Carrying On with … The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery!

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 fourth film in the series, The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery from 1966. It was the last of the original run of films, although they would return fourteen years later! 

What's it about?

"Alphonse" Askett is a hairdresser who is also the operational leader of a gang of crooks who are led behind the scenes by an invisible mastermind (voiced by Stratford Johns). He gives instructions to Askett about the robbery, Operation Windfall, using a variety of James Bond-like communications devices—including a converted showerhead.

The crooks hide the loot in Hamingwell Grange, a deserted country mansion, and after waiting for the hue and cry to die down they return to collect the numerous mailbags which contain £2.5 million (the same amount as in the real robbery). However, following a Labour Party election victory, the house has been converted into a new home for St Trinian's School for Girls. The crooks decide to infiltrate the school by sending Askett's delinquent daughters, Lavinia and Marcia Mary, to St Trinian's as pupils, with instructions to case the joint to find a means of recovering the money, secretly, from its hiding place. The crooks' subsequent attempt to retrieve the mailbags on Parents' Day, disguised as caterers, results in a climactic train chase between the robbers and the girls.

A sub-plot is the affair between the headmistress of St Trinian's and the Minister, who uses his influence to corruptly obtain a large government grant for re-housing the school, following the latest fire, thus enabling it to move into the mansion. This angers his staff who are normally Conservatives but who, early in the film, are seen excitedly watching Labour win the election, as they believe St Trinians will be shut down by a Labour government.

Who's in it?

One of the very few original cast members to return for this 1966 series entry was George Cole who once again reprises his role as Flash Harry. Boosting the cast this time around are reliable comedy stars Reg Varney, Dora Bryan and a certain Mr Francis Howerd! 

Carry On faces?

As always, the quality of the extended Carry On cast meant that many were called upon to spruce up other films. Leading the pack here is Frankie Howerd who is top billed a Alphonse. Frankie would appear in Carry On Doctor the following year before returning in 1969 for Up The Jungle and a guest starring role in the TV Carry On Christmas special. Also starring is Carry On original Dora Bryan, in the role of headmistress Amber Spottiswood. Dora played Norah in Carry On Sergeant back in 1958.

Carry On Spying supporting player Richard Wattis reprises his role as Manton Bassett while Spying co-star Eric Barker again plays Culpepper-Brown. Another face from a previous St Trinian's adventure also makes an appearance - future Carry On regular Terry Scott playing yet another policeman.

A whole host of recognisable Carry On faces also appear in smaller, supporting roles. Norman Mitchell (Cabby, Spying, Cleo, Screaming) plays William while Cyril Chamberlain (the first seven Carry Ons) turns up as Maxie. Carry On guest actor Larry Martyn (Convenience & Behind) plays Chips and familiar face Peter Gilmore (a total of eleven Carry On roles) is Butters.  

Two final actors definitely worth a mention. Jean St Clair has a small role as Drunken Dolly (!) - the following year she would play Mrs Smith, Peter Butterworth's grape scoffing wife in Carry On Doctor. And look out for the gorgeous Margaret Nolan as Susie Naphill! Maggie had made her Carry On debut the previous year in Cowboy and would return four years later for a run of films starting with Carry On Henry. 

Did you know? 

Future Carry On Abroad and Bless This House actress Sally Geeson has a small uncredited role in the film as a schoolgirl.

With a career in films dating back to 1936, this film saw Cyril Chamberlain's last credited performance. He did make an uncredited 'bit' appearance in The Yellow Hat released later in 1966 but after that Cyril retired from acting and spent his final years restoring antique furniture.

Several attempts were made to woo Joyce Grenfell back to play Sergeant Ruby Gates one more time but she refused all offers. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Faces in Different Places: The Green Man

Here we go with another in my series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money. 
  
More recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up! and the the Gordon Jackson drama, Floodtide. 

