Carry on Screaming!

I have to admit that this is the best Carry on Film of the series. It had me laughing throughout.

There were great performances throughout and I particularly liked the late Harry H. Corbett's role as Detective Sergeant Bung in it.

The plot was mad. The late Kenneth Williams played Dr. Watt who was the fiendish brains behind an evil plot. He had a huge Frankenstein-like henchman called Oddbod who would kidnap women for him. He would then turn the women into dummies and sell them to a local shop. Crazy eh?

I won't spoil any of the scenes for you but they are all funny and there's some great dialogue throughout. As for the ending, it had me in stitches.

I really believe this is the best Carry on Film in the series so I recommend checking it out.

Carry On Screaming is the 12th film of the popular Carry On series of film's that began in 1958 and ended in 1992. Behind it are the usual team with Gerald Thomas directing, Peter Rogers producing and Talbot Rothwell writing the screenplay. There's no Sid James, Barbara Windsor or Hattie Jacques for this one, but most of the regular actors appear, with Harry H. Corbett joining the cast for the first and only time. The film is a parody of the Hammer Horror film's that were also massively popular during the 50s and 60s.

Fresh from spoofing the historical epic with Carry On Cleo (1964), and the western with Carry On Cowboy (1965), the Carry On team were well into their stride and hitting a purple patch. One that was arguably their best run of film's that culminated with Carry On Up the Khyber in (1968). "Screaming" is a delight, one of the franchise's most fondly remembered offerings. The standard sexy innuendo and nudge nudge nudgery so befitting the series is still there, but as with the previous two outings, it's quality satire enveloped. With the makers showing no little amount of skill and knowing of the genre they spoof.

Plot wise it's an amalgamation of classic horror, it basically uses House Of Wax as its starting point and runs with it. Taking in anything from Frankenstein and Dr Jeykll & Mr Hyde along the way; all cloaked in a Gothic, fog bound Edwardian England sheen. The sets (particularly the riotous Dr Watt's (Williams) laboratory) and effects are suitably Hammer like, as is the colour; where Alan Hume's photography nails the lurid tone required.

Of course none of the production value matters if a horror/comedy isn't funny. Thankfully "Screaming" is, be it the wonderfully alluring Fenella Fileding vamping it up, or the lovable twin menace of Oddbod and Oddbod Jr, the visual joys equal the sharpness in the script. There's also in jokes to be sampled too, while the film is not without a creepy vibe to accentuate the sheepish blend of sex and murder. Sid James was unavailable due to commitments to work with Tony Hancock, so in came Corbett, who delivers a blast of a turn, with his "change" sequence a laugh out loud moment. Carry On Screaming doesn't feature three of its most well known stars, with even Charles Hawtrey only cameoing here after being shoe horned in at the request of the American distributors. That it's one of the best in the series is quite a feat. Frying Tonight indeed. 8/10

Possibly the finest of the Carry On series, this film benefits hugely from the acting talents of the late, great Harry H. Corbett and the fabulously sexy Fenella Fielding. These two provide the usual Sid James / Barbara Windsor roles but play them with far more subtlety and aplomb than usual. Talbot Rothwell delivers a fine screenplay that beautifully lampoons Hammer Horror films while Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale and Peter Butterworth serve up great supporting performances. Jim Dale is worth a special mention here as a great physical comedian who never really received the recognition he deserved for his 'full body' comedy – he could teach the over rated Jim Carey a thing or two. 'Screaming', along with 'Khyber' and 'Cleo' remain great British comedies that have outlived the contempt and snobbery that was initially hurled against them to emerge as fine examples British cinema and humour. 7/10.

The Carry On films were at their best in the early days when they offered more than just saucy double entendres. Don't get me wrong, there *are* plenty of great double entendres here, but they're set against the backdrop of a horror spoof. The unusual setting gives it a freshness that the other Carry Ons lack.

A changed cast helps too. Harry Corbett shines in the sort of role which normally goes to Sid James. He makes the part his own, only failing in the scenes where he argues with his wife. There's just no chemistry between him and Joan Sims to show why these people were once in love with each other.

But there's chemistry between Corbett and Fenella Fielding, the other guest star. She makes a wonderful evil seductress. Of the regulars, Williams is best. His usual eccentric, camp performance takes on an edge of madness that grows as the film progresses.

Recommended.

One of the better films of the Carry On series, the film spoofs the typical horror films of the 1960s quite well, and there is a great feel of the Gothic to it, thanks to apt costumes and sets. It is still overly silly as is usual for an entry in the series, and there are silly sound effects and some lame jokes that bring it down. However, there are quite a few good gags to make up for those that do not work, and the team receives great assistance from Fenella Fielding this time, who is perfectly cast as a vampire like seductress. The film also has some good makeup work, and the title song, sung by Jim Dale, fits in well.