Filmed during the making of CARRY ON UP THE JUNGLE (1970), this FILM NIGHT special, narrated by Tony Bilbow, focuses on the main figures in the Carry On team - Sid James, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey, Bernard Bresslaw with part-time star Frankie Howerd (but no Kenneth Williams this time). They discuss why they like playing in the Carry On series, what it means to them, and why they keep coming back to play in yet another sequel. Director Gerald Thomas is also interviewed, and he reveals just how low-budget the series actually was, with little or no use of locations and regular studio settings at Pinewood.
In light of subsequent revelations about the offstage lives of James, Hawtrey and Howerd, this documentary might seem somewhat anodyne. Nonetheless we learn something about their acting- techniques: James admits that he is not a comedian per se, but a reactive actor, someone who can only get laughs if he plays with another funny person. Sims talks about the on-set camaraderie, which made filming of the series such a pleasure, while Howerd pays tribute to the director and crew who manage to complete filming in such a short time. Others such as Terry Scott and Kenneth Connor explain why the series was so popular with audiences during the Sixties and Seventies, when seaside postcard humor was very much in vogue (witness the success of THE BENNY HILL SHOW on television).
This documentary is priceless for anyone interested in what the experience of working behind the scenes on a Carry On film was like, as well as preserving rare interviews with some of the main actors and creative artists involved.