I've also looked at the Carry On links with the wonderful film I'm All Right Jack

Recently I blogged about the Billy Fury and Amanda Barrie musical film I've Gotta Horse , the classic 1954 school comedy The Belles of St Trinian's and the 1959 romantic comedy from the Betty Box and Ralph Thomas stable, Upstairs and Downstairs. You can also check out my blog on the 1956 drama Lost. 

Today I am going to write about the 1956 black comedy, The Green Man. 

What's it about?

Freelance assassin Hawkins is contracted to blow up Sir Gregory Upshott, a prominent and pompous London businessman. By courting Upshott's spinster secretary, he learns that his target will be taking one of the firm's typists for a weekend at a seaside hotel, the Green Man. Hawkins hides a bomb in a radio, which he plans to leave in the hotel lounge. Finding out his treachery, the secretary comes to his house to confront him but is attacked and left for dead by Hawkin's assistant who, as nobody is in, hides the body next door. 

The body is found by a young vacuum cleaner salesman called Blake who calls there, and he alerts the owner's pretty fiancée Ann. The two are terrified, and when the owner comes home he finds them hiding under the bed. He storms out, but coming back to pick up something he forgot finds Ann on the floor in her underwear, again innocently entangled with Blake. His furious exit creates doubt over the future relationship. Blake and Ann then face another moment of horror as the corpse comes to life and, before collapsing again, tells them Upshott will be blown up that night in the Green Man.

Not knowing what Upshott looks like or what name he will register under, the pair rush there and, obstructed at every turn by the landlord, try to evacuate the place and locate the bomb. Blake has the brainwave that it will be on a timer in the radio, which he throws into the sea seconds before it explodes. Driving back to London, he stops and the two share their first kiss.

Who's in it?

The Green Man stars the terrific trio of Alastair Sim (Hawkins), George Cole (William Blake) and Terry-Thomas (Charles Boughtflower). It really doesn't get better than that! Sim and Cole had worked together many times before, probably most famously in the St Trinian's films. 

Also look out for great performances from Raymond Huntley as Sir Gregory Upshott, Avril Angers as Marigold and Colin Gordon as Reginald Willoughby-Cruft.

Carry On Faces?

Several! The delightful Jill Adams grabs a major supporting role as Ann Vincent. Jill went on to play W.P.C Harrison in Carry On Constable and also popped up in a couple of the Doctor film comedies. The one and only Dora Bryan adds comedy class as Lily at the Green Man Hotel. Two years later Dora would star as Norah in the very first Carry On, Carry On Sergeant.

Quite a few Carry On supporting players also make appearances in the film. Cyril Chamberlain, a regular in the first seven Carry Ons, plays Police Sergeant Bassett who engages in a rather prolonged game of chess with Sim's Hawkins. Carry On Spying actor Richard Wattis pops up paling a Doctor while Willoughby Goddard, seen as a passenger in Carry On Cruising, here plays a Statesman. 

Also, look out for familiar Carry On face Lucy Griffiths (Nurse, Regardless, Doctor, Again Doctor, Behind) as one of the musicians at The Green Man, Annabel.

Did you know?

Future Coronation Street and Dad's Army legend Arthur Lowe makes a small, almost unrecognisable appearance early on in the film as a radio salesman. 

Eileen Moore, playing Sir Gregory's weekend companion Joan, was at the time of filming married to one of the stars of the film, George Cole.

Another future sitcom great, Arthur Brough, appears as the Landlord of The Green Man. Arthur went on to play Mr Grainger in the long running BBC department store comedy, Are You Being Served?

Future Bergerac star (and Carry On Regardless cameo actor) Terence Alexander has a small, uncredited role as a radio announcer.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Originals: Dora Bryan

This is part of a new series of blogs looking back at the stars of the original Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant. 2018 marks 60 years since Sergeant was made and released so what better time to turn the focus on all those brilliant actors who brought our favourite series of comedy films to life? As today marks 60 years to the day since Sergeant started filming, I thought I'd focus on one of my favourite actors from that very first film: Dora Bryan

Role in Carry On Sergeant: Norah

Other Carry On roles: Sadly not. Rumour has it Dora asked for more money for the next film and the part went to newcomer Joan Sims. While I'd have loved to see Dora in more Carry Ons, the arrival of Miss Sims was a turning point in the success of the series as far as I'm concerned.

