Carry On Advertising - Carry On Cowboy

This blog is part of a new little series on Carry On Blogging, looking back at the changing face of the Carry On films during their original twenty year run. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the way the films were advertised to the cinema-going public of Great Britain over the years. These days when I do go to the cinema, I try to avoid the trailers as they tend to go on for rather too long, but of course, with Carry On it's a different story!

Thankfully most of the original trailers are now available to peruse on the internet and they provide a unique time capsule of British film history. The changing tastes of mores of the film-going public can easily be traced through these adverts as can the changing face of the British film industry and the social attitudes of the time. It's also fascinating to see how first Anglo Amalgamated and then later on, the Rank Organisation, chose to market and sell these low budget, knockabout comedies. 

Moving on today to the only Carry On produced in1965, the excellent Carry On Cowboy. Cowboy is the most British of Westerns ever made but it's an absolute joy from start to finish. The series was really firing on all cylinders by this point and Cowboy provides plenty of great performances, lots of laughs, delicious set pieces and also a fair amount of action for good measure. The likes of Sid James, Jim Dale and Peter Gilmore get to play out their cowboy fantasies while Joan Sims never looked better as ravishing saloon owner Belle. And series newcomer Angela Douglas adds some youthful vim as the gun-toting Annie Oakley.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Butterworth Carries On … as Doc!

A couple of years back I started a regular series of blogs which profiled each of Joan Sims' fabulous 24 Carry On roles. I enjoyed giving each performance a turn in the spotlight so once I completed the mammoth task of writing about everything from Nurse Stella Dawson to Mrs Dangle, I went on to blog about all of Hattie Jacques' roles in the series and then those portrayed by Dame Barbara Windsor.

More recently I have carried out the same task for two of Carry Ons' unsung heroes - Kenneth Connor and Bernard Bresslaw. Now I will turn my attentions to all sixteen of Peter Butterworth's delightful supporting turns in the Carry On series. Peter, along with Sid James and Joan Sims, has long been one of my very favourite comedy actors and favourite members of the Carry On troupe. Sadly, Peter has received scant attention from the wider press, with only diehard fans really giving his acting talent the praise it so rightly deserves.

Peter joined the Carry On team in 1965 for Carry On Cowboy and remained a loyal servant to the series pretty much right through until the end of the original series in 1978. He was also a frequent contributor to many of the team's small screen outings and appeared alongside Sid James, Barbara Windsor and several others in the Carry On London stage farce in the early 1970s. He never put a foot wrong and was the master scene stealer. 2019 marks not only one hundred years since Peter's birth but also, sadly, forty years since he passed away. It therefore seems fitting to devote some blogging time to his wonderful performances.

We start today, as one always should, at the very beginning. In 1965 the Carry On team went way out west (well as far as Black Park and Chobham Common) for a comedy western the like of which British cinema had never seen before and probably hasn't seen since! Carry On Cowboy was the perfect demonstration of the series' growing confidence at parody and pastiche following the huge success of their previous effort, the glorious Carry On Cleo. With all but Jim Dale and Charles Hawtrey attempting American accents and many of the cast demonstrating their skill in the saddle (as it were) there were many actors present living out some fantasies in this wonderful film.

Peter Butterworth was cast for the very first time in a Carry On, as Stodge City's resident medical man, known simply as Doc. Doc, as with many of Peter's roles in the films, was a supporting part, playing second fiddle to the likes of Sid James or Kenneth Williams. In this outing, he runs around pulling the most exquisite of comedy faces behind Stodge's Mayor, Kenneth Williams. Unlike some of the other regulars, Peter doesn't appear to have worked for Peter Rogers Productions in other films before graduating to a role in the main team. He did work briefly for Peter's wife Betty Box in the 1963 comedy, Doctor in Distress, playing an Ambulance Driver, but that seems to be it. I wonder how the casting was decided upon? Whatever the reason, Peter had been a recognisable face in films since the late 1940s and a beloved children's entertainer on television during the 1950s alongside his wife, actress Janet Brown. He fitted in with the Carry On team perfectly. 

Carry On Cowboy tells the story of a peaceful town way out west which is suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of the roguish scoundrel, The Rumpo Kid, played by the magnificent Sidney James. Kenneth Williams' Judge Burke is horrified by Rumpo's hard drinking, womanising, criminal ways and sends for a new U.S Peace Marshall. In true Carry On style, there is a farcical mishap in Washington DC and instead of an able new law enforcer, Stodge City gets Marshall P Knutt, an innocent sanitary engineer from England (Jim Dale). 

