Please Turn Over

The movie started out as a rather genteel suburban comedy, but got surprising a lot better. A clever plot for its day, with a good cast. Not up there with the Ealing comedies, but far superior to the Carry On films.

I started to watch a noir but knew I wasn't in the mood and searched for something comedic - good choice as it happens. It's a shame as these old films drift further and further back into oblivion that they fade away from view as during troubling times a lighter than air comedy provides a momentary escape from worry and cares.

This production should not be associated with carry on films despite the director being one Gerald Thomas - I personally found it operated on a different level and it was rather more 'sophisticated' than any Carry On production - in this film the characters are depicted as 'real' in real life settings whereas in Carry On films there's a nod to reality but not much more than that... the fun and laughs for me came when the 'book characters' are revealed and where there were truly funny moments - it's worth watching the whole film just for those segments. The comedic acting in all of these was I felt, good too - you can pick your own favourite from them but the one with 'mother and uncle' was, I thought, sublime - really all those segments were very amusing with some laugh out loud moments. I'm glad I found this film never having seen it previously and I feel the story stands up well for the times we live in seeing as it involves publicity about less than admirable behaviour - something we are confronted by constantly these days because of online content about peoples crimes and misdemeanors ... Finally, it's always really charming to see England as it was back in the day - car-less roads, small shops, smart attire; you could do a lot worse than spending an hour and a half watching this - you never know, it may make you laugh and forget any cares for that time.

For some strange reason this film has evinced reviews which either claim that this film is the funniest thing since sliced bread or a dismal broad farce.It in my opinion is neither.It does have some funny moments but is not as consistently funny as some of the Carry Ons nor does it have great actors in every part.After all it has to be said that Ted Ray is no Sid James.Also it must be added that the idea that a 17year old schoolgirl in the early 60s could have the experience or knowledge to write a racy book is extremely unlikely.Furthermore the section where the actors play their alter egos from the book does go on a bit too long ,is a bit repetitive and not that funny.It is a reasonably funny if unmemorable film.

They say that it takes only one person to write a book but things are a bit different when it comes to making a film(whether it be adapted from a book or simply thought up). To make a film requires a whole raft of talents not the least the actors and actresses involved. From the director down everyone--and I do mean everyone--is concerned with the finished product.

When I saw 'Carry On Teacher' in my youth it was paired with this film and I noticed several members of the cast in both films: Leslie Phillips, Ted Ray, Joan Sims as well as a guest appearance by Charles Hawtrey(one of my favourites from the many Carry Ons he appeared in). Of course, the fact that behind the camera was the then screenwriter of the Carry Ons, Norman Hudis as well as Peter Rodgers and Gerald Thomas should have told me that I was viewing something that was a Carry On in all but name.

My reference to a book in the first paragraph is a direct referral to the original title of this piece. It was a successful stage play called 'Book of the Month' by Basil Thomas(any relation to Gerald, I wonder?). I never saw the play so cannot comment on the treatment of the storyline. However, in the film, the cast members are required to play two parts; one the 'normal' family whose lives are about to be turned upside down by the penmanship of their daughter, but also their 'alter egos' in the reading of the book. This plot point works brilliantly as the daughter twists her family's quirks on their head and gives them totally new characteristics.

I laughed myself silly at the antics portrayed on the screen and, although it was the support feature, I came away from the cinema thinking it was the better of the two films. Not that 'Carry On Teacher' wasn't funny--it was. It's just that I felt that 'Please Turn Over' had the edge over its more famous partner that day. Seeing it since then on TV and tape has given me no reason to change my mind.

If you get the opportunity to see this film, do so. I promise that you won't regret it--I never have. Maybe one day they'll put it out on a DVD(perhaps along with the previously mentioned 'Carry On Teacher').

Produced by Peter Rogers and directed by Gerald Thomas, the legendary duo responsible for the Carry On series, this comedy is as mildly racy and as funny, but of greater subtlety. It concerns Jo Halliday, a seventeen year-old girl from a commonplace English suburban background who writes a scandalous novel that seems to depict the Halliday family -- and not in a favorable light. In it her accountant father becomes an embezzler and a sugar daddy to his secretary, her mother is having an affair with a retired military officer who is a family friend, and her lovelorn aunt is pining for her employer, a doctor who carries on with all his women patients. The book, of course, is a best seller and the whole town is gossiping about the girl's poor family and creating considerable problems for each member. The comedic complications unwind deftly, with an hilarious sequence depicting the characters as they appear in the way over-the-top book. The acting is superb, but we expect that with British films from the '50's. Ted Ray anchors the family and the film as the father. Jean Kent, an outstanding dramatic actress who had starred in such films as The Browning Version and The Woman in Question, shines as well in comedy and is wonderful as the slightly daffy mother. Joan Sims, of Carry On fame, is a riot as the maid. Also featured are familiar comedic actors Leslie Phillips as the doctor, Dilys Laye as the secretary, June Jago as the aunt. Lionel Jeffries as the family friend (whose efforts to teach the Jean Kent character to drive a car are simply hilarious), and Colin Gordon, Charles Hawtrey, Ronald Adam, and Joan Hickson. Best of all, though, is the leading actress who plays Jo, Julia "Toots" Lockwood, the young daughter of film great Margaret Lockwood. She is thoroughly charming and immensely appealing and at the same time plays her part with great sensitivity and conviction. Unfortunately, Toots didn't have a big film career, although she worked on the stage and on TV until she retired in the mid '70s. But she's a standout in this film, which is a must see for those who like British comedy of the period.