Other notable film performances: In films from the 1940s, Dora played cameos in lots of post-war films, usually as good time girls or "tarts with hearts of gold". She had an eye-catching turn in the 1950 film The Blue Lamp, playing Maisie. She also played Tilly in the 1952 film Mother Riley Meets the Vampire; Gladys in You Know What Sailors Are (1954); Gay in Desert Mice (1959); Amber Spottiswood in The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) and Cora Crumpington in Up The Front (1972).

Best remembered for: Without a doubt Dora's best remembered film performance was that Helen in Shelagh Delaney's groundbreaking work, A Taste of Honey, in 1961. Dora's best known stage work was in the musical Hello, Dolly! between 1966 and 1968.

Did you know?: Dora owned a hotel called Clarges on Brighton seafront for many years. Bryan was reunited with many of her friends from the team when they visited Brighton in 1971 to film scenes for Carry On At Your Convenience. The hotel was also seen in Convenience and two years later, in Carry On Girls too.

What happened to her?: Dora continued to appear on stage and television well into old age, finally retiring in 2006. Dora Bryan passed away at the grand old age of 91 in July 2014. 


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

Whatever Happened to Susan Beaumont?

 

After enjoying Carry On Nurse today I thought I would write a blog about one of the lesser known actresses to appear in that excellent, classic Carry On film. Susan Beaumont played Nurse Frances James, a supporting role in this, her only film in the series. I confess I only know Susan for this role so had to look her up on the internet to find out a bit more about her. 

Susan's character Frances James appears throughout Nurse, mostly working alongside Ann Firbank's character Sister Helen Lloyd. Mainly on night duty, her character gets mauled at by a sedated Terence Longdon and also has to deal with Cyril Chamberlain's Bert Able when he goes on the rampage without his pyjamas! The joy of Nurse is that many of the nursing staff play it straight and this makes them all the more believable. Writer Norman Hudis included elements of reality in his script, mainly provided by his wife Rita, a nurse in real life. This adds a great deal to the film and balances nicely with the broader comedy provided by the likes of Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey.

Susan Beaumont, who was born in Balham, South London in February 1936, sadly didn't return to Pinewood to work again with the Carry On team. I like her performance in Nurse however I guess the character being quite normal and down to earth would mean perhaps she'd struggle to fit in with later, more outlandish efforts. Of course that wouldn't have happened anyway as Beaumont appears to have left acting by the end of the decade, her last credit coming in 1959. Aged just 23 at the time, it seems an odd decision but I can't find any details on why she left the limelight.

 

Susan was born to parents both involved in the business. Her father, Alfred Black, was a theatre producer and impressario, himself the son of George Black who was also a theatre impressario. George had been the Managing Director of the London Palladium from the late 1920s through until the war years and was even in charge of the Royal Variety Performance for a time. George Black was also the Managing Director of Moss Empires which, for a time made him one of the most important figures in the London theatre scene. 

George Black Senior died in 1945, leaving his business interests in the hands of his two sons - Susan's father Alfred and George Junior. Together, they began to investigate the new medium of television and once independent television came along in the mid-1950s, they were soon producing their own show, Strike A New Note. Billed as a talent show, it didn't last for long however it did see the teaming up of comedy great Arthur Haynes with the living legend that is Nicholas Parsons. Nicholas would continued to play Arthur's straight man for several years to come. Susan's father was also involved in setting up Tyne Tees Television, the regional station which served North East England from early 1959. So Susan came from quite a background!

Susan's mother was the musical comedy actress Roma Beaumont. It was therefore no surprise that young Susan took after her parents and was admitted to the Royal Academic of Dramatic Art (RADA). Despite this big step towards becoming a professionally trained actress, Susan only lasted one term at the prestigious school before leaving to take up a job in a pantomime. What may have seemed a rash decision at the time obviously worked out well for her as Susan was soon working with Norman Wisdom, dancing in a show with him at the London Palladium, the same theatre her grandfather had run twenty years before. From there Susan Beaumont went on to appear in a stage musical called Limelight. At around this time, at the age of just 19, she was spotted and signed up to the famous Rank charm school. A contract player, Susan went on to appear in several films during the 1950s.

Susan at Olympia in 1956

Susan Beaumont's first film credit was as a girl in a dream sequence in the 1955 film comedy The Lyons Abroad, directed by Val Guest and based on the famous, popular radio series. That same year she also had small parts in the film Simon and Laura, starring Peter Finch, Kay Kendall and Muriel Pavlow and an uncredited part in the Norman Wisdom comedy, Man of the Moment. A more substantial part came along the following year when she played Susan Storer in the Frankie Howerd vehicle, Jumping for Joy. The cast of this film included both Joan Hickson and Terence Longdon, actors she would meet again two years later on the set of Carry On Nurse. 

In 1957 Susan co-starred in the romantic drama, High Tide at Noon, which was set in Nova Scotia and starred Michael Craig and Flora Robson. Susan played the part of Kristy. She would work again with Flora Robson and for director Philip Leacock in another drama the following year, Innocent Sinners. In 1958 Beaumont had a starring role in the thriller The Spaniard's Curse and later that same year worked with Carry On Sergeant actor and future Doctor Who William Hartnell in the crime drama On the Run. This film was written by Brian Clemens who would go on to dominate the small screen in the 1960s and 70s with hits such as The Avengers, Thriller and The Professionals. 

Susan with Leslie Phillips in The Man Who Liked Funerals

In January 1959, Susan co-starred with Carry On Nurse colleague Leslie Phillips in the comedy feature, The Man Who Liked Funerals. This film, in which a man attempts to save a condemned youth club by blackmailing the families of the recently deceased (doesn't sound much like a comedy to me!) featured reliable support from the likes of Marianne Stone and Jimmy Thompson. Also in '59, apart from Carry On Nurse that is, came Susan's final two film roles, as Janet Shenley in the crime drama Web of Suspicion (again penned by Brian Clemens) and finally, No Safety Ahead, another crime thriller in which she starred with the infamous Soho legend and Carry On Regardless cameo-maker, Denis Shaw.

Susan only made two known excursions in the blossoming 1950s world of television. She co-starred in a one off play in the Theatre Night strand called Living for Pleasure, in 1958. In this play Susan worked for prolific director William Chappell, a veteran of theatrical revues, and a cast which included Carry On Sergeant star Dora Bryan, Anna Massey's older brother Daniel and George Rose, a close friend of Kenneth Williams in the 1950s and 60s. Susan also made two appearances in the popular series Ivanhoe, which of course starred Sir Roger Moore in the years before he found lasting fame as Simon Templar in The Saint and James Bond.

Roma Beaumont, Susan's actress mother

After No Safety Ahead in 1959, Susan Beaumont quietly retired from acting. As far as I am aware she is still alive at the age of 81. Her mother Roma passed away in 2001 at the age of 87 with Alfred passing away the following year aged 89. You can see Susan's parents as guests on actress Pat Kirkwood's This is Your Life tribute show in 1994 by following this link
and you can read more about Susan's mother Roma's career in her obituary which is available here.

If anyone knows what happened to Susan once she left the acting profession, I'd love to hear from you.




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

Carry On Watching: Tonight on Talking Pictures TV

 

Talking Pictures TV is showing a couple of very interesting and sadly, rarely seen British films later on this evening. Both feature strong, mostly dramatic performances from two leading ladies who we know best for their comedy work.

