The Star of … Carry On Cruising

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 focused on Kenneth Williams in Carry On Nurse. My star of Carry On Teacher, released in 1959, was that wonderful character actress Rosalind Knight, playing strict school inspector Felicity Wheeler and my star of Carry On Constable was the debuting Sidney James. Most recently I decided that my star turn from Carry On Regardless was that man Kenneth Connor again. Today we're moving on to the very first colour film in the series, Carry On Cruising.

I adore Carry On Cruising. It's not a typical Carry On classic in many ways as it is still fairly innocent and innuendo-light and although the cast are a joy, the film misses several key players audiences at the time would now be used to seeing. Charles Hawtrey was replaced by Lance Percival as the ship cook relatively late on due to a dispute about billing (which would rumble for years to come). Joan Sims was also absent and Cruising would mark the first of four early sixties Carry Ons that Joan would miss. Other notable faces such as Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips were also glaringly absent and this was the first of several Carry Ons of the era which would feature a smaller core cast of players. The big ensemble efforts of Nurse, Constable and Regardless were for now a thing of the past.

Having said all that, fewer competing big names allowed those who were present more room to manoeuvre. Most of the action is shared between Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor and these three heavyweights of British comedy are given some priceless material and they all interact beautifully together. Liz Fraser is back again following her debut in Regardless however her role here is pretty much the foil to newcomer Dilys Laye. While that may seem odd, it is easily explained by the fact that Dilys took on the part at very short notice from her longtime friend and colleague Joan Sims. The role was written for Sims and you can therefore see why Dilys is so much to the fore. And of course she is brilliant at it and once again begs the question why wasn't she a more regular part of the team? Esma Cannon is also a familiar and welcome face as one of the cruise passengers and does a sterling job in a role that often sees her acting comedy on her own, not an easy task.

The basic premise of Cruising follows all the other Carry On plots devised by writer Norman Hudis, who's last screenplay for the series this was. Captain Crowther (Sid James) has five of his crew replaced at short notice before a new cruise voyage begins. Not only does he get the five most incompetent crew men ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer is the cruise ship and after this voyage, Crowther hopes to get a job as captain on a transatlantic ship, promising the crew members their jobs will be safe under the new captain. Starting off from England, the Happy Wanderer calls at unnamed ports in Spain, Italy and North Africa before going home again.


So who is my favourite in Carry On Cruising?


Well it's not quite a no brainer as I had a bit of a tough choice between two of the ladies. While Esma Cannon puts in a superb performance, mainly on her own I might add, as mad little spinster Bridget, for me the knock out turn comes from the delightful Dilys Laye as Flo Castle. Dilys, as I've already mentioned, was catapulted into Cruising at very short notice due to Joan Sims being indisposed. Given the very short amount of time she had to get across the part, get her costumes together and meet her fellow cast mates, Dilys does a sublime job. Flo is a major starring role and her plot, looking for a husband on the ship, is the driving force of the entire film. Yes, Laye had been in films for several years by this point but mainly in supporting roles or eye-catching cameos. This is quite different, it's a starring role. 

I know it was meant for Joan and I could see Joan working so well once again with Liz Fraser and with Kenneth Connor as a love interest, however despite Joan being my ultimate heroine, I cannot imagine anyone other than Dilys in the part. This goes against some comments a few years ago by writer Norman Hudis and while he certainly knew his stuff, Dilys for me is the best thing in the film. She's quite simply never off. It's a hugely confident, brilliantly timed, hilarious and energetic performance and you can't help but get caught up in the magic and the glee of it all. I only wish Peter Rogers had made Dilys a permanent member of the team as the actress, many years later, admitted she'd have loved.

Dilys also works so well with the rest of the cast, it's not just her own performance which makes her my star. Dilys works really well with Liz Fraser as the two best friends enjoying a luxurious cruise. Liz was definitely the more experienced film actor of the pair but here she's pretty much second fiddle to Dilys. Yet it still works. Dilys is also superb in her scenes with a rather naive, innocent Sid James as Captain Crowther. Dilys is the stronger of the two in their very mild flirtation scenes and it's great to see Sid playing a gentler character than the kind he became famous for later on in the series. And who can forget Dilys and Esma Cannon and their glorious drinking session! Two ladies comedically having a few too many is ahead of its time and really very modern for a film made in 1962 at a time when men were the stars and given the better parts.

