This
blog is part of a new regular series on Carry On Blogging. I'm going to
attempt to blog about each of Joan Sims' wonderful roles in the Carry
On films. Joan was the most prolific of all the actresses involved in
the series, clocking up 24 films. Indeed, only Kenneth Williams made
more Carry Ons.
Today I am going to write about Joan's role in another landmark Carry On film. Carry On Matron was the last Carry On film with a medical theme and while for me it's not up there with the likes of Carry On Doctor, it's still a great ensemble piece with plenty of highlights. The film is set in the Finisham Maternity Hospital and the plot goes back and forth between Sid James and his gang's attempt to stage a robbery in the hospital (to steal a supply of birth control pills) and the camp antics of the hospital staff, principally Hattie Jacques' Matron, Kenneth Williams' Sir Bernard Cutting and Charles Hawtrey's Dr F.A Goode (yes, really!)
We meet very few patients during the film, other than the cameo roles from the likes of Madeline Smith, Margaret Nolan and Amelia Bayntun, however the only patient to really get any screen time is Joan Sims. Compared to other recent roles in the series in the likes of Henry and Convenience, the role of Mrs Tidey in Carry On Matron is much smaller and more limited although Joan being Joan, she still shines and makes the most of every opportunity she is given.
Joan's plot strand, as is usual with the Carry Ons, is very simple, paired down and goes straight to the point. She is an expectant mother with a gluttonous appetite who is very overdue but clearly in no rush to give birth. Instead, she spends her days lying in bed stuffing her face! Fair play I say! Joan is on her usual brilliant bouncing out of the screen form and really brings some life to her scenes in the hospital ward. She spends the entire film in bed in her nightie, not the most demanding of roles!
Joan's on-screen husband in Matron is played by another Carry On stalwart, the fantastic character actor Kenneth Connor. Kenneth had returned to the Carry Ons in 1969 after a five year break and by the time of Matron, he had found a new niche in a wonderful range of supporting character parts. Playing a wide range of middle-aged, working class eccentrics, Connor excelled. There is no finer example than the role of Mr Tidey. A frustrated little man and British Rail employee, Mr Tidey really just wants his wife to get on with it. As with Joan, Kenneth is restricted to just a few scenes in Matron but his performance is sublime. Sadly, although playing husband and wife, Joan and Kenneth don't actually have any scenes together in the film.
Joan shares most of her screen time with the likes of Terry Scott (playing the gloriously named Dr Prodd), Jacki Piper (in her last appearance in the series as Sister) and Hattie Jacques as the titular character, Matron. It's lovely to see Joan and Hattie sharing screen time in Carry On Matron, as despite both being prolific team members, they didn't actually work directly with each other that often. Joan and Hattie are both at the top of their game in Matron and they are a joy to watch.
Although a major star of the Carry Ons and the most prolific leading lady the series ever had, often Joan demonstrated just what a fantastic actress she was when her parts were less substantial cameos. As with the best of her cameos in the films (I'm thinking Zig Zig in Camel and Chloe Gibson in Doctor), Joan makes a terrific impact with what is in effect very little screen time. What a star and a class act.
Fear not, Joan was back to a leading role in the very next film in the series, which I'll profile next week. In the meantime, tell me what you think of Joan's role as Mrs Tidey in Carry On Matron!
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook
This
is the latest in a brand new series for Carry On Blogging. It might
be slightly ambitious, but I'm going to attempt to do a run through the
alphabet of some of the more interesting Carry On supporting actors.
One of the reasons I set up this blog was to turn the spotlight on some
of the lesser known Carry On actors who nevertheless played an important
role in the success of the film series.
Today we continue with the next letter in the alphabet, G and G is for Fred Griffiths.
Carry On films: Fred Griffiths first appeared in Carry Nurse in late 1958, playing one of the ambulance drivers at the start of the film. He returned to the Carry Ons to play a gobby taxi driver opposite Kenneth Williams in Carry On Regardless and finally yet another taxi driver who confuses Sid James at Windsor and Eton Railway Station in Carry On Loving in 1970.
Also appeared in: Griffiths worked again for Rogers and Thomas in 1965 when he played a Dustman in The Big Job.
Best known for: Playing small but eye-catching roles as working class men in a number of classic post-war British films such as The Cruel Sea (1953), Reach For The Sky (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).
Did you know: Fred Griffiths was a London cab driver who was a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service during the Second World War. After being featured in a documentary film about the wartime fire service, Griffiths took up a career in feature films, going on to appear in small roles in around 150 films, working regularly for the likes of Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and the Boulting Brothers.
What are they up to now: Sadly Fred Griffiths passed away at the age of 82. He had retired from the film industry in 1984.
Stay tuned for the next entry in my A - Z of Carry On Supporting Actors!
I
recently spotted some wonderful artwork on Twitter and was lucky enough
to get chatting with the artist behind them, Steve Lilly. As I loved
his work and some of it had a Carry On theme, I thought I'd do a little
blog about it.