First up is the 1972 film, The Best Pair of Legs in the Business. This film tells the rather sad story of an ambitious, yet pretty talentless entertainer at a holiday camp. His obsession with the business and still having a chance to make it in the profession means that he's blind to the fact the rest of his life is falling apart. The lead in the film is On the Buses favourite Reg Varney. This was a very brave role to take on following several years as the star of one of the most popular knockabout sitcoms on British television of the time. Not surprisingly, the public didn't take to the change of pace and the film performed poorly. However The Best Pair of Legs does feature a wonderful co-starring role for Diana Coupland as Varney's wife Mary. Diana is of course best known for her role as Jean, long-suffering wife of Sid James in the long running ITV comedy series, Bless This House. I've always been a big fan of Diana's and it's great to see her take on a different kind of role in this film.

 

The Best Pair of Legs in the Business will be on Talking Pictures TV this evening at 10pm.

Now to a better known film perhaps, although you may need to set your recorders for this showing! I'm a big fan of A Taste of Honey, however the tone and content of the film means I have to be in the right mood for it. The film features extremely strong performances from its small cast of excellent actors, including a young Rita Tushingham, Maggie Smith's first husband Robert Stephens, the great Paul Danquah and Theatre Workshop and Stratford East regular, Murray Melvin. A Taste of Honey was the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was just 18 years old. The play was first produced by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and was premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in May 1958. 

 

A Taste of Honey is set in North West England in the 1950s. It tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich lover who is younger than her. At the same time Jo begins a romantic relationship with Jimmy, a black sailor. He proposes marriage but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. She finds lodgings with a homosexual acquaintance, Geoffrey, who assumes the role of surrogate father. Helen returns after leaving her lover and the future of Jo's new home is put into question.

A Taste of Honey was and remains a really important film for the way it tackled issues such as race, class and sexual orientation head on at a time when, while these issues existed and affected the people of Britain, they were not yet openly discussed in film. The film features a stunning dramatic (albeit with comedic edges) performance from the wonderful Dora Bryan, again probably best known for her comedy roles. Three years after her role as Norah in the first ever Carry On, Carry On Sergeant, Dora proves what a capable, strong and truthful dramatic actress she could be in the role of Helen.

 

A Taste of Honey will be on Talking Pictures TV tonight at midnight.



You can watch Talking Pictures TV on: Virgin 445 / Freeview 81 / Sky Channel 343 / Freesat 306 / Youview 81

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

Connor Carries On ... as Horace Strong

 

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 start right back in 1958 with Carry On Sergeant. This film is quite unlike most of the others that followed. The National Service comedy is fairly down to earth, gentle fare and the comedy content is generally light on innuendo. It represented the austere, post war Britain and the main reason for its stunning success at the box office was that the vast majority of the cinema going public could easily identify with the characters on screen and the situations in which they found themselves. While much of the content of Sergeant is pretty much unrecognisable as a Carry On compared to the bawdy antics of later entries, some of the faces debuting here would become long standing series contributors. Along with Kenneth Connor we have Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Hattie Jacques. All would be mainstays, returning again and again to Pinewood Studios for fun with Peter Rogers Productions over the next decade or so. 

 

Other actors in Carry On Sergeant would reappear in later films (Shirley Eaton, Terence Longdon, Bill Owen to name a few) however none of these original stars of Sergeant quite left their mark like the Kenneths and Charles. The leading names in Sergeant were William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Eric Barker, Dora Bryan and Eaton. All reliable actors, well versed in the art of comedy and film making. However even from the get go, it's the actors further down the cast list that shine the brightest, and none more so than Kenneth Connor. Quite simply, his Horace Strong is a comedy masterpiece. 

Horace is the most fragile, ineffective, reluctant hypochondriacal recruit in the entire film. He flinches at army life, shared barracks, technical tasks and most of all, any form of physical activity. Strong has so many mythical medical complaints he pays daily visits to the medical Officer (Hattie Jacques) whose no nonsense approach meets Horace's dithering head on in several beautifully played scenes. Most of the other recruits take the mickey out of Horace and see him as a major factor in their poor performance compared to other platoons. However there is a great deal of affection in these performances and the camaraderie shines though.

