Carry on Camping

This is perhaps the quintessential "Carry On" film, which also means that it's terribly dated when viewed today! That said, it's quite funny scene by scene – even if the plot itself is alarmingly thin and disjointed.

In fact, it follows three separate narrative threads during the first half which then come together: one involving Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw and their girlfriends, sisters Joan Sims and Dilys Laye; another with bickering couple Terry Scott and Betty Marsden, who pick up annoying drifter Charles Hawtrey along the way; and the members of a finishing school (including perky Barbara Windsor) and led by the series' all-too-typically reserved authority figures – namely Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques. With this film, the bawdiness which has since become synonymous with the series really took off – beginning with the very opening sequence, which finds James et al in a cinema showing a documentary about a nudist campsite!; a scene in which James and Bresslaw spy on the women's baths through a hole in the wall was subsequently much imitated.

Many of the film's best moments highlight Terry Scott – exaggerating his afternoon activity when asked by the wife how it was, knowing full well she isn't lending him the slightest attention; his encounter with a bull in a field; at the end, when he takes stock of the situation in his tent and forcibly throws out Hawtrey. Popular British starlet Valerie Leon, who appeared in a number of "Carry Ons", has a bit here as a salesgirl. By the way, CARRY ON CAMPING was trimmed by the BBFC on its original release; ironically, it ended up being the highest grossing film of the year in the U.K.!

This is my favourite in the 'carry on' series. The laughs keep coming thick and fast. All the usual characters feature which is an excellent thing, each player fitting perfectly in the story. It's an extremely fun british comedy to watch so...9/10

This movie (a real guilty pleasure for me) contains one of the best convoluted gags in movie history. The boys drive up to what they believe to be the nudist camp they're searching for. A sign states "All Asses Must Be Shown". The boys guffaw, their girlfriends are appalled. Sid asks where the manager is. "He's gone for a pee" is the reply. Soon, the scruffy manager appears, hitching up his pants, carrying a wooden letter "P" which he proceeds to nail onto the sign so it now reads "All Passes Must Be Shown".

Most of the other jokes are old as the hills (and welcome nonetheless), but whoever came up with this elaborate bit of business belongs in the Charles Kaufman/Preston Sturges/Jacques Tati club.

A British holiday - what could possibly top that? Well, a camping trip, naturally. Sid and Bernie manage to persuade their girlfriends into a getaway at Paradise, a supposed nudist camp. Predictably, nothing is quite as advertised. The only thing truly bare is the organisation, and perhaps Sid's patience. One thing's certain: it's a holiday none of them are likely to forget.

Carry On Camping really is a national institution - the sort of film you assume everyone has seen at least once, if only by cultural osmosis. It's from that golden era of British comedy, when a simple day out could collapse into farce, innuendo, and a collapsing tent.

The cast are at their absolute best. Kenneth Williams is superb as the snooty headmaster, pairing wonderfully with Hattie Jacques, who fires off her lines with such gusto it borders on tragic. Betty Marsden is sensational as Harriet Potter, the perfect domineering counterpoint to Terry Scott's increasingly frazzled Peter. Her laugh still reduces me to tears.

Charles Hawtrey, naturally, walks away with some of the funniest moments. The sequence with the farm girl - "Couldn't your father do that?" "No, it has to be the bull" - is delivered with a face so priceless it might as well be preserved in a museum. It's pure Carry On magic.

As British as a damp bank holiday, and twice as charming. A comedy classic you can revisit endlessly.

9/10.

Sid Boggle (Sid James) and his friend Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) hatch a plan to take their girlfriends, Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and Anthea Meeks (Dilys Laye), to a nudist campsite called Paradise. However, when they get there it's not the paradise they envisaged, full of odd balls and bad British weather, things only perk up when a coach load of girls turn up. Trouble is, the guys must get shot of their girlfriends first.

Oddly, Carry On Camping is a film that is revered by the series fans yet frowned upon by critics. Plot wise I'm inclined to agree with the critics, it's as basic as can be and is nothing other than a series of vignettes weaved together to create a lurid camping based holiday film. Tis true, but hell the comedy is good here, smutty and awash with innuendo and making the most of the double meaning of the word camping. It's also one of the series best roll calls as regards its cast, most of the big hitters are here, it's easier to just say Jim Dale and Kenneth Connor are the two notable absentees.

From the sight of Barbara Windsor's bra shooting thru the air, to the hapless Terry Scott having buck shot removed from his posterior, Camping has no other intentions other than to titter the discerning Carry On fan. What often gets forgotten tho, is just what great comedy actors some of these series regulars were, witness here a sequence in a tent as Terry Scott, Charles Hawtrey and Betty Marsden attempt to get ready for bed, comedy gold. So one for fans only it seems, hooray for me then because I love Carry On Camping, always have, always will. 8/10