Remembering the talented Carol White

The actress Carol White was a rare talent. Not only did she successfully make the transfer from child actor to grown up, fully fledged star, much like her Carry On Teacher co-star Richard O'Sullivan, Carol was also that precious commodity of the era - a genuine working class heroine. Sadly Carol has been gone now for almost thirty years and it's probably true to say she's no longer remembered by many as she so definitely should be. 

Born in Hammersmith in London in 1943, Carol's life did not work out to plan. The dizzying heights she achieved in the 1960s and early 1970s were not to last and nor was her promise as an actress. I don't want to dwell on her private life as it seems prurient and unfair, instead I think we should focus on her talent and what she did achieve before circumstances took her on a different path. Carol, like Richard, Judy and Sally Geeson and Susan George, attended the famous Corona Academy in West London. Here she learned her craft as an actress while also attending to other aspects of her education. At the same time as her schooling and training, White began attending auditions and taking small parts in film and television productions. 

Three years before she played Sheila in Carry On Teacher, Carol worked for Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas in one of their earliest collaborations, the Children's Film Foundation production, Circus Friends. This family drama told the story of a circus coming to town and the children helping to make the circus a success against a background of rising costs and trouble with local farmers. The cast also included Sam Kydd, John Horsley and Mona Washbourne. Carol played Nan and so impressed Gerald Thomas she was given a sizeable role as one of the errant Maudlin Street kids in Teacher in 1959. Carol's sister Jane also appeared in Teacher playing another pupil, Irene.

Carol popped up, mainly uncredited, in many classic British films of the 1950s as a child actor. There were small roles in two Doctor comedies - In The House in 1954 and At Sea a year later. She also played a school girl in two St Trinian's films - Belles, also in 1954 and Blue Murder in 1957. Other small parts included small roles in An Alligator Named Daisy (1955); Moby Dick (1956) and The 39 Steps in 1959. An early starring role came along the following year when Carol was cast in the film Linda. Playing the title character, the film is a teen drama, focussing on the relationship of a young couple played by White and future Coronation Street actor Alan Rothwell (he'd go on to play David Barlow later the same year). The film tackles prescient teen issues like sex before marriage and gang crime and violence. Apparently Linda has been unseen for decades and the print is currently lost, which is a dreadful shame.

The 1960s saw Carol branch out into television and bigger parts in film. She appeared in a very early episode of The Avengers, playing Jackie in the 1961 episode "Brought to Book". The same year Carol appeared in an episode of Armchair Theatre, entitled "A Head Full of Crocodiles." The hour long play starred Donald Churchill. Other roles in television included a guest part as Winifred Norton in the 1964 police drama series Gideon's Way, which starred John Gregson. Carol also had a recurring part as Jessie Miller in the hospital-set continuing drama Emergency Ward 10 in 1966. However by the mid 1960s Carol's career had really started to take off, mainly thanks to her collaboration with two highly influential figures.

In 1965, Carol was cast in the first of three Wednesday Plays she would appear in over the course of a year. Up The Junction was written by Nell Dunn and directed by Ken Loach. It told the story of three young working class women in South London and featured themes such as sex, abortion and both work and family life for people the small screen was only just beginning to discover. Carol played Sylvie in the play and it was a massive step in the right direction. The television play went on to become a film three years later, although Carol was not part of the cast. Carol worked for Ken Loach again the following year in another Wednesday Play and this one is still remembered today for its gritty portrayal of life on the streets in 1960s Britain. Cathy Come Home, written by Jeremy Sandford (who was at one point married to Nell Dunn), tells the story of an ordinary young woman who, through difficult circumstances loses her home, her husband (Ray Brooks) and eventually has her child taken into care. Filmed in a documentary style, it was an unflinching portrayal of what life was really like for many faced with the uncertainties and lack of flexibility in the British welfare state at the time. Nothing quite like Cathy Come Home had ever been seen on the television before and it left a lasting impact.