 

For me, the highlight of the film is Horace's battle to put off his persistent love interest, the wide-eyed, love struck Norah, played to perfection by the brilliant Dora Bryan. Dora and Kenneth are comedy gold and together they share many of the best moments. I really wish they had worked together more often as their chemistry and shared comedy timing is just superb. Norah chases Horace throughout the film and this only sends him into even more of a pill-popping panicked frenzy. In the end though, it is Norah (with a little help from Jacques) who helps Horace see the light. On the eve of their final passing out parade, Strong finally acts as his name suggests and wins over Norah before becoming one of the best performing recruits in the film's best of British, proud as punch finale.

Kenneth Connor is the very heart and soul of Carry On Sergeant. On the strength of this performance, it is no surprise that he came to be the Carry On films' leading light in many of the early black and white films that followed.  

 

Next up will be my blog on Kenneth's return to the world of Carry On later in 1958 when he grabbed the starring role of injured boxer Bernie Bishop in the classic Carry On Nurse. Stay tuned for that! 


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

Liz Fraser Presents on Talking Pictures TV

 

1959 was a busy year for actress Liz Fraser. Liz made her screen breakthrough thanks to a certain little film comedy called I'm All Right Jack. The huge success of that movie guaranteed Liz a golden career in the very best of British film and television comedy over the next several decades. Two of Liz's early films, debuting the same year as the Boulting Brothers' classic, will be broadcast by Talking Pictures TV over the next few days.

The Night We Dropped a Clanger is a 1959 comedy film starring a prime cast of Brian Rix, Cecil Parker, William Hartnell and Leslie Phillips. A British secret agent is sent on a secret operation in occupied France during the Second World War but a diversionary tactic turns into a farcical tale of mistaken identity. The film features a notable supporting cast. Alongside the lovely Liz Fraser as Lulu, look out for Irene Handl, Hattie Jacques, Patrick Cargill, playwright Ray Cooney and a first screen appearance from future Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, playing Briggs.

You can catch this film on Talking Pictures TV at 12.10 tomorrow, 19th July. A specially filmed introduction from star Liz Fraser will be screened before the film at 12.05.

 

Desert Mice, also released in 1959 is a British film comedy starring Alfred Marks and Sid James as the leaders of a group of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) entertainers with the British army in the North Africa desert during the Second World War. The group manage to thwart a Nazi plan during their tour. The title of the film is a play on "Desert Rats". Liz Fraser co-stars as Edie alongside Irene Handl again, John Le Mesurier, Dora Bryan and Dick Bentley. Interestingly, Dora was actually a real life ENSA performer during the war. 

This film will be on Talking Pictures TV at 14.05 on Friday 21st July. A specially filmed introduction from Liz will be screen at 14.00.

 

I always enjoy seeing familiar Carry On faces like Liz, Dora and Leslie Phillips in other comedy films made around this time. Hope you enjoy them!

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

The One and Only Dora Bryan

 

What can I say about Dora Bryan? The late actress was a complete one off, a unique talent who brought joy to millions during a career which endured for many decades. Although she left us at the grand old age of 91 in 2014, she is one of those great talents who will always feel very much still a part of British life. I wanted to write a little bit about my love for Dora's work and highlight some of her best known and best loved roles.

Of course Dora is well known to Carry On fans for her role as Norah in the very first in the series, Carry On Sergeant, in 1958. She is an absolute knock out in the film, bouncing about with boundless energy and twinkling at love interest Kenneth Connor with beautiful comic timing. Her portrayal has a joyful innocence and sense of fun. Sadly Dora turned down the chance to make any further Carry Ons - she probably asked for an extra £100 and they never contacted her again. Dora was already a big name so her career did not suffer as a result, quite the contrary.

While I'd have loved Dora to return for further adventures at Pinewood, her absence from Carry On Nurse did make way for Joan Sims to join the team for the first in 24 appearances in the series. Indeed Joan and Dora were often confused for each other during their peak film making days, leading them to run towards each other during location work for Convenience in 1971 calling out each others' names with squeals of delight. Dora's Brighton seafront hotel was used for location shooting for that film.

