A Please Sir Reunion at the Misty Moon!

 

The Misty Moon Film Society is presenting yet another fantastic afternoon of fun for all lovers of classic British comedy.

Please Sir! was set in the fictional Fenn Street School, and starred John Alderton as Bernard Hedges, a young teacher fresh out of training college. The supporting cast included Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson and Richard Davies. Character actors and actresses formed the supporting cast, including Mollie Sugden as a parent of a student, Barbara Mitchell as Frankie Abbott's mother.

Like many situation comedies of this era, a film version was released in 1971. This was set in an outdoor pursuit centre, and starred most of the original TV cast. The part of Sharon was now played by Carol Hawkins instead of Penny Spencer.

Please Sir! ran for 55 episodes between 1968 and 1972.

On Saturday 22 April, Misty Moon is reuniting two of the original characters,Penny Spencer aka Sharon Eversleigh and David Barry aka Frankie Abbott for an intimate afternoon of chat.

There will also be a special screening of "FRANKULA" the comedy/horror spoof starring David Barry as Frankie Abbott, Emma Dark, Judy Matheson, Caroline Munro and introducing Martin Rudman as Doctor Spritzer.

 

After the Q&A Penny and David will meet the audience and sign autographs.

This event will take place on Saturday 22 April at The Phoenix Artist Club, 1 Phoenix Street, London WC2H 8BU.

Doors: 2pm

Gig: 2.30pm

Tickets £12

You can also read my interview with David Barry here

And you can book tickets here

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Did you know that Carry On Blogging was also on Facebook? Well it is and if you are too why not follow me there?

You will find the same pictures, comment and blog posts available on my Carry On Blogging Facebook page and it provides another great forum to interact with me and other Carry On fans. 

So why not boost my page on Facebook by following and liking some of my posts? It would be much appreciated. I look forward to seeing you there!

And in the meantime, do follow me on Twitter too - I love you comments, feedback and general Carry On banter, so keep it coming! Links to both Twitter and Facebook pages at the bottom of this blog! 

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

In Praise of Carry On Spying

 

Carry On Spying is one of those films which is quite often overlooked. It came at a time of transition for the Carry Ons. There had been a change in writing personnel the previous year as Norman Hudis, who had written the first six films of the series passed on the baton to newcomer Talbot Rothwell. After the communal cosiness of the previous films, the Carry Ons of 1963 and 1964 saw less familiar faces involved and a change in approach.

The coy 1950s had given way to the broader, brash 1960s and the arrival of Rothwell saw more innuendos with the films pushing the boundaries more and more. They also shifted from focusing on traditional British institutions like the NHS, the army and the police to parodies of other film series and even costume epics. Carry On Jack had been the first costume romp the previous year and while this must have been a shock for the viewing public, even more so was the lack of familiar faces with only Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and a brief cameo from Jim Dale. 

 

Spying, released in 1964 features a similarly compact cast of faces and while any film without the likes of Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor misses their talents keenly, Spying is much more of a traditional Carry On than Jack. It really did begin the idea of a Carry On parody which would reach new heights later that summer when Carry On Cleo went into production. I often think Cleo dwarfs Spying rather unfairly as although the Amanda Barrie romp is joyous and right up there with the best, for me Spying is also a classic Carry On. Targeting the extremely successful James Bond films which were also produced at Pinewood Studios, Carry On Spying sees the gang delve into the world of espionage as the team travel across Europe and North Africa (via Pinewood sound stages and back lot) and it really is a riot.

Spying may also be overlooked as it is made in black and white. Indeed it is the last Carry On to be produced this way. However I think it is beautifully shot with Gerald Thomas and Alan Hume in their element. While the film is primarily a parody of Ian Fleming's super spy, Gerald really filmed it as a homage to The Third Man, a film he himself worked on as a young editor. There are delightful touches, particularly during the Vienna sequence and the lighting and set ups are a cut above. Eric Rogers is also on tip top form with Spying's score. Rogers too had taken over from original Carry On composer Bruce Montgomery only a year before and he was definitely capturing the bright, sparky contemporary theme Peter Rogers was looking for.

 

While the storyline is as unimportant as in any other great Carry On, the whole film moves at one hell of a pace. From London to Vienna to North Africa and the Orient Express, you can tell this film has been made on a budget but the sheer pantomime joy of the production carries it along and keeps the audience onboard. There are enough knowing winks to the Bond series without tipping the scales and it's all lovely stuff. This was the era which saw the Carry On team take a few risks for the sake of some stand out laughs - no part of British life was safe from the Carry On treatment and the entire film is robust with confidence in the Carry On brand.

Of the regular actors present, Spying gives Kenneth Williams one of his few true starring roles in the series. He gives us his classic snide characterisation which is fantastic but perhaps a slight stretch to keep it going fora full 90 minutes. He just about gets away with it though! Adding to the camp humour is the glorious Charles Hawtrey, grabbing more screen time than usual due to the smaller cast of lead actors. as Charlie Bind, Hawtrey basically plays Charles Hawtrey and the film is none the worse for it! Spying also sees Jim Dale grab another small but important supporting role as Carstairs. Jim is convincing as the dashing spy and pops up effectively throughout. After Spying, Dale would be promoted to juvenile lead for Cleo and was really off and running from then on in. 

 

Probably most importantly, Carry On Spying saw the debut of an actress who pretty much came to sum up all that "Carry On" meant to the British public. Despite only appearing in nine original Carry Ons over a ten year period, Barbara Windsor was such a powerful force that she remains closely linked to the franchise even today. As Daphne Honeybutt, Windsor plays the smartest of all the agents and joins the already long running team with confidence, fitting in immediately. For me, this is Barbara's best role in the series. There is a sweetness and innocence to her performance that is sorely lacking from later efforts in the likes of Girls and Dick. The black and white photography also suits Barbara really well as she looks stunning throughout.

Spying also stars a range of classic British comedy players, chief amongst them being Bernard Cribbins. After joining the team for the previous film Carry On Jack, Cribbins was obviously being seen as a viable alternative to Kenneth Connor, however Spying would sadly be Bernard's last Carry On until Columbus in 1992. Bernard is great in these two early Carry Ons and I really wish he'd made more. Another irregular actor appearing in Spying is the glorious Dilys Laye. Dilys really deserved to be a star - she worked tirelessly over the years and was both extremely talented and absolutely gorgeous. She fitted in extremely well with the team, appearing in four films during the 1960s. I only wish she had starred in more. Spying is one of my favourites of all her performances - Dilys is terrific as the vampish agent Lila, even performing two stand out songs "The Magic Of Love" and "Too Late" during the Cafe Mozart scenes. What a lady!

 

Brief mentions to some of the other talents involved: Eric Barker and Richard Wattis (why wasn't he asked back?) provide strong support as two of Britain's most reliable and well respected character comedy players; Judith Furse (although dubbed by John Bluthal) puts in a great performance as the mysterious Dr Crow and Victor Maddern, a familiar face to Carry On fans, grabs his best supporting role as the fiendish Milchmann. 

Sadly Carry On Spying is very rarely shown on television these days - ITV3 seem obsessed with Carry On Girls for some unexplained reason. So although it's unlikely to pop up on telly in the near future, why not check out Spying on DVD? It's definitely worth a watch!



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Patsy Rowlands: Her Carry On Story

 

Patsy Rowlands was a great addition to the Carry On team. Although technically never classed as a full member of the gang, for me she always will be. Her appearances were always a high spot and her comedic gifts lent themselves perfectly to the Carry On brand of humour. Usually appearing alongside either Sid James or Kenneth Williams, her roles varied dramatically in size during her tenure, but her supporting turns were eye catching and her comic timing superb.

Patsy joined the team for the first of her nine appearances well into the series run with the 1969 medical adventure, Carry On Again Doctor. Patsy was already an experienced television and film actresses specialising in comedy roles. She had made her name on the stage, working in musical theatre, revues and at the legendary Players Theatre with fellow Carry On star Hattie Jacques. In Again Doctor she played Miss Fosdick, assistant to know it all surgeon Frederick Carver, played by Kenneth Williams. Patsy mainly featured in the early part of the film, proving herself a natural opposite the likes of Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Hattie Jacques. Patsy ends the film as Gladstone Screwer's (Sid James) only wife, on his tropical island. 

 

Despite missing the next film in the series, Carry On Up The Jungle, Patsy had obviously made a favourable impression with the team as she was soon back in a featured role in the 1970 marriage bureau comedy, Carry On Loving. Only appearing in the last few scenes of the film, it is still a memorable role for Rowlands. As Percival Snooper's downtrodden housekeeper Miss Dempsey, Patsy shines in the part, transforming from dowdy to glamorous vamp in a bid to snatch Snooper away from Hattie's Sophie! The scene which sees Patsy wheel the hostess trolley into the dining room is beautifully played with Patsy at her slinkiest best! She also gets to bring the brutish Gripper Burke to his knees before tossing the wrestler, played by Bernard Bresslaw, over her shoulder and out of the window! Patsy also gets to take part in the memorable cake flinging finale, later recalling that they had to go back to the scene the next day and during the break all the cream cakes had gone off! The glamour of filming!

I never quite understood why Patsy was sometimes limited to such brief, blink and you'll miss them cameos. Her third role in the series, as the Queen at the very beginning of Carry On Henry is one her tiniest, sharing just a few lines of dialogue with Terry Scott before sadly losing her head! According to Patsy, she had quite a long serious speech to deliver in that scene but it was cut as it was thought to be far too serious for a Carry On! She faired better with the next romp, Carry On At Your Convenience, released in 1971. In this film Patsy gained her only official star credit, billed with the main gang. She played Kenneth Williams' secretary Hortense Withering and yet again the pair shared terrific on screen chemistry. She yet again has a mini-transformation in this film, slinking about in a negligee at the end of the film once Kenneth's W.C Boggs wakes up in her bedroom after the memorable trip to Brighton. It was great that Patsy was included in this filming and she has some great moments, hurtling round the pier with Charles Hawtrey and the gang, starring in the wonderful fortune teller scene opposite Sid James in drag! 

 

It was back to a brief cameo role later that year when she was once again cast as Kenneth Williams' secretary, this time Miss Banks in Carry On Matron. Patsy only pops up twice in this film and both are very brief appearances, culminating in her having her dress ripped off during a rather camp fight between fellow Newts Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams! Another very small role followed in the Spring of 1972 when Patsy played Miss Dobbs, an employee at WundaTours, the package holiday company tasked with whisking a rather rum bunch of holidaymakers off to Elsbells for a long weekend they'll never forget! Patsy shares some rather obvious dialogue with both Kenneth Williams and Sid James and it's a fairly unremarkable appearance, although I've heard that she did film several other scenes with the likes of Gail Grainger and Bill Maynard, which were cut as the film was running over. 

1973 saw one of Patsy's best roles in the entire series. Rowlands was cast opposite Kenneth Connor as his screen wife Mildred Bumble, forever drearing around as the Mayor's wife in search of a ladies convenience! She shares some beautiful sitcom scenes with Kenneth Connor and together they are the real highlight of an otherwise humdrum, rather tacky Carry On. Eventually the downtrodden Mildred sees the light and joins Augusta Prodworthy's Women's Lib, finally getting her own back on her bombastic little husband during the climatic beauty contest! The following year Patsy played another very brief role as the elderly, yet still apparently pretty frisky Mrs Giles alongside George Moon in Carry On Dick. She pops up in the Church Jumble Sale scene.

 

1975 saw Patsy's ninth and final Carry On appearance and it was quite a good one to go out on. In Carry On Behind, what I consider to be the very last, half decent series entry, Patsy grabs a decent sized role as Linda Upmore, blessed with Bernard Bresslaw as her screen husband and Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth as her parents/ This despite the fact that Joan was only slightly older than Patsy! The actors work extremely well together in this knockabout, near the knuckle Carry On Camping update! Patsy also went on to appear in one episode of the ATV Carry On Laughing series, playing Miss Dawkins in the 1975 episode, The Nine Old Cobblers. 

For me it will always be a mystery both why Patsy left the series after Carry On Behind and why some of her roles weren't larger, given her considerable talents. One lovely little legacy that came from Patsy's Carry On association was that through working alongside Sid James in Again Doctor and Loving, he subsequently recommended her for the part of Betty, his next door neighbour in the classic ITV sitcom, Bless This House. 

 

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Charles Hawtrey: Funny You Should Ask

 

I love BBC Radio 4 Extra. They broadcast such a brilliant range of classic radio comedy and drama as well as some fantastic new material too. As well as some well-known, loved classics, 4 Extra also turns up some hidden gems and this is one of them - Funny You Should Ask.