Buoyed by this success, Carol was now a British star. Courted by many, she chose to work once again with Ken Loach and Nell Dunn the following year in the film Poor Cow. Co-starring Terence Stamp, the film tells the story of a young woman who makes a series of bad choices in life. She's in a relationship with an abusive young man who turns to crime and ends up in prison. Left alone with a child, Carol's character Joy soon takes up with his friend, but his life follows the same path as her husband and it sets her on a spiral of bad relationships and dubious choices. Later that year Carol worked for Michael Winner in a very different kind of film. I'll Never Forget What's'isname is all about London in the swinging sixties. Starring the likes of Orson Welles, Oliver Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Edward Fox and Wendy Craig, Winner's film focusses on Reed's frustrated young advertising executive Andrew Quint.

In 1968 Carol was lured to Hollywood, first of all to play the lead in Mark Robson's film Daddy's Gone A-Hunting. Carol plays Cathy Palmer, a young British woman who moves to San Francisco to begin a new life. She soon becomes romantically involved with a young man called Kenneth Daly (Scott Hylands) however she then becomes pregnant and deciding she doesn't want to be with Kenneth, breaks off their engagement and her an abortion. The rest of the film deals with the implications of these decisions as she marries again and wants to start a family. Carol soon decided to make her home in Los Angeles and to begin with, major film parts came her way. There was the Dean Martin Western, Something Big in 1971, as well as Dulcima, which saw Carol co-star with British actor John Mills. The following year she also led the cast of Made, a drama telling the story of a young single mother and her fraught relationship with an insecure rock star, played by Roy Harper.

Sadly, difficulties in Carol's private life meant that her career faded by the mid-1970s. Carol did have a large supporting role in a British film, The Squeeze in 1977. Directed by Michael Apted and written by Minder creator Leon Griffiths, The Squeeze is a tale of a violent gang who kidnap a woman and her daughter to extort money from her rich husband. Carol stars alongside Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings in perhaps another film which deserves to see the light of day once again. Based in London again, Carol made one final attempt to get her career back on track, working again with the writer Nell Dunn. In 1981 she starred in Dunn's play Steaming in London's West End at the Comedy Theatre. Sadly, despite publicity from the play and a biography of White which was published at the same time, Carol struggled to stay afloat and unable to revive her acting career, returned to America for the rest of her life. 

Carol was married three times during her life and had two sons from her first marriage. She died at the young age of just 48 in September 1991, in Florida. There have been several different reports on what led to her early death but that material is for a different blog. I just think it's such a terrible shame and a very sad loss, particularly to her family and all of us, the audience, who were robbed of what might have been. Such early promise and such a shining, original talent sadly did not come to fruition in later life. Still, at least we have several memorable screen performances from Carol White's wonderful mid-1960s career peak to enjoy. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Time to Celebrate the work of Richard O'Sullivan?

As I tweeted last night, I've recently rediscovered that most Seventies of situation comedies, Robin's Nest, on Talking Pictures TV. The series ran from 1977 until 1981 and was a spin off from the hugely successful Man About The House which had come to an end the year before. Robin's Nest starred Richard O'Sullivan as his Man About The House character Robin Tripp who sets up a Bistro with his girlfriend Victoria, played by Tessa Wyatt. Other regular cast members were Tony Britton as Victoria's disapprovingly posh father and the unforgettable Irish actor David Kelly as a one-armed kitchen hand Albert Riddle. 

The series is very much of its time and that's not a criticism. It's undemanding, gentle and well written. It's not gag central but neither should it be as that's more of an American invention. The characters are well written and played by an expert cast of actors. We really don't see the likes of such programmes these days and that, I think, is a shame. At the heart of Robin's Nest is of course Richard O'Sullivan. I've been aware of Richard's work for years, mainly thanks to his Seventies sitcom work and his earlier teenage role as Maudlin Street troublemaker Robin Stevens in the excellent 1959 comedy Carry On Teacher. However there is much more to Richard than that and I honestly believe he's one of our most under-appreciated actors.

