Jacques' legendary Carry On character and the last medical film in the run. This maternity hospital comedy is a trip down the oh so familiar wards one last time coupled with a bit of a Carry On tribute to the wonderful 1950s crime caper, Too Many Crooks. Sid James and his gang (Kenneth Cope, Bernard Bresslaw and Bill Maynard) are intent on stealing birth control pills from a hospital staffed by Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams, Terry Scott and Charles Hawtrey. What could go wrong?
Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Hattie Carries on as Matron (Again!)
Carry On Blogging: Joan Carries On as Mrs Tidey
7.30pm - Carry On Camping
Camping, made in the Autumn of 1968, features series regulars Sid James, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey, Bernard Bresslaw, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams and Peter Butterworth. Sid Boggle (Sid James) and his friend Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) are partners in a plumbing business. They take their girlfriends, prudish Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and meek Anthea Meeks (Dilys Laye), to the cinema to see a film about a nudist camp called Paradise. Sid has the idea of the foursome holidaying there, reasoning that in that environment their heretofore chaste girlfriends will relax their strict moral standards. Sid easily gains Bernie's co-operation in the scheme, which they attempt to keep secret from the girls.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging: My Favourite Scene- Carry On Camping
Carry On Blogging: The Chayste Place Girls
9.15pm - Carry On Up The Khyber
Carry On Up the Khyber is a British comedy and the sixteenth in the series to be made, released in 1968. It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth and Charles Hawtrey. Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance in the romantic male lead part usually played by Jim Dale. Terry Scott returned to the series after his minor role in the first film of the series, Carry On Sergeant a decade earlier. The film is, in part, a spoof movies and television series about life in the British Raj both contemporary and from earlier, Hollywood, periods.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Joan Carries On as Lady Ruff-Diamond
11.00pm - Carry On Girls
So bad it's almost brilliant, this has beauty contest comedy has never been one of my favourites and is the first Carry On not to feature either Kenneth Williams or Charles Hawtrey. Sid James plays a rather dubious local councillor who attempts to cheer up his dreary seaside town with a controversial beauty contest. High spots for me are Kenneth Connor's deliciously pitiful little man Mayor and his gloriously awful, put upon wife played by the always good value Patsy Rowlands. Joan Hickson also puts in a gem of a supporting role as Mrs Dukes, despite limited screen time and I can't go any further without mentioning June Whitfield as the superbly named feminist Augusta Prodworthy! However Joan Sims is given a woefully underwritten role and turns up for a middle aged nag-a-thon while there is far too much Barbara Windsor and Jack Douglas for my liking.
Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to the Carry On Girls?
Carry On Blogging: Barbara Carries On as Hope Springs
Carry On Blogging Interview: Robin Askwith Part 1 and Part 2
I hope you manage to catch some of these wonderful classics during Christmas Day! I'll blog more details on any other Carry Ons showing over the festive period as soon as I get the details.
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook
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