En avant amiral!

Although it has only an average plot the 1957 film of an Ian Hay stage play is worth seeing for three reasons. First, it has some great cameos by a range of British bit-part actors, including a perplexed Reginald Beckwith, a young Joan Sims, a lugubrious Ronald Shiner, a too-short appearance by Alfie Bass and uncredited James Hayter (the original voice of Mr Kipling Cakes). Secondly, it has a barnstorming appearance by the elderly British character actor A.E. Matthews who was in his late 80s when the film was shot and had been playing the same role of a peppery old admiral/colonel etc for decades. He fluffs a few lines but carries the film along with his enthusiasm. Finally David Tomlinson, one of Britain's finest comedy actors, is a joy to behold. His comic timing is faultless and he lights up every scene he's in.

I watched this film on Talking Pictures this morning and it brought back many happy memories.

I remember my Mother and Father taking me to see this film when I was 7 years old, not long after it was made. David Tomlinson and Ronald Shiner seemed to turn up in a lot of British films in those days. At 7 years old, I was not old enough to recognise the names to some of the actors that I saw at the cinema. I can only say that my naïve child's mind was sometimes curious about the way the same men turned up in different films playing different characters. It was very confusing - I used to think that they just looked like each other.

Incidentally, this was the third time that I had seen David Tomlinson donning the uniform of an officer in the Royal Navy. The other two films were "Up the Creek" and "Further Up The Creek.

Although not too well known, the film is interesting inasmuch as nearly all the supporting and uncredited roles are played by well-known actors. Familiar faces like, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson, Alfie Bass, and the ubiquitous Sam Kydd, all made the film worth watching. It almost ran like a potted history of British Cinema of the 1950s and '60s.

I also enjoyed seeing Eunice Gayson, looking just as lovely as she did in the first two James Bond films, Doctor No and From Russia With Love, where she played the casino croupier, Sylvia Trench.

Some of the scenes were shot in and around Portsmouth. As a man who served in the Royal Navy and having lived and served in Portsmouth for most of my working life, I recognised some of the locations, especially the area that stood in for the "Harbour Hotel".

In the background I could see the seating area of Spice Island - a lovely part of Portsmouth which has not changed very much since 1957. Although, I think The Union Hotel, has possibly changed names many times since this film was made. The view of Spice Island suggested that the hotel might have been The Coal Exchange, which is next to the Still and West public house.

I was a bit confused about the other locations in Portsmouth, but I think they may have been distorted for security reasons, as with the name of the warship.

Ever since William Shakespeare penned his immortal lines in such plays as Twelfth Night and Midsummer Night's Dream, cases of mistaken identity have always been a good formula for comedy.

As an ex-Navy man, myself, who has lived in Portsmouth for most of his life, there are a lot of flaws in the storyline that I could pick out, but why bother? It was a very funny film and it passed an hour and a half this morning while my wife was doing the hoovering.

Carry on Admiral is directed by Val Guest and is based on the play Off the Record written by Ian Hay. It stars David Tomlnson, Peggy Cummins, Brian Reece, Eunice Gayson, A.E. Matthews and Joan Sims.

Gentle Brit comedy about two old friends (Tomlinson/Reece) who get drunk and swap clothes and end up being mistaken for the other and thrust into working environments totally alien to them. All told it's pretty thin material before the creak of age old stage boards punctures the air. The cast are good value, undoubtedly, especially old warrior Matthews who was 88 when making this film! While the farce jinks are enough to induce smiles at regular intervals. But really it isn't a hidden comic gem from the treasure trove of either Val Guest or 1950s Brit-Coms. 5/10

With that title, you'd think CARRY ON ADMIRAL to be an early instalment in the long-running British Carry On series, but it actually predates it by a year and the title is just a coincidence. However, it IS a British comedy flick, directed by THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT's Val Guest and starring a cast of seasoned British performers in a story of mistaken identity set aboard a ship.

Sadly, CARRY ON ADMIRAL has dated far more than any of the genuine Carry On films from the era and it remains a rather quaint and sometimes twee oddity. The problem with comedies like this one is that they rely on the laughs for effect and there aren't really any laughs here. There are a couple of amusing moments, the best of which involves a torpedo fired by accident, but everywhere else this feels like a tame, old-fashioned farce.

The cast is also a disappointment given the quantity of familiar faces. David Tomlinson lacks the light touch he brought to the later likes of MARY POPPINS and Peggy Cummins plays a rather dull character; the little-used Eunice Gayson (THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN) is much better. Joan Sims, Joan Hickson, and Sam Kydd all appear in minor parts, but aren't involved in any comic moments.

I bet the current boss of the Royal Navy would be rather envious at the start of this film as we are taken on a brief tour of a fleet that is somewhat larger than the one the UK has now! Parliamentarian "Tom" (David Tomlinson) is on an advance recce for his boss when he encounters old pal, and ship's captain, "Peter" (Brian Reece) and thanks to a mix up from chambermaid "Mary" (Joan Sims) they start mixing gin and whisky, swapping rooms, jackets and ending up steaming for the ultimate hangover. Next morning, they find themselves quite literally in each other's shoes causing confusion and mayhem - even firing a torpedo - before "Susan" (Peggy Cummins) and "Jane" (Eunice Gayson) realise that something is amiss and decide they need to rectify things before doddery Admiral "Godfrey" (AE Matthews) initiates an whole scale review of the service - and quite possibly starts a war! It's gently comedic with a decent effort from Tomlinson steering it away from the worst excesses of farce and imbuing a degree of the post wartime spirit quite warmly. It's more of a chuckle than a guffaw, but moves along quite quickly and nicely reminds us of what used to make us laugh.