Carry on Cruising

Marking the end of the first era of the franchise with a glorious jump to colour, Carry On Cruising has a distinct summer holiday vibe to the proceedings, even if it was all shot in a studio and relies on plenty of stock footage to showcase its sunny relaxation destinations. There's something so wonderfully fresh, cheery and bright with that naught, picture postcard brand of humour just about forming with a lot of charm, falling pretty neatly between the early gentle comedies of the late '50s and the double-entendre-laden gems to come. However, as such, it feels like a film that should be funnier than it is, or maybe gentler and more innocent than it tries to be, but the script is sharp with some great gags deftly delivered by the ensemble, the perfect setup for a series of disasters and the film duly delivers thanks to dialogue bursting with puns and wordplay. Carry On Cruising certainly feels like a transitional period for the series, providing enough laughs and remaining as watchable and good-natured as any other entry in the series, even if at times it can feel rather limp.

After a long and distinguished career on the ocean wave, Captain Wellington Crowther is on his last voyage as captain of an ocean liner when he learns that five of his usual crew are unavailable. With the short notice, Crowther is forced to take whomever he can get to act as replacements and ends up with a group of some of the most unseaworthy sailors he has ever seen. Mind you – they fit right in with the passengers who include several women hunting husbands, a serial drunk and a flirty old woman.

The Carry On films are hardly the height of comedy at the best of times but in this entry they seem content to just find the middle ground and settle of an average comedy with few highs but few lows either. The plot sees the usual collection of innuendo and physical humour placed onto an ocean liner but basically just doing the same stuff they do in all the other films. The plot is not as good as the best of the series and is far too thin to really support a film of any substance but, luckily, this is not a film of any substance! Therefore we have a collection of romantic misunderstandings and aspirations that barely manage to set up enough opportunities for joking. This is not a massive problem of course, because there really aren't that many clever, witting or imaginative jokes, scenes of lines (maybe a handful at best). I was amused but I rarely laughed out loud even once and it was only a spattering of funny lines that made the film worth seeing. The one thing I did appreciate about the film was that it was almost totally lacking the lazy and obvious crude humour that can often date the Carry On films very badly.

With little material to really work with, the cast are left to just try their best. James doesn't get much to do apart from look annoyed by the various clowns in his service. Williams is his usual camp self and is blessed with a great character name (Marjoribanks). Connor doesn't have that much to do in terms of laughs and is left carrying much of the plot himself – and in fairness he does his best with it. Fraser and Laye are hardly the best looking women in the world but they are flirty and quite sexy in a 1960's type of way. The rest of the cast are OK but mostly just clown around – a few Carry On faces are there but the absentees make more of an impact that those that are present.

Overall this is an OK film but it is far from the high points of the Carry On series (although happily far from the lows either). The jokes are mostly basic and involve physical clowning or innuendo and it is unlikely you'll get any big laughs out of it even if you're amused for most of the time. Fans of Carry On films will like it but the rest of us should stick with the acknowledged 'greats' from the series.

Based on a suggestion by Eric Barker to base a film around a package holiday - for which he received a story credit - the fifth 'Carry On' in many ways marked an attempt to make something more ambitious.

Anglo were beginning to invest in colour and sanctioned its use on 'Carry On Cruising' since it a was lot cheaper than filming on location (only the second-unit actually left Shepperton, and they only got as far as Southampton).

The result is one of the most charming and mellow of the series, as indicated by the fact that Kenneth Williams is still a clever dick and Sid James for once doesn't play a lecher. (The lack of an appearance by Charles Hawtrey being that he was replaced by Lance Perceval after being placed on suspension for demanding a star on his dressing room door).

I'm a Yank who's always loved British comedy and I'm sorta amazed that the reputation of this series never really traveled over to this side of the pond.

I haven't seen all of the Carry Ons, but of the ones I've enjoyed, Cruising stands out. I'm not sure why it doesn't get the love of the later films. Maybe it's because it's a relatively laid-back affair with a breezy sense of humor that never really sinks into toilet jokes or smutty double entendres.

Some say that Sid and Kenneth are underused - my opinion is that they're like a dash of cayenne pepper in the mix. A little dab'll do ya! I miss Charles Hawtrey but Lance Percival is hilarious. The color works well and the sets are very elaborate, especially the shot when the camera pans down into the ship's swimming pool. I showed this one to my girlfriend (who generally doesn't like older movies) and she was laughing out loud the whole time.

There seems to be a minority who rate this entry highly. For my money this one's better than Cleo and Cowboy...maybe not as good as Screaming. Just my 2 cents.

Before the 'Carry On' series had busty Barbara Windsor and more than a subtle touch of the bawdy about it, this funny example took to sea with some of the regulars (the crumpled Sid James, the priceless Kenneth Williams, and boggle-eyed Kenneth Connor). With the wonderful Esma Cannon getting tiddled in the bar, and Lance Percival as a disgustingly inventive cook, it couldn't miss.

The best bits by a long way include Connor's clumsy courtship of Liz Fraser; alongside Williams' stilted and self-righteous officer, all nostrils and hardly-hidden indignation. Very funny, as most of the 'Carry Ons' were.