Steve
Lilly (Stevelilart) is a portrait artist from Birmingham who
specialises in portraits of famous British comedy acts. He has a close
working relationship with The Dad's Army Museum (Artist in Residence),
Laurel and Hardy Museum, The Homefront Museum and a number of comedy fan
clubs including On The Buses (Depot Artist in Residence), Hi-De-Hi!,
Carry On and Steptoe and Son supplying them with exclusive commissions,
original artwork and a range of merchandise including limited edition
prints, collector's cards, mugs and fridge magnets. His work has also
been showcased by the Grand Order of Water Rats, Birmingham Comedy
Festival and The Heritage Foundation.
Stevelilart
is now becoming a very collectable artist with many of his works in
private collections. Steve's art has received praise from figures within
the comedy and horror industry with work being showcased by numerous
groups and fan clubs as far away as New Zealand and America.
Every
portrait is created with meticulous attention to detail and is built up
over many, many hours by carefully blending layers of finely laid
pencil. "I really strive to capture the expressions and mannerisms that
are so characteristics of the great comedians I am trying to portray.
I'm not just looking for a likeness but an essence unique to each
character that will bring them to life on the paper. I think I owe these
fantastic actors something for all the fun and laughter they have
brought to me over the years".
You can visit Steve's website here
You can also follow Steve on Twitter
With thanks to DJ on Twitter for bringing these gems to my attention. Channel Radio has provided us Carry On fans with two unexpected and rather delightful treats thanks to David Barry's Imaginarium Show. David, best known for playing Frankie Abbott in the classic television sitcom Please Sir! was joined on two different shows by some very familiar faces (or should that be voices, given that it's radio?)
David's show lasts for an hour and involves him interviewing a familiar name from the entertainment business about their life and career. During the show he also plays some of the guest's favourite music. The first show I listened to featured that larger than life cheeky chappie Robin Askwith. Robin is always good value and shared many happy, affectionate memories of his time making the Confessions films in the 1970s.
Of course Robin also appeared in Carry On Girls as well as both small and big screen versions of Bless This House. He shared memories of working with the legendary Sid James and it appears the two got on like a house on fire. He also reminisced about working with Carol Hawkins. Their friendship dates back to the days of amateur dramatics and he even credits Carol for getting him the part of Mike in the Bless This House film. Robin went on to mention what a thrill it was to appear more recently in Coronation Street.
The second show I listened to featured Please Sir! co-star Peter Cleall as a guest. Peter played Duffy in both Please Sir! and the spin off series, The Fenn Street Gang. These days he works as a theatrical agent. It was great to hear more about his life. An extra surprise was an added Fenn Street reunion when Carol Hawkins joined them on the phone from her home in Spain. I'm a real fan of Carol and it's just a shame we don't hear more from her these days. She was on good form and obviously delighted in reconnecting with both David and Peter.
I'm not sure when these programmes were recorded however one exciting snippet that came out of the second show was the announcement that Carol has been working on her autobiography. Apparently she has already worked on one draft and is now going over it again to add more material. I really hope this comes to fruition as I'd love to read more about Carol's life and career from the lady herself.
If you would like to listen to either of these shows, they are both available via the Channel Radio's Listen Again service. You can access their website here
They are definitely well worth checking out!
David Barry is also a very successful author - you can find out more about his literary career here
And you can follow David on Twitter here
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook
98 years ago today a rather unassuming comedy legend was born. On 6 June 1918 the wonderful Kenneth Connor was born in Islington, North London.
I say unassuming because of all the Carry On team, Connor was probably the one of the few who led a fairly normal, down to earth family life. He was first and foremost a character actor and his valuable contribution to British comedy in the post-war era right up to the early 1990s cannot be underestimated. So much is made of the bonkers Carry On team and all their outrageous antics, but for me the quiet backbone of the likes of Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw and Connor himself really made the films what they were.
Kenneth starred in seventeen pictures in the Carry On team, making him one of the most prolific and longest serving stars of the series. Along with Kenneth Williams and Eric Barker, he was the only actor to appear in the very first and very last film in the series. He was the real star of the early black and white Norman Hudis era, grabbing the best, most memorable parts in the likes of Sergeant, Nurse, Teacher and Constable. His characterisations usually involved bumbling, shy romantic situations although he normally won through to get the girl at the end, whether that be Dora Bryan, Rosalind Knight or Joan Sims. I love Kenneth's roles in these early films - there is such quality to his work in them.