Dilys is also amazingly good in her romantic interludes with one of my other favourite actors, the brilliant Kenneth Connor. Many years later Dilys admitted she was often mistaken for Kenneth's real life wife, so convincing were the pair in that film. I love the gentle, bumbling romance as Flo does her utmost to spurn Dr Binn's advances. Of course, as with the best of these scenarios, the audience is completely on Kenneth's side and rooting for him throughout. And of course they get there in the end. It's funny, honest, real and very sweet without being over the top. Qualities I so admire about the early Carry Ons and of Norman Hudis' scripts and aspects that were perhaps lacking from the films later in the run.

So there you have it, Dilys Laye, in her first Carry On appearance, is my star turn in Carry On Cruising. Let me know if you agree! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Four Years of Carry On Blogging!

It's not Brexit Day, it's Carry On Blogging day. Well something like that. Four years ago today I came to the random decision to write a blog about my love of the classic Carry On series of British film comedies. It wasn't part of a strategic plan and I certainly didn't have a Backstop, Matron!

I had tweeted through the @CarryOnJoan account for a year or so and thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with other Carry On fans. It all took off far faster than I ever dared to imagine and I now have 18.6K followers. Moving from 140 odd characters to thought-through blog pieces on all manner of things was a big step though but I'm ever so glad I did it. It is a proper labour of love and sometimes real life does get in the way of all the fun but four years later I'm still at it ;)

The main reason I keep blogging is the interaction it leads to with fellow fans on the internet every day. The internet has perhaps become an increasingly dark and dodgy place but my involvement with it through Carry On Blogging has been (nearly always) a complete and utter joy. 

So four years in, I've nearly 19 thousand followers on Twitter and I've published the best part of 2000 original blog posts. At times it's been a deeply personal take on the Carry On films and how they affected me as I grew up and why I treasure them still. As a fan, writing these blogs on my laptop in my pyjamas, it's quite extraordinary that the blog has enabled me to interview the likes of Valerie Leon, Robin Askwith, Judy Matheson, Juliet Mills, Julian Holloway, Elke Sommer and Patricia Franklin. And through the blog I've met and interviewed superb people like Morris Bright, Amanda Barrie, Fenella Fielding, Madeline Smith and Anita Harris. Not bad for a boy who used to collect Cinema Club VHS tapes from the Woolies Bargain Bin! 

I was thinking about the Carry Ons and their legacy quite seriously recently following my interview with the fantastic journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed. Samira is a fan of some of the films and certainly many of the actors and yet she also struggles with aspects of their content, when viewed with a modern eye. The most troubling comment Samira made was regarding the future lifespan of the films. She questioned whether the Carry Ons would survive in the consciousness of the nation. Do they have such a collective cultural pull that they will always be cherished and never forgotten? Until Samira raised that issue I confess I hadn't given it that much thought. I am sure generations to come will not understand the humour or recognise the ever so talented faces who brought the films so brilliantly to life. That makes me sad but that's life and time is passing. 

Sadly the Carry Ons are mainly mentioned these days when one of the actors who appeared in them passes away. Last year we lost far too many familiar Cary On faces and for me, with the death of Dame June Whitfield in December, we really did reach the end of an era. Despite this I think it's important to continue cherishing our rich comedy heritage in this country. I started this blog mainly as a tribute to the tremendous Carry On actresses and supporting actors who never really got the credit they deserved either at the time or within their lifetimes. Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Patsy Rowlands, Peter Gilmore, Esma Cannon, Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw, Amelia Bayntun, Joan Hickson, Bill Maynard, Dilys Laye…the list goes on. I loved them all and although the vast majority are now long gone, they still feel so very much with us thanks to their gloriously big, colourful, comic performances in the Carry Ons. They deserve to be remembered so fondly and I will continue to do so. 

So forget Brexit, if only for the day, and pick out your favourite Carry On film. Stick it in the DVD player or whatever fiendish device you own, sit back, relax and enjoy a Britain that never really existed but goodness, wouldn't it have been nice if it had? What will I be watching? I think on this weird old day, a bit of Carry On Up The Khyber feels just about perfect.