Peter Jones tests the knowledge of three comedy experts: Carry on film star Charles Hawtrey, the comedian famed for his catchphase 'You lucky people' Tommy Trinder and composer/conductor Ron Goodwin. 

Featuring questions about the classic British film comedies, Charles Hawtrey reveals his favourite out of the 24 Carry on films which he appeared in. There are also rounds on music in comedy films and childhood. 

Looking at all kinds of comedy, Funny You Should Ask ran for seven series from 1978 to 1982. 

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1981.

Funny You Should Ask will be broadcast this Sunday morning at 8am on BBC Radio 4 Extra. If you miss the broadcast, you'll be able to listen again afterwards here 

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The A - Z of Carry On Characters - A is for...

 

This is the first blog in a new series for Carry On Blogging looking at some of the best and most memorable characters in the Carry On films. I have already written a series looking at some of the best remembered supporting actors and this will be a similar A-Z format but based on my favourite character names.

Let's start at the beginning today with A and first of all, A is for Allcock! Where better to begin than with one of Joan Sims' most memorable performances, as the gloriously pert and prim gym mistress Miss Sarah Allcock. 

Miss Allcock was Joan's second role in the Carry Ons. Following her winning performance as trainee nurse Stella Dawson in Carry On Nurse, Sims was invited back for more fun with the gang in early 1959.  With Shirley Eaton absent from Teacher, it was down to Joan to fill the glamorous female lead role and she did it with ease. Miss Allcock is best remembered for those splitting shorts during the rather prim Joyce Grenfell-inspired gym class with the girls. As is Leslie Phillips' woolfish reaction! 

Joan and Leslie made for a great romantic pairing in Carry On Teacher although infamously, Leslie's pronunciation of Joan's character name caused havoc with the censors. They asked for him to deliver it as flat as possible, however as Leslie himself admitted, the flatter it became, the filthier it got! 

Without a doubt Joan's role as Sarah Allcock cemented her position as the first lady of Carry On. After this role Joan was definitely a firm favourite with both fans and those in charge of the series. It was a pivotal role for my favourite Carry On actor.

A is also for...

 

...Anthea, the gorgeous Glam Cab driver brought beautifully to life by future Coronation Street star Amanda Barrie in Carry On Cabby.

...Gregory Adams, the bumbling love-struck science teacher played by Kenneth Connor who fell for Rosalind Knight's stern school inspector in Carry On Teacher.

 

...Allbright, the irritating union rep at Speedee Cabs, played by reliable character actor Norman Chappell in Carry On Cabby.

 

...Nurse Georgie Axwell, the cheeky young nurse and co-conspirator with Joan Sims' Nurse Dawson in the first medical film in the series, Carry on Nurse. Played by Susan Stephen.

...Aristrocratic Lady, the nose in the air Rolls Royce passenger who is aghast at Charlie Hawkins' cockney cheek at the start of Carry On Cabby. Played of course, by the very posh and wonderfully named Ambrosine Phillpotts.

 

...Len Able, Sergeant in Carry On England - the male romantic lead in that dire film, played by well-known television actor Patrick Mower.

...and finally, the majestic Belle Armitage, without a doubt one of Joan Sims' finest Carry On roles - the glamorous, no-nonsense saloon bar owner in the wild west comedy Carry On Cowboy.

 

Stay tuned for the next in this series when we tackle more memorable Carry On characters. And if you can think of any more, get in touch!

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Carry On Getting in Touch!

I love interacting with fellow Carry On fans. It's a massive part of this blog and long may it continue. if you want to get involved or get in touch you can do so in the following ways:

I have a dedicated Facebook page which I use to post all my blogs and share other interesting pieces of news and also some lovely photos of your favourite Carry On actors.  

You can also, of course, follow me and interact with all my ramblings over on Twitter
 @CarryOnJoan - I love when you get in touch to comment on the films, one of my blogs or to share photos you love. So keep it going!

There is also the "Get In Touch" form on the blog itself - if you want to contact me about the blog, the films or anything else, please use this form as it comes straight to my email. 

And if you want to get even more involved in all things Carry On Blogging, why not submit a blog yourself? I welcome submissions on anything Carry On related so why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and jot down your thoughts - it can be as long or as short as you like, it's really up to you. 

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