Connor Carries On … As the Constable!

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 fourteenth role in the series, as the Constable in the 1974 film, Carry On Dick!

Carry On Dick has never been one of my favourites in the series. As a later effort though and one of the last historical films it works fairly well however compared to earlier entries like Don't Lose Your Head and Up The Khyber, Dick is very static and studio-based and some of the cast are starting to show their age. Despite this, the film captures the seedy atmosphere of the times very well and all the scenes set in the Old Cock Inn are brilliant to watch. Dick also provides fans with the last opportunity to see several favourites in a Carry On film. The cast is bursting with team members as all current actors in the gang appear. As well as Hattie, this film is also the farewell for both Sid James and Barbara Windsor. Sid and Barbara would appear in several episodes of the ATV Carry On Laughing series broadcast the follow year (even Hattie would make an appearance) however this would be the last original feature film for all three stalwarts. Also, prolific writer Talbot Rothwell retired from the films after Dick, his health having deteriorated further. Future films in the series would really suffer without his talents.

Carry On Dick tells the well-worn story of highway man Dick Turpin and who else could play Dick but Sidney James. The film follows his gang as they rob the rich and constantly evade capture by Captain Desmond Fancey and Sergeant Jock Strapp (Kenneth Williams and Jack Douglas). Sid's last role in the series is a great one. Dick Turpin is Sid at his twinkly, naughtiest best while the film also provides him with the dual role of the Rev Flasher (!) Dick's cover story as the sedate, understated local vicar. The rest of his gang comprise Peter  Butterworth as Tom and Barbara Windsor as Harriet. Sid and Barbara have terrific chemistry throughout and go as near the knuckle as they could possibly go! 


Dick is in many ways a sequel to the French Revolution romp, Don't Lose Your Head, almost eight years earlier. In that film Sid also had a dual role as both Sid Rodney Ffing and the Black Fingernail. It allows Sid the actor to really work and show some subtlety in performance (Yes that was possible even in a Carry On). It's a great role for him to go out on even though nobody knew it at the time. He was due to appear in Carry On Behind, however touring commitments in the theatre meant the role written for him eventually went to Windsor Davies. 

Anyway back to Kenneth Connor's role in Carry On Dick. Well, to be honest, there's not an awful lot to say really. Kenneth's role in the film is probably his smallest part in any of the Carry Ons. For a start, he doesn't appear until over half way through the film and when he does, he is simply known as "the Constable" - he isn't even given a name! Kenneth is an amazing spectacle of crumbling age and decrepitude in Dick. It's about as far removed from his earlier, black and white juvenile romantic leads in the like of Carry On Sergeant and Nurse. Such is the talent of the man as a character actor that he can pull this off and be almost completely unrecognisable. 

Kenneth forms part of the bumbling law enforcement agencies who are attempting to track down and capture the infamous Big Dick Turpin. Joining Kenneth Williams, Jack Douglas and Bernard Bresslaw, they are an inept bunch who Sid James' Dick has no problem double crossing at various points during the course of the film. Although old and crumbling, Kenneth's Constable is still fairly energetic as is seen on his first appearance in one of his own cells with a rather buxom wench! 

Connor has little to do in Carry On Dick but it is really just reassuring to see him there in the mix, especially given the film saw the final appearances of Sid James and Hattie Jacques, actors Kenneth Connor had known and worked with for many, many years by this point. Dick is the last in the series to boast anything approaching a full cast big name Carry On stars. All the current regulars are present and it's only fitting that Kenneth should be a part of it.

As an aside, Kenneth's son Jeremy returned to the Carry Ons for the first time since his charming little cameo in Carry On Nurse back in 1958. Jeremy played a footpad in Dick and is briefly seen early on in the film. This would mark the first of a run of three roles in later Carry Ons for Jeremy.

Stay tuned for my blog on Kenneth Connor's next role in the series, in the 1975 film Carry On Behind. 


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carrying On with You Rang M'Lord?

I have recently been enjoying repeats of one of the later Perry and Croft comedy series on GOLD. You Rang M'Lord? was originally broadcast on the BBC in the early 1990s and spanned four series, following a pilot in 1988. Focussing on life above and below stairs in a  respectable London house in the 1920s, this was their comedic take on the classic period drama, Upstairs Downstairs.

The series starred several actors who were by then well known for their work with Jimmy Perry and David Croft. Hi-de-Hi stars Paul Shane, Jeffrey Holland and Su Pollard all played key members of the below stairs staff. I remember the series with great fondness, watching it as a child when it was first shown. While not as popular as some of their earlier hits, I think the show has aged rather well. The production values are high, the period is an attractive one and the comedy works on several levels. There is the broad knockabout slapstick we've come to expect, there is a regular suggestion of innuendo and also some more subtle pokes at the class divide and issues from the era. It's still a satisfying watch although I believe when it was first shown, audiences were slightly put off by its longer running time (almost an hour) and some of the main characters being portrayed as not 100% loveable. Paul Shane's head butler is rather a rogue!

Despite this, I maintain a fondness for the series and have fallen in love with it all over again. There are also a number of significant Carry On connections in You Rang M'Lord? so without further ado, let's take a look!

Let's begin with a Carry On connection we can hear but never actually see in You Rang M'Lord? The rather catchy theme tune, written by Jimmy Perry and Roy Moore and performed with an authentic 1920s style orchestra, was sung by none other than Bob Monkhouse. It's only through watching the repeats that I've realised that was Bob although I don't know why I'm surprised as we all know what an endlessly talented man he was. Over thirty years earlier Bob had starred in the very first Carry On, Carry On Sergeant.

Of the main cast, several played notable roles in the Carry On series. Playing the head of the household, Lord Meldrum, was the late actor Donald Hewlett. Donald is probably best remembered today for his role in the Perry and Croft classic It Ain't Half Hot Mum, in which he played Colonel Charles Reynolds. Back in 1975, Donald had appeared in the cameo role of the University Dean in Carry On Behind. He starred in an early scene outside Maidenhead Town Hall with Kenneth Williams and Elke Sommer. Playing Hewlett's love interest in You Rang M'Lord was a lovely actress called Angela Scoular. While Angela never actually appeared in a Carry On, she was married to the legendary star Leslie Phillips from 1982 until her sad death back in 2011. 

The wonderful actor Bill Pertwee, probably most famous as ARP Warden Hodges, the thorn in Captain Mainwaring's side in Dad's Army, was a series regular in You Rang M'Lord? Bill played neighbourhood policeman, Wilson. Bill appeared in two Carry On films back in the early 1970s. In 1970 he played the role of the barman who encounters Jacki Piper, Richard O'Callaghan and Sid James in Carry On Loving. Apparently Bill was back at Pinewood the following year to play the owner of The Whippit Inn in Carry On At Your Convenience but his scenes were cut as it was felt the role was too similar to his part in Loving. Despite this Bill did go on to make one more Carry On. In 1973 Bill played the Fire Chief in Carry On Girls in a scene which saw Kenneth Connor's Mayor Bumble lose his trousers!

Another You Rang M'Lord? regular who had a small role in Carry On Girls was the actress Brenda Cowling. Brenda, in something of a homage to Hattie Jacques, played the maternity hospital Matron in Girls. Brenda returned to Pinewood two years later for an uncredited role as a lady in the audience at Professor Crump's (Kenneth Williams) accident prone lecture at the start of Carry On Behind. In You Rang M'Lord? Brenda played the wonderful role of Mrs Lipton, the cook. 

You Rang M'Lord? also boasted a fine array of guest actors during its three series run. Two mainstays of the Carry On series guest starred in the series. Appearing in two 1991 episodes as the character of Myrtle was none other than Barbara Windsor. Barbara of course starred in nine Carry On films between 1964 and 1974. The other Carry On legend to pop in for a guest role was the superb Kenneth Connor. Following on from his work as Sammy Morris in Hi-de-Hi, Kenneth was asked to play the role of Professor Heinrich Van Manheim in the 1990 episode "Labour of Love". Kenneth was one of the longest serving Carry On actors, starring in seventeen of the films. He was also one of only three actors to span the entire run of films from 1958 to 1978, the others being Kenneth Williams and Eric Barker.

Playing the part of Perkins in the 1993 episode "Come to the Ball" was reliable character actor Norman Mitchell. Norman had enjoyed a long association with the Carry On films dating back to 1963 when he played a bespectacled businessman in Carry On Cabby. The following year Norman played a Native Policeman in Carry On Spying. Later in 1964 Mitchell played a Heckler in the classic Carry On Cleo. In 1966 Norman played Joan Sims' Cabby in the Hammer Horror pastiche Carry On Screaming. After many years away, Norman rejoined the team for the last of the original run in 1978 film Carry On Emmannuelle, playing a drunken husband.

The wonderfully talented and much-missed Geoffrey Hughes, probably best remembered for his role as bin man Eddie Yeats in Coronation Street and Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances, guest starred as Fred Kendall in You Rang M'Lord. He appeared in the episode "Royal Flush". Twenty years earlier Geoffrey had played the supporting role of factory employee WIllie in Carry On At Your Convenience. Fellow Convenience actor Davy Kaye played King Boris of Dalmatia in the very same episode. As well as playing Sid's bookmaker Benny in Convenience, Davy had also co-starred as the rather enthusiastic undertaker Josh in Carry On Cowboy.

One final Carry On connection before I go and it's not in front of the camera this time. Jeremy Connor, the son of the legendary Kenneth worked on two series of You Rang M'Lord? In 1991 he worked as the Assistant Floor Manager while two years later Jeremy was the show's Production Manager. As well as being Kenneth's son, Jeremy also acted in the Carry On films in his own right. Way back in November 1958 at the age of three Jeremy played Bernie Bishop's son in the closing scenes of Carry On Nurse. Bernie was of course played by Kenneth Connor. Sixteen years later Jeremy returned to the series for a run of three further films. He played a Footpad in the Dick Turpin adventure Carry On Dick in 1974, an accident prone student with an ice cream which ends up in Alexandra Dane's dress (!) in Carry On Behind and finally in 1976, Jeremy was Gunner Hiscocks. 

So there you have it, some cracking Carry On connections with a really great, classic British comedy series. So why not check out the reruns of You Rang M'Lord? on GOLD? It's definitely worth a watch!


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Connor Carries On ... as Bernie Bishop

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 second role in the series, as injured boxer Bernie Bishop in the hit film of 1959, Carry On Nurse. After the surprise success of Carry On Sergeant earlier in 1958, Peter Rogers seized on the opportunity of a follow up and set writer Norman Hudis the task of coming up with a medical comedy, tackling another great British institution - the National Health Service. Fortunately Norman's wife Rita was a nurse so he had plenty of real life experience to help make Nurse the biggest hit of the year and also a massive success in the United States. Rogers was clearly beginning to form a team for a series of films as Nurse sees the return of several key faces who not only contributed to Sergeant's success but would also go on to be series regulars for decades. As well as popular actors Shirley Eaton, Terence Longdon and Bill Owen, Nurse saw the return of Kenneths Williams and Connor, Charles Hawtrey and Hattie Jacques. Other new faces included the important additions of Joan Sims and Leslie Phillips.

As with Sergeant earlier that year, Connor proves to be the star of Carry On Nurse, at least for me. Bernie Bishop, arriving in hospital with a broken hand after a boxing match, is the film's every man. Although there are lapses into the funny voices that made him such a vital part of Ted Ray's radio gang and there is a fair amount of bumbling and farce, Connor also proves himself as a straight actor in several scenes which tug at the heart strings. Norman Hudis always added a grounded reality and a touch of social realism to his scripts and in Kenneth Connor, he found a way to contrast the daft antics of Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey. Resisting treatment and determined not to stay in a hospital "full of sick people" Connor's Bishop is quickly taken in hand both by his straight-talking wife and the hospital nurses and very wisely gives up on his second fight of the night!

Connor shares a few brief but satisfying scenes with Susan Shaw as his wife Jane. Shaw had been a rising star in the British film industry however by the time she appeared in this, her one and only Carry On, her fame was on the wane and a sad future lay ahead. Susan is great in Nurse and forms a believable and touching on screen partnership with Kenneth that leaves the audience wanting more. Kenneth also interacts beautifully with several other male patients on the ward, most noticeably in his chalk and cheese relationship with the snobbish, snotty intellectual Oliver Reckitt played by Kenneth Williams. A solid friendship and mutual respect was formed between these two actors and it's clear they enjoyed sparring together on screen.

Kenneth also features in one of my favourite scenes in Carry On Nurse. No, not the laughing gas sequence although that is pretty great. Michael Medwin and Norman Rossington both provide brilliant cameos as Bernie's boxing manager Ginge and the rather slow-witted fellow boxer Norm. The scene during visiting time sees Medwin try and teach Connor's Bernie a few sly tricks of the trade with the help of dim Norm with calamitous results! Full marks to Norman Rossington for winning all the prizes here when he has very little to say or do. Classic stuff. The mix of shy reluctance and masculine phwoar-ing from Connor is a joy to behold in Nurse. He goes from deep, caring and sensitive husband to shy patient as Nurse Susan Stephen 'reaches the bottom' of things during a blanket bath. That doesn't stop him Cor-ing away as Stephen steps up on a chair next to his bed to open a window. Typical Carry On stuff but quite tame compared to what would follow in the years to come.

Kenneth plays well as part of the gang of male patients which includes Williams, Cyril Chamberlain, Terence Longdon, Bill Owen, Leslie Phillips and Charles Hawtrey, already the loner on the fringes of the action. Bernie plays an active part in the climatic hospital operating scene towards the end of the film and Connor's gift for comic timing comes to the fore. Leslie's upper class twit of a character (Ding dong, you're not wrong!) is anxious to have his bunion removed so he can escape for a weekend of forbidden fruit with girlfriend Meg (Dame June Whitfield no less). Under the guidance of Williams, the gang decide rather drunkenly to get rid of Leslie's bunion once and for all! However, unfortunately the laughing gas in the theatre gets the better of them. Kenneth Connor's delightful giggles steal the show and the entire scene is a joy and an early example of Carry On humour at its very best.

Finally special mention to the delightful cameo from Jeremy Connor, Kenneth's very own son at the end of the film. When Bernie Bishop is discharged, wife Jane and son Jeremy (what a coincidence) turn up to take him home. As Kenneth greets his son, there is an unscheduled slap to the face from young Jeremy which clearly takes Kenneth by surprise but Gerald Thomas wisely left in the final print! As the family strolls off down the corridor, it brings Kenneth's beautifully played performance in Carry On Nurse to a satisfying conclusion.

Next up will be my blog on Kenneth's return to the world of Carry On in 1959 when he played bumbling, lovable science teacher Gregory Adams in Carry On Teacher. Stay tuned for that! 

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

Happy Father's Day from Carry On Blogging!

As today is Father's Day I thought I would have a dig about and see what photos I could find on a Father's Day theme with Carry On connections. Let's start off with a familiar photo - Kenneth Connor with his son Jeremy in Carry On Nurse.

Next up, one of Kenneth's co-stars from Nurse, Bill Owen with his son Tom:

Now a lovely photo of Carry On legend Sidney James, pictured at home with his son Stephen:

And next up, Carry On actor Julian Holloway with his dad, the late, great British actor, Stanley Holloway and his mother, Violet:

Next we have a lovely photo of actor Sean Pertwee with his dad, the late Jon Pertwee. Jon of course played cameo roles in three Carry Ons - Cleo, Cowboy and Screaming.

I'm not sure which of Bernard Bresslaw's sons this is, but it's definitely the wonderful Bernie and his wife, Betty:

Next up, a lovely picture of JIm Dale with his wife and son from his first marriage, Toby:

Here's a picture of Terry Scott with regular sixties television co-star Hugh Lloyd. I'm figuring these three little girls are Terry's daughters but not 100% sure. Anyway, it's a lovely photo:

Finally, a lovely photo of Leslie Phillips with his daughters at a film premiere:

A Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Carry On!

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

The Brilliant Bernard Bresslaw

Bernard Bresslaw, a bit like Kenneth Connor and Peter Butterworth, is one of the regular Carry On actors who can sometimes be taken for granted. They were often part of the Greek chorus in the these films, providing support to the likes of Kenneth Williams and Sid James.

What wonderful support that was though! Perhaps the reason actors like Bernard Bresslaw have never been appreciated as much as they should have been is because they are frustratingly normal. Bresslaw, just like Connor and Butterworth, were all regular family men. Each of these actors could just as well have been bank managers, instead of being part of such a famous, madcap team of comic performers. Connor liked his boat, Butterworth his naval history and Bernard was incredibly well-read, never being far from a bookshop. 

When the Carry Ons became popular again in the 1990s, television companies ran a series of muck-raking documentaries in an attempt to probe the private lives of a generation of comedy heroes. Many painted the Carry On team as a bunch of actors at war with each other, deeply unlikeable and full of woes. Perhaps the reason Bresslaw, Butterworth and Connor didn't feature prominently here is because there was quite simply no muck to rake.

It was a joy to see Bernard's son James, Kenneth's son Jeremy and Peter's son Tyler all reminisce about their famous, talented fathers in the recent Carry On Forever series on ITV3. It was heart-warming to see how proud these men are of their dads and something that was well over due.

Bernard spent his Carry On career providing valuable support in fourteen films over a ten year period. He nearly always played either the scary villain (Follow That Camel; Up The Khyber) or the daft, gormless mate (Camping; At Your Convenience). It's a shame he was limited to these parts as Bernie was obviously a highly intelligent man with a wonderful talent for acting. My own favourite of Bernard's Carry On roles is his role in Carry On Doctor. As Ken Biddle, he gets to play out a touching romance with fellow hospital patient Dilys Laye. They share several tender little scenes which give Bernard a chance to show a different aspect to his usual bumbling characters.

Bernard devoted much of his later life to working on the stage. He loved appearing in the works of Shakespeare, however sadly he died far too young at the age of 59 in 1993. I am quite sure he would have risen up the ranks and be seen as a highly respected Shakespearian stage actor if he was still around today. He was often to be found reading off set at Pinewood or completely the crossword with Kenneth Williams. Everyone describes him as a gentle giant and true gentleman. 

I think that's a pretty nice legacy. 

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