Many familiar names in the world of British entertainment have spoken of how much they adored Dora. Liz Fraser once spoke of how much she loved Dora's work and was thrilled to go on to work with her on stage. When I interviewed Amanda Barrie back in February she recounted with great affection her time in the revue Six Of One in the early 1960s. Amanda co-starred with Dora and Richard Wattis and the three were frequently convulsed with giggles during a performance! Probably Dora's most famous stage role was in the musical Hello Dolly in the late 1960s, a role for which she won great acclaim. She worked on stage in productions as diverse as Stephen Sondheim's Follies, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party and Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She also toured regularly in a string of successful one woman shows such as The Dora Bryan Show and An Evening with Dora Bryan and Friends.

 

On film, Dora's career took off in the 1950s. She was often quoted saying she made so many cameos in post-war film that she couldn't recall who she'd worked with and what films she'd made. With typical impish glee she declared she was best known for playing "a series of tarts with hearts of gold". She was in The Blue Lamp, a 1950 police drama starring Dirk Bogarde which was the inspiration for Dixon of Dock Green. Other films included Lady Godiva Rides Again with Diana Dors; Mother Riley Meets the Vampire with Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi and You Know What Sailors Are with Donald Sinden. Dora worked again with Sinden the year after Carry On Sergeant, when she appeared in the comedy film Operation Bullshine. The same year she was a memorable addition to the cast of the ENSA comedy Desert Mice which co-starred Irene Handl, Sid James and Liz Fraser. She teamed up with fellow Carry On star Frankie Howerd in two feature films - first of all The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery in 1966 and then several years later in the film Up The Front. 

However probably Dora's most famous and well-loved film role came in 1961. Dora played Helen, the difficult, alcoholic mother of Rita Tushingham's Jo in A Taste of Honey. The film was based on Shelagh Delaney's seminal play, her first work written in her very early twenties. The film is one of the very best examples of kitchen sink social realism which erupted onto the big screen at around this time. It focussed on ordinary people and it's unflinching portrayal of issues such as race, alcoholism and homosexuality was a revelation at the time. Dora Bryan won many plaudits for her headlining role as Helen. The film won four BAFTA awards including Best Actress for Dora.

Dora worked with Tony Hancock in an episode of the BBC radio series, Hancock's Half Hour, but appeared much more regularly on television. She had her own show, According To Dora in 1968 which featured her friend Joan Sims. Bryan played Dora Morgan in the series Happily Ever After between 1961 and 1964 and in 1972 took on the role of Dora Page in Both Ends Meet. Dora twice worked with the late comedienne Victoria Wood - in one episode of the 1985 series Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV and then in 1999 memorably played Anne Reid's mother in Dinnerladies (an episode which also guest starred Thora Hird and Eric Sykes). 

Late on in her career, Dora won great acclaim for her role as June Whitfield's bonkers sister in the hit BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous, demonstrating her ability to do the splits well into her maturity! Her longest running later role was as Ros in Last of The Summer Wine, a part she played until 2005. She retired from performing the following year as she sadly could no longer learn her lines. Dora was in demand well into her eighties though and was a familiar figure in Brighton, the town she made her home. Married to cricketer Bill Lawton for 54 years until his death in 2008, together they owned Clarges Hotel. Never changing, she was a constant delight, even making a rare appearance for a DVD audio commentary for Carry On Sergeant in 2006. 

 

For me, Dora Bryan typifies the high standard of truly great British character actors and comedy performers we produced in the post-war period. Her star never dimmed and she won legions of fans across all ages. Dora is right up there alongside the likes of Irene Handl, June Whitfield, Joan Sims and Joan Hickson. They all made countless appearances in film and television for many decades, rarely the headlining star but always adding that extra special something to whatever they appeared in. Unique, talented, brilliant. There was only ever one Dora Bryan. 

To end, a prime Dora Bryan classic. Here's  Dora's novelty record, "All I Want for Christmas is a Beatle:

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