Richard started his acting career at an early age after attending the famous Corona Academy, which also produced the likes of Dennis Waterman, Susan George and the Geeson sisters Judy and Sally. Many of the Corona kids appeared in Teacher with Richard and you can spot the likes of Francesca Annis and Diane Langton in some of the crowd scenes. Richard began appearing on our screens from the early 1950s, mostly in small roles as a child actor. He appeared in Children's Film Foundation pictures and worked on film alongside the likes of Trevor Howard, Keith Michell, Belinda Lee and John Mills. On television he made early appearances in Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood with Richard Greene. Around the time he made Teacher, Richard landed one of his first leading parts in the ITC series The Four Just Men. The same year he had a scene in the Audrey Hepburn film, The Nun's Story.

The transition from child actor to leading star is not an easy one and many struggle to make the crossover. That wasn't the case for Richard, as the early 1960s saw him take leading parts in several films. He appeared in two Cliff Richard musical films, The Young Ones in 1961 and Wonderful Life three years later. In between he played Ptolemy XIII in the big budget epic Cleopatra, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. You can't get much bigger than that. The rest of the Sixties saw Richard continue to work steadily, learning his craft across a number of productions including Danger Man, No Hiding Place, Dixon of Dock Green, Redcap and Emergency Ward 10. It was the next decade, however, which would see Richard become a star of the small screen.

Richard's situation comedy career kicked off in earnest in 1971 when he was cast as Dr Lawrence Bingham in the small screen adaptation of the Richard Gordon series of Doctor stories. The 1971 series, Doctor At Large, also starred Barry Evans, George Layton and Geoffrey Davies and was written by the likes of Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and John Cleese. Richard continued in the role for the next series the following year, Doctor in Charge, before taking a leading role in the Thames TV comedy series Alcock and Gander, which starred Beryl Reid. The year after this series ended, Richard found his biggest and longest lasting role as chef Robin Tripp in the Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke comedy, Man About The House.

Man About The House was a flat share sitcom which in some ways, at the time, was revolutionary. It featured Richard's character sharing with two young women, played by Sally Thomsett and Paula Wilcox. It was quite daring for the time and perhaps also forward thinking as the two female characters always got the better of poor old Robin. The series also co-starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce in their original incarnations of bickering middle-aged couple George and Mildred Roper. While Richard was given the spin off Robin's Nest once Man About The House ended, Brian and Yootha also went on have their own show, simply titled George and Mildred, which ran until Yootha's sad death in 1980. Man About The House also led to a feature film spin off in 1974, in line with the trend for such things in the 1970s.

Robin's Nest again showcased Richard's flair for light comedy and the simple fact is, like all great actors he made it look so easy. In fact he was one of his generations' hardest working actors and for that I don't think he ever received his fair share of credit. He was also multi-talented, as Robin's Nest clearly shows. As well as starring in the series, he also wrote the theme tune and even published a cook book based on the show, which was called Man About The Kitchen and came out in 1980. Robin's Nest was also the first UK comedy series to feature an unmarried couple cohabiting. So there you go! The mid-1970s also saw Richard star in a touring production of the play Boeing Boeing. This tour capitalised on his sitcom success by co-starring Yootha Joyce and Sally Thomsett. The record breaking national tour also co-starred Judy Matheson, a great friend to this blog.

The late 1970s and 1980s saw Richard continue to work prominently on television. He took the title role in the LWT series Dick Turpin, which ran between 1979 and 1982 and this series is perhaps rather overlooked these days and due a repeat. It also featured Carry On great Joan Sims in a guest role so that alone is worth a view. From 1984 for the next four years Richard took the lead in another comedy series, Me and My Girl, also for LWT and co-starring the late, great Joan Sanderson of Please Sir fame. 

Richard continued to be in demand for acting work right through until the mid 1990s however very sadly ill health took its toll and he was forced into early retirement. One of his last appearances was as part of the audio commentary team for the DVD release of Carry On Teacher in 2006. Joined by co-stars Paul Cole and Larry Dann, the conversation is riotous and thoroughly entertaining. The old Richard O'Sullivan cheeky charm and charisma is still evident and it's great to hear him reminisce about his career with a group of old mates. 

Sadly Richard suffered a stroke in the early 2000s and now resides at Brinsworth House, a wonderful retirement home for actors and other entertainment stars. Richard was back in the news recently when he was pictured meeting Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, while she was touring Brinsworth. Judy Matheson also still keeps in touch with Richard and not so long ago shared a photo of him on Twitter, which was lovely to see. 

I'm sad that Richard has not been in the best of health in recent years as it has robbed us of one of our most talented and charming leading actors. I think Richard O'Sullivan has suffered when it comes to critical acclaim because he was such a prolific star of light comedies and television sitcoms. Rampant snobbery at work again I'm afraid. It takes a special kind of actor to be able to carry off leading roles in so many hit series and indeed to make it look so effortless. Looking into Richard's long career, dating back to the early 1950s, you can see the diverse nature of his acting work across all mediums and he really did learn his craft. That alone is worth celebrating. I think it's time Richard was reappraised and celebrated for all the magnificent work he has given us over the years.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

The Star Of … Carry On Teacher

I have decided to dedicate a new series of blogs to what I consider to be the very best performances in each of the thirty original Carry On films. As ever, it's a purely personal take on these films from yours truly and of course you are welcome to agree or disagree as you see fit! 

Since I started the blog in 2015 I have often championed the underdog or the under appreciated. The Carry On series employed hundreds of cracking comedy actors during their twenty year lifespan and while I've done my best to celebrate as many of them as possible, there is still much to do to preserve their legacy. Some of the actors featured in this new series will be household names and leading lights, others perhaps not so well known. Whoever they are, I hope you enjoy reading about my chosen few.

The first in this series saw me write about my love for Kenneth Connor's role as Horace Strong in Carry On Sergeant and then, moving forward to later in 1958, we focus on Kenneth Williams in Carry On Nurse. With the series beginning to gather momentum a third film quickly followed in the spring of 1959. Carry On Teacher, probably the most innocent of all the films, takes its lead from the popular St Trinian's films with a dash of Ealing comedy for good measure. With a cast brim full of young actors, mostly plucked from the Corona Academy, Gerald Thomas showed his directorial skill by coaxing excellent comedy performances from the likes of Richard O'Sullivan, Carol White, Larry Dann et al. 

Featuring a smaller cast of character than previous entries, Teacher sees the first signs of a core team being pushed forward with familiar faces Kenneth Connor, Leslie Phillips, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams taking centre stage. With guest star Ted Ray putting in a sublime performance as head teacher William Wakefield and Cyril Chamberlain grabbing more screen time than usual, there is plenty to keep fans happy. The basic premise of Teacher sees a bunch of well-meaning if badly behaved children decide to take action to ensure their beloved head teacher doesn't leave for his dream school in a prestigious new town. Taking advantage of the arrival of two very contrasting school inspectors, the kids begin a campaign designed to create as much upheaval as possible. This provides plenty of slapstick moments and delightfully childish set pieces which, in the hands of anyone other than this band of seasoned pros, might have fallen flat.

Teacher is the sweetest, softest and most gentle of all the Carry Ons. It's a lovely Sunday afternoon film and I have a deep affection for it. As for my star of the film, well it's the only actor involved who hasn't been named checked yet - the glorious Rosalind Knight, here playing snooty school inspector Felicity Wheeler.

Rosalind debuted in the series with a cameo in the previous film, as Nurse Nightingale in Carry On Nurse. In a cast bursting with familiar and well-loved actors, Rosalind pops in for a few scenes as the earnest but accident prone Nightingale and is absolutely wonderful. Her scenes with Ann Firbank and Susan Beaumont are a delight and it's clear to see she'd be back for more fun with the gang. And less than six months later she was. Felicity is a much bigger, starring role and Rosalind grabs it with both hands. In the 2015 Carry On Forever documentary Rosalind spoke about the part and even went back to the school used for Maudlin Street. It was great to hear how much she relished the part of Miss Wheeler and how much she enjoyed working with Kenneth Connor as bumbling Science master Mr Adams.

