Carry on Abroad

A hilarious low budget romp for the carry on team. This film sends up both foriegners and Brits. The new idea of package holidays was a rich vein for comedy in the early seventies (see also the brilliant 'Are You Being Served' film), a time when most British people had never been abroad before (except perhaps during the war), so there was much scope for humour.

Amazingly the British weather held up long enough for the island of Elsbels (Camber Sands) to look convincingly like a mediterranean resort (well...in winter anyway!) but a large number of scenes are indoors anyway, so it doesn't matter. All the usual smut, innuendo, and gags about falling down hotels are there, and I defy anyone not to chuckle a few times. The only slight downside is the rather poor acting by Kenneth Williams' assistant, but she is extremely 'easy on the eye' so gets away with it.

My favourite scene is when the prison guard gives the gang the 'fine old British gesture' of two fingers up, to which Kenneth Connor replies 'Damned FILTH!'.

Lots of people dismiss this as one of the weaker entries in the 'Carry On' series, but I think it represents the typical storyline and characterisations which showed the team at their best.

Here, Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, June Whitfield, Kenneth Connor, Jimmy Logan, Barbara Windsor, Charles Hawtrey, Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw, and Hattie Jacques liven up proceedings when they take a holiday in the most horrendous hotel and resort there is to stay in.

With a character name like 'Stuart Farquhar', Williams gets the brunt of a lot of the jokes with the hotel host (Butterworth) constantly mispronouncing all or both. And throw in a rainstorm, a bowl of punch, some monks, randy husbands and stuffy wives, and busty blondes, and you have the ingredients for a 'Carry On' success!

The 24th film in the Carry On series finds the cast partaking in a package holiday to Els Bels. Once arriving they find their hotel still under construction and nobody much likes the company they are in!

This is actually one film that boasted the most regular Carry On cast members, something which carries the pic up above and through some choppy waters. Leaning heavily towards the more bawdy side of the franchise, it obviously couldn't appeal to everyone. This is the 1970s in Britain and it was becoming a place of decadent sexuality, which sees the makers earnest in their attempts to capture the zeitgeist of the time. Also one tends to think they had to be aware of the more openly sexual nature of some other comedy films of the era, thus they had to compete.

This is great fun for series fans, an absolute ramshackle holiday experience, the very definition of a cheap deal that "WAS" too good to be true. The makers bombard us purposely with stereotypes - the Brits abroad crassness, the bad food and excessive drinking, the undersexed and the oversexed clientèle, bad weather, nudity, a raucous set to at a red light establishment, sexual stimulants and on it goes - no sand pebble is left unturned.

Cast are great, reliable sorts with such cheeky material to work from. Peter Buterworth takes the leading honours as the hotel manager trying to convince everyone this hotel from hell is a paradise! and he is well supported by June Whitfield who makes one of her more expansive ventures into the series. The double entendre's flow, the chaotic scenes stack up and the corn is well and truly laid on a plate. Suffice to say this is not about pathos or intelligent meanings!

The finale is two-fold and great for fans, the drunken party on the last night at the hotel literally is crash bang and wallop, while the collective character closure at Sid and Joan's English bar has a warmness to it that fans can relate to. Charles Hawtrey, the legendary skeleton on legs, left the series here, playing an alcoholic rogue, the makers accepting his real life issues and incorporating it into his farewell performance for some poignant reflection. 7/10

One of my favourites and the last great Carry on film. All the gang is here for the last time Sid, Kenny, Charlie, Babs, Joan, Hattie and they all seem to be having a great time and go out with a bang. Its meant to be set in Spain but its pretty obvious the team haven't ventured further than Slough. Great lines, and set pieces through but for me its Peter Butterworth as hotel manager Pepe who steals the show never since Up the Khyber has Butterworth been given a more showy role and he plays it to the hilt, shame he wasn't more cherished as a regular and was and is still overlooked in favour of less funnier member's of the team such as Bresslaw, Douglas. Love the scenes between him and Williams' Farquar. A great pick me up if your feeling a bit fed up it never fails to make me laugh. Classic!

They didn't just make a great movie with Carry On Abroad, they nailed it. This is my favourite of the films; I think it's up there with Screaming.

So they didn't have a big budget, and it wasn't filmed in Spain, but it doesn't matter. Filmed entirely in England, during what appears to be the colder months, they somehow manage to get away with it. It's not the first time a leap of faith is needed in a film. You'll also need that faith for Barbara's wig.

Package holidays really took off for Brits in the 70s, so it was only natural that the gang had one of their own. One of the strongest casts of all time-pretty much everyone is there, and all on top form. The cast all seem to get on well, and Sid and Joan genuinely seemed to adore working together.

Noted for being the last Carry On film to feature Charles Hawtrey, there's a bit of an in-joke for the production team, having his character, Mr Tuttle, as an alcoholic with an overbearing mother. It's a sad way for him to bow out, but he's brilliant here.

Kenneth Williams is awesome, and of course it's the 70s, so he's playing a straight man. Although we do have one gay man, so let's at least credit them with that. My favourite Carry On outing for Kenneth Connor, he plays the sexually repressed husband very well. Only Gail Grainger was a little off with the timing, but it was her first acting role and she looked the part.

Some of the funniest lines and humour in any of the Carry On films appear here. Yes, in parts it's smutty and quite rude, with mild nudity, but at times it's brilliant. The best part for me is the dialogue between Sid and June Whitfield: "I tried it once and didn't like it." Genius.

The humour is very much of its time-wonderfully silly. You can switch off and genuinely enjoy a holiday of a laugh-time. I think it looks authentic; they definitely captured the vibe of a 70s holiday resort somewhere north of Benalmádena.

An out-and-out classic-bawdy, laugh-out-loud funny, and perfect to make you smile on a cold December night.

10/10.