The story is a simple one. It's good versus bad, Jim versus Sid as the locals look on. It's comedically brilliant, fast moving, energetic and takes a few risks. And I love it. The regular team of Sid, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims are joined by Jim Dale in his first main starring role, following a series of eye catching supporting turns. There are also several new faces in the cast including Angela Douglas, in the first of four roles, as Annie Oakley and Bernard Bresslaw as the native Indian, Little Heap. And of course Peter Butterworth himself, providing beautiful support as Doc. 

Peter pops in and out of the action throughout the film, usually as part of the gaggle of locals led by Kenneth Williams and rancher Sam, played wonderfully by character actor Sydney Bromley. Peter has immediate chemistry with Kenneth Williams which the film makers would exploit again over the years, particularly as the fabulously villainous duo in Don't Lose Your Head. As with many of Peter's parts he contributes little to the actual narrative of the film, such as it is, with Jim Dale, Angela Douglas and Sid James driving most of the action and taking the majority of the screen time.

However without the supporting cast of thoroughbred comedy actors like Peter Butterworth, these films would be nothing. Each and every film during the series' prime featured a rogue's gallery of comedy grotesques and I mean that in the very nicest way possible. Peter, trained in rep and all manner of stage productions up and down the country, was always throwing in a bit of business, be it a comedic glance, some physical comedy or an unexpected reaction shot. Although we've been told time and time again that improvisation wasn't really tolerated on the Carry Ons, it must have been hard to avoid with such a talented actor like Peter Butterworth in the cast. He just couldn't stop himself!

Peter obviously impressed Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas with his supporting turn in Carry On Cowboy as it was the film which began a working relationship of nearly fifteen years. Butterworth was a beloved member of the cast with even the picky, hard to please Kenneth Williams becoming a close friend and admirer. The pair enjoyed informed, erudite conversations on set between shots and the friendship endured. For me, the arrival of Peter Butterworth at Pinewood was one of the most important moments in the series' history. 

Stay tuned for my next blog on Peter's Carry On roles, with my thoughts on his performance as Detective Constable Slobotham in the superb 1966 film, Carry On Screaming.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Bernie Carries On … As Little Heap

Over the past year I have written a series of blogs covering each of the roles of some of our favourite Carry On stars. I began my looking back at each film role played by the three leading ladies in the series - Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor - and most recently I've written about all of Kenneth Connor's Carry On performances in the run up to the great man's centenary. 

Today I am beginning a new strand of this series by turning the spotlight on that gentle giant of British comedy, the late Bernard Bresslaw. Probably one of the most under-rated actors in the main team, Bernard was a part of the series for ten years and fourteen films, tackling a superb range of crumbling villains and delightfully dimwitted foils to the likes of Sid James and Kenneth Cope. Bernard enjoyed a long career away from the Carry Ons and spent much of his later life wowing audiences in legitimate theatre. However he will forever to remembered for his clutch of hilarious Carry On supporting turns. 

Bernard joined the Carry On team in the mid 1960s and along with Peter Butterworth was the last main team member to join the gang. Along with Butterworth, Bernard played a series of smaller, supporting roles to begin with before graduating to major roles towards the end of the decade. Bernard fitted in effortlessly with the rest of the team and he's the kind of actor who is working hard but making it look oh so easy. A quiet, erudite, thoughtful family man away from the film studios, I often think Bresslaw has never received the credit he's due as like Connor and Butterworth, he didn't ever seek the limelight or splash his life over the front pages.

So today, we'll start off this new series looking at Bernard's role as Little Heap in his first Carry On, the classic Carry On Cowboy in 1965.

Cowboy, released in 1965, saw the Carry On team hitting the cinema screens all guns blazing in a rip roaring mickey take of the famous Hollywood Westerns. Not only did Cowboy garner impressive reviews from even the poshest of posh papers, it was also a firm favourite amongst many of the Carry On cast. Sid James loved his role as the gun-toting Rumpo Kid and clearly relished the macho part. Jim Dale had also risen through the ranks to secure his biggest role to date and bagged some excellent screen time as the English sanitary engineer Marshall P Knutt. The film also saw Carry On debuts for several popular actors - Angela Douglas as Annie Oakley, Peter Butterworth as Doc and Bernard Bresslaw as Little Heap (!)

