I’ve heard of these movies and know they were a popular series of broad and bawdy British comedies from the 50’s to the 70’s, but, like most Americans, I’ve never seen one. Reading this vitriolic attack on the “Carry On” series made me curious about what about how they are regarded by you and other people in the UK. I get the impression the films are full of a lot of Benny Hill-style humor with slapstick, groaningly awful puns, T&A jokes, and references to old music hall routines that only British audiences would get. However, it also seems that a lot Brits (not including Peter Bradshaw) are of the view that these movies, while often incredibly stupid and low-brow, could also be hysterically funny. I guess probably the best American comparison would be the Three Stooges shorts that filled up many a kid’s afternoon TV time. (BTW, did they also show the Stooges often on UK TV?)
So, is my impression correct or is Bradshaw’s opinion closer to the truth?
The *Carry On * films are occasionally shown here in Australia. I’d say your first assessment is the correct one. They’re full of tired old Benny Hill, naughty “English sea-side postcard” humour. Extremely unfunny.
I think they just haven’t aged very well; remember that this genre didn’t begin with the Carry On films - they are, after all, just a particular type of farce. In the context of modern comedy, which is often very intelligent, it is easy to find them embarrassing, coarse and repetitive, but in their own time, they were very well received.
There’s a bit of risque humour - well, a lot, to be honest - and a couple of toilet jokes. Some slapstick, some T&A, a few puns, but no Benny Hill-style stuff.
Because of the varied teams that went into their creation, some of the Carry On movies are much better than others. Carry on Camping is mid-range and comes closest to fitting your bill, but it’s by no means considered one of the classics. Those were pretty much all made between 1964 and 1970, and comprise:
I don’t know anybody who finds the films funny, or who would watch one through. That article is spot-on.
The English are capable of this bizarre nostalgia for things which never actually existed - it’s a kind of comfort-blanket, imagining a world where no films (or anything else) are challenging, thought-provoking, upsetting or uplifting. Just a big smudge of mediocrity.
Slightly dissenting voice here. Whilst I never managed to sit through an entire Carry On film which is telling, I do think they’re okay enough for watching with a hangover on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
It’s mainly Kenneth Williams who I find just funny to look at, without him having to do that much.
I’m with PookahMacPhillimey. Whilst they haven’t necessarily aged well, a fair few of them make good Sunday afternoon television.
Okay, they aren’t exactly cutting edge comedy or top notch cinema, but they do occasionally have their moments - and i can honestly say that i genuinely enjoy all the ones that Evil Death listed above, although the majority of the rest aren’t always great.
Between the odd decent joke, Sid Jame’s laugh and Kenneth Williams and you’ve got some good, harmless tv that you don’t have to think about too much. Perfect for if you are browsing the web or playing games and just want some background TV.
I suppose if you wanted an analogy, you could probably say that the closest modern equivalent to the Carry On films would be the American Pie movies.
Oh yeah, because its just us that do that.
Mate, whilst i do see your point, i think you’re definitely overplaying it. I think a good chunk of the cinema-going population of the world will happily admit that they like films that are as you’ve described above - its not something thats particular to this nation.
I agree with you that there is probably a chunk of people in this country who do think just like that, but your making one hell of a sweeping statement by tarring everyone with that brush.
I know a fair few people who do enjoy a good Carry On film and they are intelligent cinema-goers. Watching Carry On films doesn’t automatically disqualify you from watching Schindlers List.
I’ve seen a few, and I don’t remember laughing, I do know one person that enjoys them, but that’s all. Most people I know agree with Critic Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian
I remember finding Carry On Screaming genuinely frightening, as a kid. They seemed to have slightly better production values in the mid-sixties too, so if you have to watch one of them go for that one. But one thing in the Guardian article puzzles me - I’m not aware of any post-modern, ironic Carry On nostalgia - AFAIK they are now, and always were, regarded as disposable, low-brow comedy. I agree with garius that some of the better films have their moments.
I found them funny at the time, but I was under 10 years old then. Today they’re about as funny as Benny Hill. Different time, different age, different sensibilities.
I quite like them, for the kitsch value.
My tastes in entertainment are pretty eclectic and watching old films of a most flavours appeals to me.
Old Technicolor musicals, black and white weepies where the ladies must live in the hairdressers, Hammer House horror flicks, Ealing comedies and Carry Ons, all of these have their place in my affections for different reasons.
Gosh, The Guardian thinks Carry Ons are are lowbrow?
Well, who’da thunk? I’m stunned! Stunned I tells ya.
Next you’ll be telling me that The Sun’s going to have pictures of topless women in it next week.
Count me in as someone who found them funny as a kid, might now watch a bit of Cleo or Khyber if I stumbled across them on TV, but can’t imagine ever watching a whole one again.
Apart from the various recentish books about both Williams and Hawtree, there was the National Theatre production of Terry Johnston’s Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick, so some people evidently think there’s some sort of book-buying and theatre audience out there with an interest.
There’s also Gilbert Adair’s reputed Sight&Sound spoof. Apparently purporting to be a lost article by Roland Barthes, it did a critical analysis of what the Carry On films revealed about British culture, done with all the pomp of French theory. Supposedly, it’s since found its way into the bibliographies of unsuspecting academics. That said, I’ve never seen the spoof and half-suspect it’s mythical itself.
I guess I didn’t explain my point properly - I’m talking about the people who ‘love’ Carry On films but never watch them, people who talk about the Queen’s Speech yet are always busy with the washing up at the time, people who will go to see a Beatles tribute act yet never listen to their own Beatles albums which have been gathering dust for thirty years…
