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Carry On England

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Carry On England
Original UK quad poster
Directed byGerald Thomas
Written byDavid Pursall
Jack Seddon
Produced byPeter Rogers
StarringKenneth Connor
Windsor Davies
Patrick Mower
Judy Geeson
Jack Douglas
Joan Sims
Peter Butterworth
Melvyn Hayes
Peter Jones
CinematographyErnest Steward
Edited byRichard Marden
Music byMax Harris
Distributed byThe Rank Organisation
Release date
  • 31 October 1976 (1976-10-31)
Running time
89 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£250,000

Carry On England is a 1976 British comedy film, the 28th release in the series of the original 30 Carry On films (1958–1978). It was released in October 1976 and featured Carry On regulars Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth. It was the second and last Carry On film for Windsor Davies, Diane Langton and Peter Jones, as well as the fifth and last for Patricia Franklin and the eighth and last for Julian Holloway. Patrick Mower, Judy Geeson and Melvyn Hayes make their only appearances in a Carry On film. The film was followed by That's Carry On! in 1977.

Plot

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During the darkest days of the war Captain S Melly is put in charge of the experimental 1313 Anti-Aircraft Battery along with the bellowing, ball-squeezing Sergeant Major “Tiger” Bloomer. Melly soon discovers the “experiment” is that half his men are women, led by the randy Bombardier Ready, Sergeant Tilly Willing and Sergeant Len Able. Tiger is unable to discipline properly as he is unable to swear around women and must avoid the libidinous advances of Private Ffoukes-Sharpe. Meanwhile the battery are happy to spend the war in each other’s beds.

Melly shakes things up with a fake air raid and is furious when instead of loading the gun they dive for cover in their private bunker, the “Snoggery”. Even worse the anti-aircraft cannon is made of wood; with a war on, real guns are hard to come by.

Determined to get the battery up to standard Melly and Tiger put the men, and women, through vigorous retraining, violent exercise and 12 mile long route marches. In response Ready, Willing and Able sabotage Melly’s uniform, leaving him red faced and bare cheeked. The whole battery is confined to camp as punishment, Melly not realising that men and women in close quarters don’t need to leave camp to enjoy themselves. Realising his mistake Melly endeavours to separate man from woman with barbed wire around the sleeping quarters, round the clock battle drills and separate mealtimes.

Determined to reunite with their beloveds, the battery digs secret tunnels under the barbed wire for easy access, making life bearable again. Unfortunately the very next day Melly finally takes delivery of an anti-aircraft cannon, which promptly falls into the tunnel. Forced by Melly to retrieve the gun from its hole the battery sabotages an inspection by Melly’s Brigadier, hoping Melly will be reassigned somewhere else.

When a real air raid arrives both battery and officers pull together to defend England, successfully shooting down all enemy planes and with only one casualty: Captain Melly’s two sprained fingers, which go on to inspire one of the most famous symbols of victory for the entire war.

Production

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This film featured few established members of the Carry On team. Carry On regular Kenneth Connor played a leading role, but the only other long-time regulars present, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth, had only small supporting roles.

Windsor Davies, who had joined the series with a main role in the preceding film Carry On Behind, again plays a major role, reprising (in all but name) his Sergeant-Major character from the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, along with Melvyn Hayes as his effeminate foil. Other main roles are played by established and recognisable actors Judy Geeson and Patrick Mower, both newcomers to the Carry On films.

The role of the Brigadier was written for series regular Kenneth Williams, and the role of Private Easy was written for series regular Barbara Windsor, but Williams was unavailable due to appearing in the stage play Signed and Sealed, and Windsor was unavailable due to appearing in Twelfth Night at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Series regular Sid James was unavailable for the film due to appearing in the stage play The Mating Season. On the opening night of the play at Sunderland Empire Theatre on 26 April 1976, James suffered a heart attack on stage and died, at the age of 62.

In 2023, actor Larry Dann dedicated a chapter of his autobiography "Oh, What A Lovely Memoir" to share his memories of the making of this production.[1]

The film was originally certified AA by the British Board of Film Censors which would have restricted audiences to those aged fourteen and over, but was cut down to the non-age limited A certificate by heavily toning down the scenes featuring topless nudity and removing one comedic use of the word fokker. However, it still proved to be a major commercial failure and was withdrawn from some cinemas after just three days.[2]

Cast

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Crew

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  • Screenplay – David Pursall & Jack Seddon
  • Music – Max Harris
  • Production Manager – Roy Goddard
  • Art Director – Lionel Couch
  • Editor – Richard Marden
  • Director of Photography – Ernest Steward
  • Camera Operator – Geoffrey Godar
  • Wardrobe – Vi Murray & Don Mothersill
  • Casting Director – John Owen
  • Stills Cameraman – Ken Bray
  • Make-up – Geoffrey Rodway
  • Sound Recordists – Danny Daniel & Gordon McCallum
  • Continuity – Marjorie Lavelly
  • Hairdresser – Stella Rivers
  • Costume Design – Courtenay Elliott
  • Set Dresser – Donald Picton
  • Dubbing Editor – Pat Foster
  • Assistant Editor – Jack Gardner
  • Assistant Director – Jack Causey
  • Titles – GSE Ltd
  • Processor – Rank Film Laboratories
  • Gun – Imperial War Museum
  • Producer – Peter Rogers
  • Director – Gerald Thomas

Filming and locations

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  • Filming dates – 3 May–4 June 1976

Interiors:

Exteriors:

Reception

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In a 2018 retrospective on the series, the British Film Institute named Carry On England as one of the series' five worst films, alongside Carry On Girls (1973), That's Carry On! (1977), Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), and Carry On Columbus (1992).[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Larry Dann - Oh, What a Lovely Memoir".
  2. ^ Ross, Robert, The Carry On Companion. London: B.T. Batsford, 1996. ISBN 0-7134-7967-1 p. 120
  3. ^ Mitchell, Neil (23 November 2018). "The 5 best Carry Ons… and the 5 worst". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Bright, Morris; Ross, Robert (2000). Mr Carry On – The Life & Work of Peter Rogers. London: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-55183-6.
  • Davidson, Andy (2012). Carry On Confidential. London: Miwk. ISBN 978-1-908630-01-8.
  • Eastaugh, Kenneth (1978). The Carry On Book. London: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7403-0.
  • Hibbin, Sally & Nina (1988). What a Carry On. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-55819-4.
  • Hudis, Norman (2008). No Laughing Matter. London: Apex. ISBN 978-1-906358-15-0.
  • Rigelsford, Adrian (1996). Carry On Laughing – a celebration. London: Virgin. ISBN 1-85227-554-5.
  • Ross, Robert (2002). The Carry On Companion. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8771-8.
  • Sheridan, Simon, Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema (third edition, 2007; Reynolds & Hearn Books)
  • Sheridan, Simon (2011). Keeping the British End Up – Four Decades of Saucy Cinema. London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-0-85768-279-6.
  • Webber, Richard (2009). 50 Years of Carry On. London: Arrow. ISBN 978-0-09-949007-4.
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