Carry On, and thanks for all the fun.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On with The Gentle Touch

I absolutely love the classic television series The Gentle Touch. I'd obviously heard of it before and was aware of its star, the excellent Jill Gascoine, for many years but until earlier this year I'd never actually seen the show. This all changed when Talking Pictures TV announced they were running every episode of the series, all 56 episodes across five series, made between 1980 and 1984.

The series starred Jill Gascoine as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes, who has worked her way up through the ranks of the police force and is based at Seven Dials, a station in Central London. Maggie's husband, a police constable, is murdered during the first episode, leaving her to juggle her career and single parenthood, raising her teenage son. 

The Gentle Touch largely dealt with routine police procedures and offered a frank depiction of relevant social issues such as sexism, racism, homosexuality and mental health. It marked a major departure from other police action series such as The Sweeney or The Professionals as it mainly offered a more realistic and low key approach. Although the series mostly focused on Maggie's professional life in a male-dominated field, it also showed her home life with her teenage son Steve, who in one episode she castigated for looking at porn, as well as her occasional romantic involvements which sometimes clashed with her job. In real life Jill Gascoine could not drive so when Maggie had to be seen driving the scenes would be shot using a car towed behind the camera truck.

The Gentle Touch was a ratings success in the UK, where it was screened on Friday nights in a 9 pm slot (except for the final series which was shown on Saturday nights). One episode shown in January 1982 garnered over 18 million viewers and was the 5th most watched television programme in Britain that year.

You might wonder why I'm writing about this, apart from the fact it's just an ace piece of television drama. Well despite its subject and content not being exactly prime Carry On territory, the series did actually feature a fair few Carry On actors. Fancy finding out who they were and what they got up to? Well read on…

Regular supporting actor in six Carry Ons, from Carry On Matron to England, Brian Osborne appeared the first series episode Rogue in 1980, playing Detective Inspector Jim Souter. A year later, the instantly recognisable character actor Harry Towb cropped up as Martin Hersh in the story, Scapegoat. Harry had a cameo role as the doctor in the sex film seen briefly in Carry On At Your Convenience! 

One of my favourite actresses, the fabulous Dilys Laye guest starred in the 1982 episode, entitled Vigil. Playing a rather feisty, upper crust and glamorous fraudster, Dilys displays both her natural comedic talent and flair for straight dramatics in the affecting role of Annette. We all love Dilys for her four 1960s Carry Ons - Cruising, Spying, Doctor and Camping. Two years later, in 1984, Angela Douglas joined The Gentle Touch in the role of Betty Farrell. Angela's character appeared in A Woman's Word, a story which sees Maggie Forbes struggle to keep the confidence of an informer.

The 1982 series also featured the legendary character actress and future Miss Marple extraordinaire, Joan Hickson. Joan, who appeared in five Carry Ons between 1958 and 1973, guest starred in the episode Auctions as Sarah Meade. This episode sees Maggie investigate the refined world of fine art. It also sees the actor Bernard Kay make an appearance, playing Finnerman. Bernard had a very small role as a Recruit in the very first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant, in 1958. 

Playing the excellently named Selina De Sade in the 1984 episode Exit Laughing is the glamorous Wanda Ventham. Yes, she's the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch, but Wanda has also enjoyed an extremely varied acting career which also includes small parts in Carry On Cleo, Carry on Up The Khyber and The Big Job. Also in 1984, the great Larry Martyn cropped up in Mad Dog as a Minicab Driver. Larry had cameos in two 1970s Carry Ons - as the shooting gallery assistant in At Your Convenience and as the bemused electrician in Carry On Behind. 

Are You Being Served? legend and Carry On Screaming supporting actor Frank Thornton guest stars in the 1982 story Right of Entry, playing Leo. While playing Elaine Campbell in Appearances Can Be Deceptive in 1984 is Carry On Behind star Adrienne Posta. The story revolves around a woman who has killed her abusive husband, apparently in self defence until new evidence emerges…heavy stuff! Fellow Carry On Behind star Sherrie Hewson guest stars as Steph in the story Joker in 1982, the tale of a jewel thief and one policeman's attempt to frame him. The episode also starred Diana Dors' husband Alan Lake. 

Another familiar face to star in The Gentle Touch is actress and author Linda Regan. Linda, best remembered for her regular role in Hi-de-Hi, starred as Marilyn in the 1980 episode, Break-In. Four years earlier, Linda made her only Carry On film appearance, in Carry On England. 

And last but by no means least is the South African born actress Olga Lowe. Olga played a Supermarket Detective in Tough, Mrs Rudge in 1982. Olga, a long time friend and colleague of Sid James, played Madame Fifi in Carry On Abroad. She was also working with Sid James on that fateful night on stage in Sunderland in 1976. 

I hope you've enjoyed this run through the various Carry On faces to pop up in the brilliant series, The Gentle Touch. And a big thank you to Talking Pictures TV for introducing this classic show to a whole new generation of viewers. Wonderful stuff. 

And remind yourself of the cracking theme tune from the series here:

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On with … Blue Murder at St Trinian's!

I've recently written a great deal about some of the other great series of British comedy films, such as the Norman Wisdom comedies and the Doctor films, and how the Carry Ons made an impression in these lovely films. I've now decided to write about another legendary set of films, the St Trinian's films. Set in the fictional unruly all girls private school somewhere in England, the films followed their adventures and those of both the staff of the school, the law enforcers chasing after them and the education department who frequently despaired of what they got up to!

The films featured countless wonderful performances and will always be synonymous with a handful of timeless actors. So without further ado, let's continue on today with a look at the second film in the series, Blue Murder at St Trinian's from way back in 1957, over sixty years ago!

What's it about?

When the students of St. Trinian's, an all-girl preparatory school, see their school commandeered by police forces, the devilish girls find ways to turn the situation into bedlam. Soon afterward, they cheat their way to a European trip, accompanied by driver Capt. Carlton-Ricketts (Terry-Thomas), where the girls are caught up in a diamond theft. At the same time, "Flash" Harry (George Cole) has been trying to get some of the older girls married to wealthy and powerful men.

Who's in it?

Following on from the success of the first film, The Belles, back in 1954, several familiar faces return to star in this 1957 follow up. George Cole takes the starring role this time as the legendary character Flash Harry. The gorgeous Joyce Grenfell also reprises her role as Sergeant Ruby Gates. 

Alastair Sim, who in many ways stole the show in the first film playing the dual role of Miss Fritton and her brother Clarence, returns as Miss Fritton again however Sim only appears in two scenes.

Adding to the fun is the brilliant Terry-Thomas, in a major starring role as Captain Romney Carlton-Ricketts! And look out for the reliable comedy actor Lionel Jeffries playing Joe Mangan. 

Carry On faces?

The Ministry of Education is represented by three familiar Carry On faces in this film. Carry On Spying spy chiefs Richard Wattis and Eric Barker appear together in the roles of Manton Bassett and Culpepper Brown. Eric would also go on to appear in Carry On Sergeant, Constable and Emmannuelle and contribute the story idea for Carry On Cruising. Carry On Doctor and England guest star Peter Jones also appears in Blue Murder as Prestwick.

Two members of the St Trinian's sixth form are future Carry On ladies too. Future Carry On Nurse and Teacher star Rosalind Knight plays Annabel while Carry On favourite Dilys Laye stars as Bridget Strong. Dilys went on to star in four Carry Ons - Cruising, Spying, Doctor and Camping. 

Playing the briefly seen new St Trinian's headmistress is Judith Furse, although her character, Dame Maud Hackshaw is quickly disposed of! Judith had supporting roles in Carry On Regardless, Cabby and most significantly, as Dr Crow in Carry On Spying. Cyril Chamberlain, a regular face in the first seven Carry Ons, plays an Army Captain. And future Carry On leading player Terry Scott grabs an early film role here as a Police Sergeant.

Finally, two future members of the Carry On Teacher cast appear in small uncredited roles in Blue Murder. Carol White, who played Sheila and Diana Beevers, who played Penelope Lee in Teacher, both play schoolgirls.

Did you know? 

Although having appeared uncredited in three other films, this was the first time Rosalind Knight was officially credited in a major feature film. 

Rosalind would eventually return to the franchise in 1980, graduating from pupil to teacher for The Wildcats of St Trinian's.

Sabrina, at the time a leading model and personality, got high billing in the film despite only briefly appearing and having no dialogue.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram