Carry on Cleo

Carry on Cleo stands head and shoulders above the rest of this variable comic series, combining a genuinely witty script, excellent performances and good production values (thanks to the use of sets from the previous years Burton-Taylor production).

it seems that the scriptwriter and cast,let off the normal constraints of the series, were determined to excel.

In addition to the oft-quoted Kenneth Williams line ('Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me!'), there are other gems; 'Ptolemy?' , 'I AM TELLING YOU!!!', and to Gloria, the British girl who falls ill aboard ship - 'Oh well, Sic Transit Gloria!'.

If you only see one Carry On film, make sure that this is it.

Perhaps the best of the entire CARRY ON cycle, notable for its reuse of the sets and costumes originally conceived for Joseph L. Mankiewicz's monumental folly CLEOPPATRA (1963), CARRY ON CLEO contains its fair share of innuendo - so thick and intricate, in fact, that viewers can only tease out the brilliance of Talbot Rothwell's script after repeated viewings.

Yet perhaps uniquely among the cycle, this film contains memorable performances too. Amanda Barrie has never been more seductive as Cleopatra she she lolls in her bath of asses' milk tempting Mark Antony (Sidney James) to join her. She remains gloriously empty- headed when faced with any schemes to enact, but certainly knows how to deal with men, especially the duffer Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams). It is only when she gives Briton Hengist Pod (Kenneth Connor) a love-potion, transforming him from a mouse into a sexual Lothario that she meets her match.

What perhaps distinguishes this film, however, is its metatheatrical awareness. Director Gerald Thomas makes no bones about tracing its origins in music-hall and variety; jokes are delivered as separate lines direct to camera with little concern for dramatic verisimilitude. The cast have no need to; they know that the viewers are waiting for the next innuendo, and they are prepared to glance briefly at the camera before delivering it, taking us into their confidence as they do so.

This makes for both a liberating yet a lasting experience; we feel that we are somehow complicit with the actors in a ritual that we all know and love. It doesn't really matter what the film's subject might be; as if going to pantomime or a variety show, we are there to see our favorite actors doing what they are best at, and participating in a community experience of cathartic laughter. It is this unique quality, shared only by a few films (others might include Abbott and Costello or the Marx Brothers) that invests them with their timeless qualities.

Looking back at the many ups and downs of the British Film Industry one clear period stands out as very firmly 'up'. This was during the reign of the 'Carry On' team at their peak. For a five year period (1963 - 1968) the team churned out a series of slickly produced genre parodies which, though often substituting authentic locations for a beach in Wales or a field in East Anglia, managed to upstage the Hollywood productions they were thumbing their noses at. 'Carry On Cleo' (1964) exemplifies this period and stands out as (some would argue) one of the greatest British films ever made. The usual cast is out in force, with only a couple of notable absences (i.e. Barbara Windsor), all delivering at the top of their form, and clearly revelling in the luxury of using the sets and props left over from Mankiewicz's megaproduction of 'Cleopatra' (1963). Sid James was never more ruggedly appealing than when suited in the white miniskirt and golden breast plate of Marc Anthony, he also gets to blast the immortal line "BLIMUS!!". Scriptwriting doesn't get any sharper, from start to finish Talbot Rothwell's script glitters. In the part of Cleopatra, Amanda Barrie gives us a good view of her ripples as she floats gracefully in asses milk. Whilst batting her extended eyelashes she asks "Do'st thou like what thou see'st?". Well I certainly do'st. The film is a pleasure to watch, there is never a dull moment as the plot flips furiously between the plight of the cowardly Hengist Pod and heroic Horsa escaping roman enslavement (Kenneth Connor & Jim Dale buckling a fine swash together), and the drama of Julius Caesar's last days of power (Kenneth Williams camping it up to the nines as usual). The story threads intertwine and build to a hilarious climactic chase scene involving a Shakespearian identity swap and a hulking Egyptian guard by the name of 'Sosages'. If contemporary British film-makers would return to taking the mickey instead of sitting passively in Hollywood's thrall, we might see a few more gems like this in the future.

What was more deserving in its day of being given a glorious sendup than the monumental production of "Cleopatra" with Liz and Dick's on- and off-set romantic interludes, so fulsomely (and scandalously - Can you believe it?!?) documented in worldwide tabloids?

20th-Century Fox rather carelessly left behind some quite elaborate sets at Pinewood Studios when production on the first attempt to film this spectacular under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian had to be shut down and then abandoned in London, when Elizabeth Taylor experienced one of her many life-threatening illnesses. (Other IMDb-ers err in stating that the abandoned sets used were those from the Joseph L. Mankiewicz version filmed at Cinecitta in Rome and on various locations in Italy, Spain and Egypt.) When M-G-M finished production of "Ben-Hur" (1959) in Italy they prudently destroyed the massive sets to prevent those cleverly thrifty Italian producers of sword-and-sandal "epics" from taking advantage of the bounty left behind.

The "Carry On" series may not have translated all that well to American shores, but I recall standing in line in Westwood, California, to see "Carry On Nurse" and enjoyed several of the later productions in this lengthy British franchise of satirical and slapstick humor. They were great fun and the new DVD collection is no doubt worth the price for aficionados of the series.

A true classic.

Carry on Cleo is arguably one of the greatest of the Carry on films. It puts so many big budget films, notably Cleopatra, to shame.

It is a visual delight, admittedly it used the scenes from the bid budget flop, but I'd argue they made equally good use here. Awesome costumes, some truly incredible sets. However this film contains style, and substance.

Most of the regulars are here, notable faces missing include Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques.

Amanda Barrie gets her biggest Carry on role, she's excellent, and looks amazing, perhaps a more convincing Queen than Taylor was.

They're all amazing, but Kenneth Williams is truly at his best here, he is utterly hilarious, and perhaps gets the best of lines, who will ever forget Infamy, Infamy....

Well over half a century old, and still awesome. 9/10.