Rosalind Knight came from a theatrical family, with her father being the renowned actor Esmond Knight, her mother Frances Clare and her step mother Nora Swinburne. She had started to appear in films a couple of years before Nurse and Teacher with an eye-catching role as a glamorous six former alongside Dilys Laye in the 1957 film Blue Murder at St Trinian's. It's easy to see why Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas cast her in two of the early Carry Ons and she plays her roles with aplomb for an actress who was so young and relatively inexperienced in film making.

The strength of Rosalind's role in Teacher comes from two onscreen partnerships. The first, with fellow inspector Alistair Grigg, played with wolfish glee by Leslie Phillips. The two characters are polls apart and Leslie's louche, relaxed approach to discipline amongst teenagers contrasts vividly with Rosalind's strict and uncompromising Miss Wheeler. We always need contrasts in comedy and these two actors provide it in spades. At the heart of Teacher for me though is the comedic romance between Felicity and Gregory Adams (Connor). Ray's William Wakefield quickly spots the spark between the pair and decides to push them together mainly for his own ends.

What follows is a delightful collection of set pieces where Connor's bumbles, prat falls and jumbles his words with glorious comedic nervous energy. Rosalind proves to be the perfect comic foil and as the film progresses, Connor's character slowly cracks her tough exterior. Their on screen romance is the perfect example of the tender side to the early Norman Hudis Carry Ons. Before the films were wall to wall innuendo, slapstick and over playing, there were moments of genuine romance and social comment. Following on from Kenneth Williams playing it for real in Nurse with Jill Ireland, here we have almost serious dramatics from Connor, himself a very serious proper actor, falling for Rosalind's strict inspector. When they finally admit their feelings for each other, the audience is right behind them. Knight and Connor obviously got on well and their partnership on screen is simply wonderful. I only wish they had worked together more often.

In Carry On Land, everyone gets a happy ending. Couples get together or reunite, Williams, Jacques and Hawtrey camp about and the kids win the day as William Wakefield decides to stay put at Maudlin Street. As the music swells and the children cheer in the playground, it's quite hard not to be caught up in the moment. For me Rosalind Knight is the star of Carry On Teacher, thanks to her brilliant performance as Felicity Wheeler. Her partnership with Connor is superb and my only complaint is that Rosalind didn't return for more Carry On adventures. However given the depth and variety of her subsequent career, she probably made the right decision!

Stay tuned for the next instalment of this series when I write about my own personal favourite 'star' of Carry On Constable.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram  

Two Classic Carry Ons Coming Up on Film4!

Once again Film4 are delivering the goods. Two wonderful black and white Carry On films from the Norman Hudis era are being shown on the channel over the next seven days and here are the details: 

Carry On Teacher - Thursday 18 October, 17.00

Another favourite of mine from the early Norman Hudis era of the series, Carry On Teacher blends the best elements of Ealing comedy and St Trinian's to make one of the most innocent of all the Carry Ons. A group of children rebel during an official visit from some school inspectors in the hope they can prevent their beloved headmaster from leaving to take up a new job. Gerald Thomas coaxes some lovely performances from the child actors in the cast, principally from leads Richard O'Sullivan and Carol White. Ted Ray makes his only Carry On appearance as the headmaster William Wakefield and forms a superb double act with his longtime radio co-star Kenneth Connor as bumbling science master Gregory Adams. Rosalind Knight grabs a larger role in Teacher, following her cameo in Nurse, this time playing severe school inspector Felicity Wheeler while the likes of Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams are also along for the fun as the gaggle of accident prone, squabbling teachers. 

Further reading:  Carry On Blogging Interview: Josephine Bailey
Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to the Saboteurs?

 Carry On Regardless (1961) - Sunday 21 October, 16.50.

Although writer Norman Hudis is on record as saying this was his least favourite of all the Carry Ons he wrote, I love Regardless. It's the most episodic film of the entire series, basically made up of a series of sketches held together by the central comic force of Sid James as the owner of the Helping Hands Agency. Helping Hands employs a rag bag of diverse workers willing to undertake (almost) anything. This premise gives Hudis a huge amount of scope and the results, in the hands of a cosy bunch of lovable Carry On eccentrics, is just brilliant. It also features the biggest supporting cast of superb British comedy actors even seen. Everyone from Fenella Fielding and Stanley Unwin to Molly Weir, Jerry Desmonde and Joan Hickson appear, mostly fleetingly. Sid is assisted by the likes of Esma Cannon, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Bill Owen and a debuting Liz Fraser.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Why I love Carry On Regardless
Carry On Blogging: My Favourite scene - Carry On Regardless


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Happy Birthday Richard O'Sullivan!

 

Many happy returns to the actor Richard O'Sullivan who celebrates his 74th birthday today! Richard, a huge success in the 1970s and 1980s on the small screen, grabbed one of his earliest roles as ringleader Robin Stevens in the 1959 classic comedy Carry On Teacher.

I have a real soft spot for Teacher and Richard is great as the chief saboteur who plots a series of pranks to disrupt a school inspection and keep the beloved headmaster Ted Ray at Maudlin Street School. Richard went on to a hugely successful career with a role in the 1963 epic Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He is probably most famous for a string of high profile roles on television. He played lothario Robin Tripp in the classic seventies sitcom Man About The House and its spin-off, Robin's Nest. 

Richard also went on to star in series such as Dick Turpin, Me and My Girl and Doctor at Large. Sadly we haven't seen much of Richard in recent years as he has battled with ill health. He did make a return to Carry On in more recent times when he took part in an outrageously fun audio commentary for the DVD of Carry On Teacher alongside fellow Maudlin Street alumni Paul Cole and Larry Dann.

 

Whatever Richard is up to today, I hope he has a wonderful birthday.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On with More4 this Christmas!

It really does feel that every Carry On film is being dusted off by our television networks this Christmas, not that I'm complaining. Next week sees Channel 4 show a different Anglo Amalgamated Carry On each week day afternoon, and 4's sister channel, More 4, will be showing three more from Boxing Day morning onwards.

Here are the details:

Boxing Day, 10am - Carry On Teacher (1959)

Another favourite of mine from the early Norman Hudis era of the series, Carry On Teacher blends the best elements of Ealing comedy and St Trinian's to make one of the most innocent of all the Carry Ons. A group of children rebel during an official visit from some school inspectors in the hope they can prevent their beloved headmaster from leaving to take up a new job. Gerald Thomas coaxes some lovely performances from the child actors in the cast, principally from leads Richard O'Sullivan and Carol White. Ted Ray makes his only Carry On appearance as the headmaster William Wakefield and forms a superb double act with his longtime radio co-star Kenneth Connor as bumbling science master Gregory Adams. Rosalind Knight grabs a larger role in Teacher, following her cameo in Nurse, this time playing severe school inspector Felicity Wheeler while the likes of Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams are also along for the fun as the gaggle of accident prone, squabbling teachers. 

Further reading:  Carry On Blogging Interview: Josephine Bailey
Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to the Saboteurs? 


27 December, 10am - Carry On Jack (1963)

Probably one of my lesser favourites, this swash buckling yarn from the early 1960s marked a return to colour for the Carry Ons and also saw the films take on a period subject matter for the very first time. Until this point, every series entry had been firmly based in the present day so for the loyal cinema-going audiences this must have been quite a shock! Jack, written by Talbot Rothwell, is also fairly light both on innuendos and familiar cast members. Indeed of the regular team at this stage, only Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey appear. Jim Dale, back for his second brief cameo role after Cabby earlier the same year, was yet to become a main presence however his appearance is a funny one and most welcome. Grabbing most of the action are Juliet Mills and Bernard Cribbins and very good they are too. Both new to the films, this was Juliet's only Carry On, despite appearing in two other films for Peter Rogers, Nurse On Wheels and Twice Round The Daffodils. Jack does feature some stunning actors in supporting roles, namely Donald Houston, Percy Herbert, Cecil Parker and Patrick Cargill.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: A Change of Tack about Carry On Jack


28 December, 10am - Carry On Regardless (1961)

Although writer Norman Hudis is on record as saying this was his least favourite of all the Carry Ons he wrote, I love Regardless. It's the most episodic film of the entire series, basically made up of a series of sketches held together by the central comic force of Sid James as the owner of the Helping Hands Agency. Helping Hands employs a rag bag of diverse workers willing to undertake (almost) anything. This premise gives Hudis a huge amount of scope and the results, in the hands of a cosy bunch of lovable Carry On eccentrics, is just brilliant. It also features the biggest supporting cast of superb British comedy actors even seen. Everyone from Fenella Fielding and Stanley Unwin to Molly Weir, Jerry Desmonde and Joan Hickson appear, mostly fleetingly. Sid is assisted by the likes of Esma Cannon, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Bill Owen and a debuting Liz Fraser.

Further reading: Carry On Blogging: Why I love Carry On Regardless
Carry On Blogging: My Favourite scene - Carry On Regardless


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

Happy Birthday Rosalind Knight!

Many happy returns to the actress Rosalind Knight, who celebrates her birthday today! Rosalind, still active in the acting profession, is well known to us Carry On buffs for her eye-catching roles in two early Carry On films.

Rosalind first appeared in a cameo role in the second film in the series, Carry On Nurse, made in late 1958. Although only in her early twenties at the time, she shone as the accident prone but aptly named Nurse Nightingale. Obviously making her mark, Rosalind was asked back by Peter Rogers for a bigger role in the next film, Carry On Teacher.

In Teacher, Rosalind plays the wonderfully severe schools inspector Felicity Wheeler, who together with Alistair Grigg (Leslie Phillips) conducts an inspection of Maudlin Street School. Of course being a Carry On, things do not go to plan as Richard O'Sullivan's Robin Stevens leads a revolt with the aim of keeping head teacher William Wakefield at the school.

Felicity also falls for the bumbling science teacher, played by Carry On legend Kenneth Connor. Although only meeting and working together for the first time, Knight and Connor work extremely well together and are the heart of the film for me. Sadly Rosalind did not return for any further Carry On films but she has gone on to enjoy a long, varied and successful career on stage, television and in film. It was great to see her reminisce about her time making Teacher in the Carry On Forever documentary screened earlier this year.

Whatever Rosalind is up to today, I hope she has a wonderful birthday.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan 

Connor Carries On ... as Gregory Adams

Next June will mark Kenneth Connor's centenary. This feels like the right time to celebrate the man's legacy and what better a legacy that his seventeen glorious performances in the Carry On films. As I've already done with the three main leading ladies of the series, I plan to embark on a series of blogs profiling each of Kenneth's roles in the Carry Ons, giving my own take on his contributions.

Kenneth is another one of those actors who worked steadily, prolifically and across all mediums throughout his career. From his very early days in film before the outbreak of World War Two, through the 1950s which saw him become an integral part of British radio comedy to the Carry Ons and his unforgettable roles in several 1980s sitcoms, Connor was an incredibly gifted actor. He worked right up until his death at the age of 75 in November 1993. However unlike Sid, Kenneth Williams or Barbara Windsor, I feel that Connor never really got the credit he deserved. He didn't have an outrageous private life, no scandals to be told. He shunned the limelight and his many performances as the ordinary man in the street mirrored his own life away from the cameras. 

Kenneth was also one of the precious few actors who's career spanned pretty much the entire run of the Carry Ons. He was there at the very beginning in Carry On Sergeant and, a five year gap in the mind 1960s aside, remained loyal to the films until the very end of the original run in 1978. Connor, along with Williams and Eric Barker were the only actors to appear in the very first and the very last of the series. Kenneth was still around when Columbus was made in 1992 but declined to take part, probably very wisely. This new series of blogs will be a celebration of all those wonderful comedy performances in the Carry Ons - from bumbling romantic lead through to crumbling character parts, Kenneth could play them all.

So let's continue with Kenneth's third role in the series, as bumbling science master Gregory Adams in the hit film of 1959, Carry On Teacher. 

I absolutely adore Carry On Teacher. It's probably as close to a gentle Ealing comedy that the Carry Ons ever got. The film tells the story of a group of school children who turn mischief makers when inspectors visit the school in the hope it will stop beloved headmaster William Wakefield (Ted Ray) leaving for a new post. Teacher boasts a compact cast of Carry On favourites - Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams, Leslie Phillips, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and of course, Kenneth Connor. There is also the great Ted Ray in a guest starring role which could have led to further parts in the series had Ray not been contracted elsewhere. 

One of the joys of Teacher is the cast of wonderful young actors, led by the cheeky Richard O'Sullivan who would go on to massive success, mainly on television. The skill of Gerald Thomas is clearly seen in this film as he coaxes wonderful performances from so many young actors including O'Sullivan, Carol White and Paul Cole. Thomas had worked on a classic Children's Film Foundation production, Circus Friends with Carol White two years before and obviously knew how to work with child actors. 

Teacher continued the trend of the early Carry Ons under the guidance of Norman Hudis which saw broad comedy and slapstick blended effectively with poignant moments or real pathos and tinges of social commentary. This was often missing from later series entries which I think was a shame. Anyway, on to Kenneth's role in the film.

Kenneth is pretty much the star of the show in Teacher. In those far off pre-Sid days of Carry On, he was the closest there was to a leading man and he always played it so well. A delightful mix of caring teacher and bumbling romantic lead, Connor gets more screen time than any of the other regulars present. Kenneth's role is enhanced by the guest starring role for radio comedian Ted Ray. Ray sadly only made one Carry On but his contract elsewhere left room for Sid to join the fun for Carry On Constable so I suppose we shouldn't be too sad. Ted had played a great leading role in the other Rogers and Thomas release of '59, Please Turn Over. The pair also worked together regularly on Ray's A Laugh on radio so they very obviously had chemistry to exploit.

Most of Kenneth's role in the film surrounds William Wakefield (Ted Ray) and his attempts to soften the severe school inspector Felicity Wheeler by exploiting her very obvious feelings for Kenneth's Gregory Adams. There are some priceless two hander scenes in the headmaster's office between Ted and Kenneth. They are a joy and I wish they'd made more films together. We also get some lovely, gently romantic scenes between Rosalind Knight and Connor which act as a great balancing point with all the knockabout slapstick and childish japes. They make for a very believable couple and in 2015's Carry On Forever documentary Rosalind remembered working with Connor with great affection and clearly found him a joy to be with on set.

Away from the 1950s black and white romantics it's business as usual in Carry On Teacher and Kenneth C is only too happy to be one of the main players when it comes to the slapstick antics and messy pratfalls. He embraces it all like a true pro with rockets exploding into the ceiling, sacks of flour falling from above and super glue and boot polish making a simple phone call practically impossible. He also displays excellent comic timing in the memorable itching powder scene towards the end of the film and there is much humour to be had as he and Joan Sims rub each other up the right way! 

Connor is also involved in the calamitous denouement as the dreadful little sixth formers cause havoc in the end of term school play. As the sprinklers inevitably shower down onto the stage, Connor takes to the stage and obviously soaked through, straddles the stage curtain as it rises beneath him! Carry On Teacher provides Connor with one of his best leading roles in the series. He shines playing opposite Ted Ray and Rosalind Knight and bickers and camps about with Williams and Hawtrey. 

Stay tuned for my next blog in this series as we take a look at Kenneth Connor's performance as Constable Constable in erm, Carry On Constable! 


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