Cuidado com a Popa

This is not a Carry On film but it does feature a lot of the regulars but also has less of the innuendo as well.

A naval ship are testing a new experimental torpedo but the top secret plans get accidentally destroyed so the crew have a scheme to sneak in another copy before the Admiral comes into inspect them with Doctor Potter, the top scientist.

Kenneth Connor gets the bulk of the screen time as he dons several disguises to get his hands on the plan. This is a gentle but dated comedy very reminiscent of those early black and white Carry On films but I never found it more than mildly amusing and nothing much stands out as most of the cast apart from Connor are playing it straight even Sid James.

The is an odd cameo from Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan with Milligan playing a comedy Indian character which is very much of its time. What is not of its time is the top scientist turns out to be female.

I watched this film on British television quite a long time ago. I remember it as being a perfectly acceptable black and white British comedy, in the style of the better Carry On movies. Despite a cast of successful British comic actors, it is really memorable for the performances of star Kenneth Connor, whose character I seem to recall disguises himself as a woman and a Scottish scientist (there may have been other disguises that I can't remember so well). Connor was surely the most versatile and underrated actor of the Carry On ensemble, and this film showcases him at his best.

I couldn't dislike this amiable family comedy/farce, about a hapless and accident prone ordinary seaman, Blissworth, played by one of my favourite comedy actors of the 50's and 60's, Kenneth Connor. He's surrounded by many of the usual 'carry on' characters, such as Sid James, who's always a joy to watch, Hattie Jacques, who's cast as the well built and highly intimidating scientist, and the wonderful Joan Sims, playing the romantic interest on board the ship. The humour is gentle with dialogue not being peppered every two minutes with the explicit sexual vulgarity of the later 'carry on' films. The storyline about the plans for a new torpedo being lost by able seaman Blissworth gives Kenneth Connor full range to exploit his comic talents and impersonations, which hitherto he had demonstrated through the medium of radio in the 50's. I also loved seeing Noel Purcell, playing the growling and constantly outraged bearded admiral. For today's audience, the humour may seem dated but it does give film goers the opportunity to see a galaxy of British radio and TV stars all together in one film.

The crew of a British naval cruiser are assigned the mission of testing the new acoustic torpedo, code named The Creeper. The first test goes well but an accident involving gin, electrical plans for the ship's refrigeration system and bumbling OS Blissworth see the secret plans go up in flames. With the Admiral coming to the ship to view the plans and discuss the trials, Captain Foster and Lt Cmdr Fanshawe have to conceal the destruction from him until they can get the only other copy back to the ship.

Being a Carry On film in all but name, this film has more in common with the gentle humour of the start of the series rather than the crude innuendo of the later years. However this is not to say that it is funny and entertaining because, really it is far too slight to stick in the memory or provide more than basic, dated entertainment. The plot is solid enough to suit the gentle comic tone, although it is hardly the sort of narrative that you will be coming to it for. The laughs are gentle but does enough to provide a pleasant distraction on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon (which is just what it was when I watched it!), just don't expect to be rolling in the aisles with tears in your eyes because it isn't that sort of humour.

The cast help it be better than the material suggests it should be. Connor is given the "dressing up" role to deliver but he does it well and shows a nice comic touch throughout. Barker and Philips play the management-types well and provide some nice laughs. Sims doesn't have a great deal to do but Jacques makes an impression with her usual, boisterous characters. The rest of the cast are good but mainly just given cameo roles to deliver; James, Milligan, Sykes and a few others add some nice laughs and all make good use of their limited screen time. Connor though is the one that stands out and it was nice to see him having the lead with so many other famous names in support.

Overall, not the greatest of films and even fans of the period won't see it as anything more than a slight but fun little comedy. The plot sets up the usual gentle antics and the cast make the most of the comic tone to provide a nice distraction for viewers looking for an old fashioned British comedy to enjoy as part of a relaxing afternoon in front of a nice fire and a cup of tea.

Watch your Stern is a brilliant movie. Kenneth Connor's performance is one of his best, and if truth be told, (and with exception of Peter Sellers of course), Connor was funnier than any of the other English Comic greats of the time such as Frankie Howerd & Kenneth Williams. Carry on movie creators Peter Rogers & Gerald Thomas, do well on this movie and there's enough Carry on regulars here to make you wish it was an official member of the series. Eric Sykes and Leslie Phillips are still with us, but the rest of the main cast have sadly all passed away, but their contributions to British Comedy will live on through this hilarious movie. Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Eric Barker, Joan Sims, Spike Milligan and of course the great Kenneth Connor, they must have God in stiches up there.