After filming his iconic role as Hengist Pod in Cleo in 1964, Kenneth took a five year break from the series to concentrate on other work, most notably on the stage. He returned to Pinewood in 1969 to play Claude Chumley in Up The Jungle and stayed with the series for a further nine years until the demise of the brand with the woeful Emmannuelle in 1978. By the early 1970s Kenneth's roles in the films had changed. He was now playing a delicious array of middle-aged, slightly crumbling but still bumbling character supports. His wonderful turns as British rail little man Mr Tidey in Matron, Stanley Blunt, frustrated husband to June Whitfield in Abroad and perhaps best of all, Frederick Bumble, mayor of Fircombe in Carry On Girls in 1973. Kenneth's versatility was phenomenal.
Away from the Carry Ons Kenneth Connor had a vibrant career. He played memorable supporting roles in situation comedies such as 'Allo 'Allo and Hi-de-Hi in the 1980s and starred in countless radio productions alongside the likes of Ted Ray and Arthur Lowe. In the early 1960s he was at his busiest in British film, becoming the leading man in a host of comedies, many of which are now classics - think of Watch Your Stern, Dentist On The Job and What A Carve Up!
Kenneth's career took in work with The Goons, Alec Guinness at The Old Vic and sell out performances of the classic musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. He was an incredibly versatile, very hard working actor and he enhanced every production in which he appeared. I will always love him best in the Carry Ons though. He never put a foot wrong and the series would have been very much the worse off without his involvement.
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook
This blog forms part of an occasional series which looks back at some of the wonderful supporting actors in the Carry On series and takes a look at their wider careers and lives away from the acting profession. Today I am going to write about an actress who provided eye-catching support to four classic 1960s Carry On films - Valerie Van Ost.
Valerie made her first appearance in the series in the 1963 film Carry On Cabby. Although a non-speaking role, she pops up throughout this film as one of the glamorous Glam Cab drivers. You can clearly see her during the scenes which see Sid James and his gang raid the Glam Cab yard only for the clever females to turn their hoses on the daft men! Valerie returned to the Carry On series three years later for a small speaking part in the wonderful costume epic Carry On Don't Lose Your Head. She can be seen exchanging a few lines with Charles Hawtrey's Duc de Pomfrit, although she seemed quite put out at the suggestion of his little nook!
The following year Valerie Van Ost grabbed her biggest and most memorable supporting role in a Carry On, with the part of Nurse Parkin in Carry On Doctor. Nurse Parkin appears in several key scenes on the ward and engages in typically fruity dialogue with the likes of Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Frankie Howerd. Valerie is involved in one of the series' most knowing and celebrated injokes when she offers a daffodil to Frankie Howerd's Francis Bigger. This was, of course, a direct reference to the Wilfrid Hyde White climatic daffodil sequence at the end of Norman Hudis' classic medical comedy blueprint Carry On Nurse back in 1958.
Two years later Valerie was back for her final supporting role in the series and it was fitting that she came back for another medical Carry On - Again Doctor in 1969. In Again Doctor she plays the smaller role of Out Patients Sister and shares scenes with Jim Dale and guest star Patricia Hayes. Although a smaller role compared to Doctor, it is really satisfying to see familiar faces from the previous hospital comedy back for roles in the follow up. Sadly that was it for Valerie and she did not return to Pinewood for further adventures with the gang. So what else did she get up to in her career and what is she up to these days?
Valerie Van Ost was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in July 1944. Valerie knew from an early age that she wanted to be in the entertainment industry. At school she was the youngest girl to be chosen to work as a dancer at the London Palladium. She began acting professionally in films and on television from the age of 18 in 1962 with her small part in Cabby coming the following year. Early roles in television included the likes of Mrs Thursday, Pardon The Expression and Dixon of Dock Green. In 1967 she played the guest role of Penny in an episode of the classic series The Avengers. It is believed she was considered for the main female role in the series before Diana Rigg was cast as Mrs Peel.
In film, she took roles in classic British horrors such as Incense for the Damned in 1970 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula in 1973. Other films included Mister Ten Per Cent and School for Unclaimed Girls. Valerie's last credited screen roles came in 1976. She played the Main Mission Operative in the television movie Alien Attack and then joined up with her old Carry On co-star Sid James for the role of Calendar Girl in the Bless This House episode The Naked Paper-hanger! In 1982 Valerie gave up working as an actress and moved behind the camera.
Her first job on the other side of the film camera was that of casting director, an important and powerful role. Valerie is credited as working as casting director on several productions during the early 1980s. These included the 1980 ITV comedy drama The Shillingbury Tales which starred Robin Nedwell, Diane Keen and Carry On alumni Jack Douglas. Valerie also worked on films such as the big screen version of George and Mildred in 1980, the Cannon and Ball film The Boys in Blue in 1982 and finally Haunters of the Deep in 1984.
By the early 1980s Valerie Van Ost had diversified once again. Together with her husband, Valerie set up her own casting agency, a business that is still in operation today as far as I am aware. It would be great to hear what Valerie is up to these days as well as finding out what she thought of her exploits with the Carry On team back in the 1960s. I don't know if she has ever attended a film convention or a Pinewood reunion, but it would be fantastic to hear from her.
You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook
