Carry on Spying

After "Carry On Cabby", I expected "Carry On Spying" to descend into the campy sixties, but truthfully, this one was entertaining. Without regulars Sid James, Hattie Jacques (I suspect she was offered the villianess role) and Kenneth Conner, I expected this one to focus entirely on Williams buffoonery.

He was more of a nitwit here than a snotty know-it-all, but he was given the spotlight this time.

So this was Barbara Windsor! She truly was entertaining and not just because of her physique. She's not boring to watch or listen to.

Obviously Bernard Cribbins was filling in the Kenneth Conner spot, and quite honestly, Cribbins (whom I only know from the Doctor Who movies with Peter Cushing) he wasn't as Jim Carrey-esque as Conner has been in the previous films.

What an entertaining series this is, watching the transition from "Carry On Sergeant" to "Carry On Spying" thus far. I do look forward to what I have left to see of these films.

After this, it is on to "Carry On Cleo"!

This movie is not the best of the Carry on franchise but it works very well. Yes even with one or two moments of uneven pacing and an underused Dilys Lane, the film is very entertaining, with a nice simple story and some funny dialogue and gags. Carry On Spying is nicely filmed, has a quirky score and the acting is fine(even without Sidney James). Ever the old pros, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey give it their all and are great fun, while Judith Furse stands out as well. But it is the wonderful Barbara Windsor who steals the show, she was delightful in this movie. Overall, this film is simple and thanks to the acting and dialogue especially is very entertaining as well. 8/10 Bethany Cox

RANKING: The only "old style" black and white one to be in the top ten. What makes this stand out is it's got an actual plot. Unlike the later ones which relyied on our familiarity with the characters so much so that they could be just a series of smutty jokes, this one has a proper story - albeit a very, very silly one. Although it is a black and white one, it is NOT from the early batch of Norman Hudis films (which are not funny). No, this is a proper Talbot Rothwell picture who wrote virtually all of them from 1963 onwards...and being one of his first, the jokes are fresh!

TYPICAL: Kenneth Williams plays the role Kenneth Williams always played in the early sixties whether in film, TV or radio, particularly in HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR - and he's never been better or funnier than in this.

But is it a typical Carry On Film? No, definitely not. This is more of a James Bond spoof than what people would consider to be a Carry On film. The humour isn't that bawdy seaside postcard style which developed later on but there are a few saucy double entendres to give us a taste of things to come. The humour in this is more akin to the type of silly schoolboy humour you would have heard in the radio comedies of the late fifties and early sixties so if you're a fan of Hancock, Round The Horn and all that sort of stuff, you will definitely love this.

Don't however expect a parody in the classy style of CASINO ROYALE (1967) or AUSTIN POWERS, this makes AUSTIN POWERS seem like Chekhov.

SEXY LADIES: This was made before that factor became an absolute essential ingredient. Nevertheless, Barbara Windsor is quite cute and it doesn't matter in something like this that she hadn't really learned how to act yet.

A grown man shouldn't really be discussing a 'Carry On' film, but this has always been my personal favourite; and the series soon went into a precipitous decline after the franchise was taken over by Rank in 1966.

It actually rewards knowledge of classic adventure films of the forties like 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The Third Man', both referenced by the presence of Eric Pohlmann - since he is referred to as 'The Fat Man' and was actually in 'The Third Man (not to mention having recently voiced Blofeld in 'From Russia with Love') - and has some genuinely witty dialogue, including "Was it - THEM?" "Well it certainly wasn't - US!!" and "So you knew my father!!". There's even a little mild satire, such as the cipher clerk with a Russian accent played by Gerton (sic) Klauber squinting at an intercepted message as he reads it aloud to the head of MI5; and the sign on their table that greets our heroes in a Viennese restaurant reading 'Reserved for Party of British Agents'.

Cinematographer Alan Hume actually graduated to the James Bond series. The opening sequence beginning with Victor Maddern driving up to the north entrance of Pinewood Studios anticipates that of 'Get Smart!', while the finale at STENCH headquarters is well worth the wait. Embellished with atmospheric music from Eric Rogers, presided over by the memorably strange Dr. Crow and staffed by stern henchwomen dressed like Modesty Blaise, (SPOILER COMING:) it obligingly has a prominently displayed panel for blowing the place up like the lever in Frankenstein's laboratory at the end of 'Bride of Frankenstein'.

Richard Wattis did three days work on this; his one and only 'Carry On'. Liz Fraser had sadly just left the series, and her replacement by Barbara Windsor (although playing a genius with a photographic memory) showed the series was coarsening. But Dilys Laye compensates by providing a memorable dragon lady.

Carry On Spying was the one where the Carry On team mocked the James Bond movies and also Barbara Windsor's Carry On debut.

After a top secret formula is stolen by organisation STENCH, a group of agents are sent to investigate, resulting in many chaotic and funny situations. The investigation takes them over the world and back to their workplace...

As well as Babs Windsor, this also stars the excellent Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale who are joined by Bernard Cribbins and Eric Barker. Not so many of the regular team in this one.

Have a good laugh at Carry On Spying. Brilliant and very funny.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.