Nurse on Wheels

In the style of the carry on films with producer and music from the above, and full of so many of the best famous names in British film comedy ! It may not be one of the greatest films, but with the cast and the music it's still a class example British film comedy of the 1960's.

Juliet Mills was rewarded for her charming performance as a nurse in 'Twice Round the Daffodils' with the title role in this breezy little comedy in black & white.

A strong female supporting cast includes Esma Cannon as Mills's feather-brained mother ("How your mind wanders. I wonder who you get it from!"), Joan Sims in a refreshingly 'normal' role, with a name - Deborah Walcott - to match, and Athene Seyler in her final big screen appearance.

Among the men Jim Dale plays the first of two expectant fathers in a row for director Gerald Thomas, and Ronald Lewis (who's Land Rover carries a tax disc bearing an April 63 expiry date) is unfortunately a boor as Mills's supposed love interest (which makes it a pleasure to see him scared witless by her driving in a white-knuckle drive through the fictional village of Blandley which is probably the film's comic highlight).

She gets more screen time here than in most of her films and she grasps the opportunity with both hands.She is splendidly dithering.She reminds me of Billie Burke who played dithering matrons in Hollywood. Much of this film is familiar stuff.It looks as if Norman Hudis has taken the driving lesson sequence from Please Turn Over.Nevertheless it is still entertaining.

This film is funny. Make no mistake about that. It's a gem of a comedy which provokes out-loud laughter in abundance. A whole host of comic characters are at hand to deliver some unforgettable lines amid a very simple, ungarnished plot.

Passing her driving test qualifies nurse Joanna Jones (Juliet Mills) for a position as a district nurse. So she, together with her dotty mother, moves into an out-of-the-way village to take up her new duties. After twenty-odd years under the care of an elderly district nurse, the villagers are somewhat distrustful of the young and beautiful Nurse Jones. This leads to some hilarious situations as the new district nurse is thrown amongst the village's inhabitants. Abel Worthy (brilliantly played by the irascible Noel Purcell) is felled by a tin of corned beef - just one in a series of delightful mishaps. And the dialogue is even funnier. `You know Dr Golfrey's secretary? That flighty young thing? Well, she's flown.'

Esma Cannon relishes the role of Joanna's eccentric mother and Norman Rossington plays a blinder as George Judd, the lovelorn hob-jobber but Juliet Mills is nothing short of outstanding in the lead role.

All in all, Nurse On Wheels is a wonderful example of English comedy. It may be a cliché but they don't make 'em like this anymore.

A marvellous bit of whimsy from Britain's film industry of the early 60's, when we knew how to make this kind of light-hearted comedy/drama. Almost everyone is perfectly cast - especially the pretty and pleasant Juliet Mills as Nurse Jones - and her mother, played by the incomparable Esma Cannon very nearly steals the show; the scene with the sink plunger never misses. Raymond Huntley's vicar is a bit thin on plot, but then he is there only to provide Joan Sims with a purpose anyway. However, on every DVD and TV showing I've seen, the reels seem to have been assembled in the wrong order and the plot strand concerning Joan Sims applying for a job seems back-to-front! Despite this, Nurse on Wheels is a pleasant 90 minutes of classic British gentle comedy with a fine cast of regulars. I can only agree with other posters who have said 'they don't make them like this anymore'.