The main plot of Cowboy sees Jim Dale mistakenly sent to Stodge City as a new peace marshall to drive Sid's Rumpo and his gang out of town. Kenneth Williams' cowardly Judge Burke has lost all control as Rumpo is in charge of Stodge. All the usual Carry On characters are on display although for the regular audience it must have been strange to see them not only in period costume but also with American accents. Most of them manage to pull it off fairly convincingly with only Dale and Charles Hawtrey's hilarious Big Heap keeping their English accents intact. It's a fantastically colourful romp with plenty of action and set pieces, some laugh out loud moments, brilliant costumes and a wonderfully dressed Western set out on the back lot at Pinewood Studios. Writer Talbot Rothwell had really come into his own after the previous Carry On adventure, Carry On Cleo the year before and Cowboy is film brimming with confidence.

For Bernard, joining a high profile comedy team really hitting its' stride, he must have felt a combination of excitement and nerves. I'm sure he already knew many of his fellow actors and at the same time, he was joining at the same time as the wonderful Peter Butterworth so I'm sure he already had a friend. Bernard quickly formed firm friendships with leading men Sid James and Kenneth Williams and was well thought of my the rest of the team. A gentle, kind man, his down time on set was usually spent doing the Times crossword. In Cowboy, Bresslaw plays a role as far removed from reality as possible, as the slow-witted son of Charles Hawtrey's character Big Heap! As native Indians, they begin the film as pawns in the Rumpo Kid's game to take over Stodge City and drive out Jim Dale's bogus peace marshall. 

Of course this being a Carry On, the native Indians are soon firmly in charge, albeit in a bungling, whisky guzzling way! Bernard's portrayal may be concerned a bit suspect these days in what could be called more enlightened times, however there's no doubting how funny he is on screen and what a great partnership he forms with Hawtrey. While Bernard delivers his role with an accent and the rest of the cast (apart from Dale's English character) take on American accents, Hawtrey's Big Heap remains delightfully little England! Bresslaw provides a real hulking height and definitely adds a new dimension to the series. Popping in and out of the action, Bernard isn't given a huge amount to do but he is memorable so it's not hard to see why he was asked back for further roles in the series. 

Little Heap's climatic scene comes towards the end of Cowboy when Sid's Rumpo uses him to blow his chums out of jail. Unfortunately it doesn't go to plan and Bernard disappears in a puff of comedy smoke! Little Heap isn't Bernard's finest Carry On performance by a long chalk - it's no Bungdit-Din or Bernie in Carry On Camping - however it remains really important as it marked the beginning of his wondrous Carry On career. And as an aside, of course this wasn't Bresslaw's first time in a Carry On. Carry On purists will be aware that Bernard's feet were spotted briefly in Carry On Nurse seven years earlier, doubling for those of star Terence Longdon! 

So that's my take on Bernard's baptism of fire with the Carry On team. Coming up next, Bernard's role as Sockett the butler in Carry On Screaming! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

What A Carry On this Easter Sunday!

This Easter weekend sees ITV3 once again roll out several classic Carry On films for your viewing pleasure. In what has become a bit of a tradition on the ITV station, any bank holiday weekend seems the right time to trot out some tried and trusted Pinewood favourites and why not?

Over the course of Saturday, Sunday and Monday, ITV3 will be showing a range of wonderful Carry On films, so stay tuned to the blog for the low down on which films will be showing and when.

06.00 - Carry On Cruising (1962)

You'd better set the video to record this early screening of the first colour Carry On. 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

11.10 - Carry On Cowboy (1965) 

Carry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the series to be made. It was released in 1965, and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. Series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale and Joan Sims all feature, and Angela Douglas makes the first of her four appearances in the series.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: My Favourite Scene - Carry On Cowboy 
Carry On Blogging Interview: Angela Douglas 

13.10 - Carry On Behind (1975) 

I have such a soft spot for this one, pretty much Carry On Camping: The Revenge! Swapping a bunch of holidaymakers in tents for a bunch of holidaymakers in caravans, this is probably the most 70s of all the Carry Ons made in that very dodgy decade! With the likes of Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor and Sid James absent from in front of the camera and Talbot Rothwell handing over his writing duties to Dave Freeman, times were a-changing. Glamorous, exotic international guest star Elke Sommer adds some fresh talent to proceedings while then current stars of the small screen such as Ian Lavender, Adrienne Posta, Sherrie Hewson and Windsor Davies bolster the slimmer than usual ranks of top class Carry On talent. Don't worry, the broad comedy is still ably delivered by Kenneths Williams and Connor, Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw while Patsy Rowlands grabs her last major supporting role and Liz Fraser pops in her for her first appearance in the series since Cabby twelve years before.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Carry On Behind, A Guilty Pleasure
Carry On Blogging: My Top Ten Carry Ons - Carry On Behind

15.10 - Carry On Camping (1969)

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 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

The Joy of Jon in a Carry On

He's a man who really needs no introduction. A complete legend in the acting world probably best remembered these days for starring roles in television series such as Doctor Who and Worzel Gummidge. Yes, I'm talking about the late, great Jon Pertwee. 

I've always loved Jon's rather unique, eccentric Carry On cameos but until now I've never actually written about them. Jon Pertwee was a perfect fit for the Carry On films. He was larger than life, his performances came bursting out of the screen and really, nobody else could have played his parts quite like he did. Jon appeared in four Carry On films in total, three during the mid 1960s glory days and then a belated return nearly thirty years later, for a quick cough and a spit in Carry On Columbus. We'll gloss over that particular film and I'm sure Jon appeared in that one out of loyalty and friendship.

Back to the glory days though, I think. In the summer of 1964, Jon journeyed to Pinewood Studios for his first ever appearance in a Carry On film and what a film to start on. Carry On Cleo was in production, a very British send up of the very expensive Elizabeth Taylor epic, Cleopatra, which until recently had been filming at Pinewood. Leaving lots of sets behind when they shifted off to Italy, producer Peter Rogers seized on the opportunity to make his own version. It remains a classic of British film comedy over fifty years later and its cast led by Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey have never been better.

Jon appears later in the film, as an eccentric, rather hairy old Soothsayer who is summoned by Kenneth Williams' Julius Caesar to share some visions of his upcoming assignation with Cleo (played with camp relish by Amanda Barrie). Charles Hawtrey's dirty old sage Seneca leads the Soothsayer into the room and at this point his face is completely covered by his hair. It's a brilliant introduction for Jon and what follows is a classic scene where visions are conjured up, as Kenneth says, always missing out the best bits. I love Jon's character, it's spot on and very Carry On. Falling out of character, he turns all Cockney on us at one point, calling the other characters round him with the cry "well gather round and 'ave a butchers!" Excellent stuff! As an aside, Jon would be reunited with the Carry Ons' very own Queen of the Nile the very next year when he co-starred with Amanda Barrie in the Billy Fury musical comedy film I've Gotta Horse. 

Pertwee was back at Pinewood the following year for another period costume epic, Carry On Cowboy. Filming over the summer of 1965, this pretty unique British comedy Western saw most of the regular Carry On cast play very different parts, taking on American accents, riding horses and carrying guns. Crikey. It's probably the first time we actually see proper comedy violence in a Carry On and Sid James clearly relishes his starring role as the menacing Rumpo Kid, who descends on the peace loving Stodge City. Angela Douglas makes her debut in the series as the gun toting Annie Oakley, who arrives in Stodge to settle some old scores, namely to find the man who killed Sheriff Albert Earp, portrayed by none other than Jon Pertwee.

Appearing near the beginning of the film, Earp meets a rather grisly end. Jon excels as the nearly blind, hard of hearing sheriff. Playing some great, farcical scenes with Kenneth Williams as Judge Burke as they bicker and stumble about! Earp more than meets his match when he encounters Sid's Rumpo and it's sadly not long before he is despatched! Another brief role for Jon but as always, he leaves you wanting more! 

Jon would return to Pinewood once more to join the Carry On team and in early 1966 he struck gold with what would become yet another classic in the series. The Hammer Horror spoof Carry On Screaming featured a guest starring role for Steptoe and Son star Harry H Corbett who forms a glorious double act with Peter Butterworth as inept policemen searching for the criminal mastermind who is kidnapping young women and vitryfying them into dress shop dummies! 

Jon pops up as the police doctor, Dr Fettle, and shares scenes with Corbett and Butterworth before receiving a unwelcome visitor in the form of Dr Watt's monster Oddbod! As Dr Fettle regenerates one of Oddbod's missing fingers, he gets a lot more than he bargains for! I loved Jon's eccentric Scottish doctor and although a comedy, as a child it was actually quite a shock when the gruesome discovery is made! Sadly, after this role in Screaming, Jon went on to other things so there were no more Carry On cameos for him. Of course, within a few years he had taken on the role of Doctor Who, a part which he played for four years. 

Jon wasn't the only Pertwee to Carry On. Jon's first cousin Bill Pertwee, best remembered as Hodges, the irritating ARP warden and nemesis to Captain Mainwaring, popped up for two Carry On films. Both small roles, like his cousin, Bill first appeared as a barman who enjoys a quick chat with Jacki Piper and Sid James in Carry On Loving. Three years later he was back for the role of the Fire Chief in Carry On Girls who shares a very funny scene with the Mayor, played by the brilliant Kenneth Connor. Bill did film a small role as the manager of the wonderfully named Whippit Inn for Carry On At Your Convenience in 1971, however, with the film over-running his scenes were sadly cut from the final print. 

Fast forward twenty years and Bill's son James Pertwee had a small role as one of the Inquisitor in the very last Carry On, Carry On Columbus, in 1992. 

So there are quite a few Pertwee connections with our favourite series of British comedy films. For me though, a Jon Pertwee cameo was always a highlight and something to look forward to.





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

What a Carry On this Easter on ITV3: Good Friday

ITV3 haven't let us down this Easter! The channel, which now feels like the home of all things Carry On, is showing some fantastic classic Carry Ons over the Easter weekend.

There are back to back Carry On films on the channel from Good Friday, so here, without further ado, is the all important ITV3 Carry On Schedule for Good Friday itself:

 13.15 - 15.05 - Carry On Cruising (1962)

Set sail aboard the Happy Wanderer in the first colour film from the gang. Sid James stars as Captain Crowther with sterling support from Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Liz Fraser, Esma Cannon and Dilys Laye.

15.05 - 17.05 - Carry On Screaming (1966)

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.

17.05 - 19.00 - Carry On Cowboy (1965)

The Carry On team give American accents a bash in this glorious western romp. Sid James stars as the Rumpo Kid with Jim Dale as the English Sanitary Engineer Marshall P Knutt. Joan Sims shines as saloon owner Belle while the rogues gallery includes first Carry On appearances for Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw and Angela Douglas.

Carry On! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan

My Favourite Carry On Photos: Carry On Cowboy

 

This is part of a new series of blogs looking back at some of my favourite photos from the Carry On archive. I plan to blog some of the photos from the Carry On films and of their stars that mean the most to me and why I love them so much. As simple as that!

Today I'm back at one of my favourite Carry Ons, Carry On Cowboy. This film, released in 1965 was a bit of a departure for the team as it saw them far removed from their cosy English environment and transported, accents and all, to the wild west. OK, it was the back lot at Pinewood Studios but it was very effective! All but leading man Jim Dale and the hilarious Charles Hawtrey were allowed to adopt American accents for the film, to varying degrees of success! 

Cowboy is a glorious pastiche of all those wonderful old Hollywood Westerns and it sees the usual collection of actors and their writer Talbot Rothwell on terrific form. The film is also important for bringing us the debuts of valuable team players in Angela Douglas, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. At the centre of Cowboy is a barn-storming, completely in control performance from Joan Sims as the saloon bar owner, Belle Armitage. It's quite simply Joan's finest hour in the series and miles away from the nagging, shrewish wives she'd go on to be known for later in the series. 

Joan is just gorgeous as the smouldering Belle and her initial entrance in the film, coming down the staircase in her tight black gown, having just fired a shot that has knocked the glass from Sid's hand, is memorable and jaw-droppingly stunning. Joan never looked better and she oozes confidence. Joan always felt better about herself when playing a character with a bit of glamour and she often remarked how much she loved the experience of making Carry On Cowboy.

Belle is strong, confident and is not afraid to take on the men. Cowboy is the first time in the series where the chemistry between Sid and Joan really crackles and it no doubt set a precedent for pairing the two actors up in many future films. You can tell they are having a ball and clearly love working together. Although Sid's Rumpo eventually casts Belle aside and pursues Angela Douglas' Annie Oakley, it is Belle who comes to his rescue at the very end of the film. 

This photo was taken as part of publicity for the film and captures Joan at her very best. It confirms just what a delightful, stunningly attractive, talented lady she was and I love it. 

Stay tuned for more of my favourite Carry On images coming up soon!
 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook