Carry on Don't Lose Your Head

CARRY ON DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD was made at the peak of the popularity of the Carry On films, where they could afford to splash out on lavish sets, costumes and locations in movies set in various historical eras. It's a pretty typical entry in the film series, and not the most appealing one I've seen; by now, at least half of the jokes were feeling quite stale, to me, and not a patch on the CARRY ONs of seven, eight years before.

That being said, there's still much to enjoy here, and aficionados of the films will be in their element. A delightfully weaselly Kenneth Williams camps it up as Citizen Camembert, Robespierre's right-hand man whose job it is to outwit the Black Fingernail, a masked folk hero who keeps on freeing aristocrats from the guillotine.

Sid James bags the role of the Fingernail and appears to be in his element, with plenty of his trademark dirty laughter and energy to spare. He's supported by a virtually wasted Jim Dale, whose role seems to be entirely redundant, and Joan Sims in one of those nagging wife type roles she always seemed to occupy in later years. The best cast members are Charles Hawtrey as the fey Duc de Pommfrit and Peter Butterworth as the befuddled Citizen Bidet.

The gags set in and around the guillotine are by far my favourite parts of this movie, although there's a rousing and elaborate sword-fight at the climax to get your teeth into. CARRY ON DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD also contains one of my favourite gags of all time: Hawtrey is brought a letter just as he's about to be beheaded, and he tells the messenger to drop it into the basket where he'll "read it later". Class stuff.

Dandy fop Sir Rodney Effing has an alter ego, The Black Fingernail. A man, who along with his partner, Lord Darcy Pue, rescue French aristocrats from the clutches of the revolutionary police chief, Citizen Camembert.

Carry On producer Peter Rogers had severed his links with Anglo Amalgamated and swiftly signed up with Rank Organisation. Miffed at losing their number one cash franchise, and no doubt with a touch of petulance, Anglo's brass refused Rogers permission to using the "Carry On" prefix. Thus this picture was initially released as just "Don't Lose Your Head" in 1966. Eventually common sense prevailed, and this rightly became known as the 13th franchise entry as "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" {tho the American release of it being called "Carry On Pimpernel" makes better sense one feels}.

Spoofing The Scarlet Pimpernel legacy with a ream of innuendo and double entendre's, the Carry On team deliver one of the better efforts from the series. This is in the main down to Talbot Rothwell's screenplay. Rothwell wrote the screenplay for 20 of the series efforts, he was someone who director and producer both trusted, and crucially that the cast also had faith in. Here his writing is excellent, if of course you be a fan of the saucy shenanigans that came with this particular part of British cinema that is? With characters called Citizen Camembert {refered to as the big cheese, get it?}, Duc de Pommfrit, Citizen Bidet and Sir Rodney Effing {yes that's two F's}, Rothwell lets loose with wave after wave of cheeky dialogue, all delivered with comic aplomb from the likes of Sid James, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale and the undervalued Peter Butterworth.

There's also a real good production from Rogers. Armed with £200,000, Rogers assembled a fine wardrobe of period costumes and hired out Clandon Hall, Cliveden House and Waddesdon Manor to give the story its 18th Century feel. It's also a film that asks of its stalwarts to do a little bit more than just say risqué lines and act the goat. Oh it's all still gaudy and simple in premise, for sure, but some nice swordplay and derring-do from the boys shouldn't go unnoticed. It of course is just like most of the others they made, a cheeky romp, but to me it's proof positive that the "Carry On" series had some crackers mixed in with the dregs. Sit back and romp with the rompers I say. 7.5/10

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

Sound format: Mono

During the French Revolution, the villainous Citizen Camembert (a perpetually outraged Kenneth Williams) goes in search of the notorious 'Black Fingernail' (Sid James), an unidentified British aristocrat who's been crossing the English Channel to rescue his French counterparts from the guillotine.

The second and final entry in the long-running series not to feature 'Carry On' in its title due to political fall-out from a change of UK distributor (the first was FOLLOW THAT CAMEL, released earlier the same year), DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD demonstrates yet again that screenwriter Talbot Rothwell was at his best when indulging his fondness for historical burlesque. Sumptuously mounted on various high-blown locations (including Clandon Park and Waddesdon Manor, with interiors filmed at Pinewood Studios), the film's ribald parody of the French Revolution encompasses everything from silly character names (Camembert is the local 'big cheese', aided and abetted by the gormless Citizen Bidet, while the Black Fingernail conceals his true identity under the foppish pseudonym of Sir Rodney Ffing - "with two F's!") to puns, sight gags and lowbrow slapstick. In other words, the formula as before.

But like so many of the better "Carry On"s, the comedy is rooted in a well-developed storyline, augmented by the usual array of flamboyant characters and eccentric supporting players. Highlights include Charles Hawtrey as a jolly French aristocrat, and Joan Sims as Williams' Cockney-spouting sister (Sims and Hawtrey share an unlikely seduction sequence midway through the film which culminates in a terrific 'please yourself' gag). Sid James and Jim Dale are the nominal heroes of the piece, camping it up with affectionate glee, while Peter Butterworth excels as Williams' dimwitted lackey, forever lusting after Sims and shouting: "Equality! Fraternity! Liberty!" (to which Sims retorts: "I don't care about the equalities and the fraternities, but I'm NOT having the liberties!"). But as usual, Kenneth Williams walks away with the picture, overplaying every gesture, emphasizing every double entendre, and milking every gag for all its considerable worth. An absolute comic gem! Director Gerald Thomas keeps the pot boiling throughout, and production values are solid. Watch out for a couple of mistakes which made it into the final print (Williams' hat being knocked by Butterworth in a cramped carriage, and Sims almost falling over whilst admiring a lovely new dress), betraying a rushed production schedule.

Favorite gag: Hawtrey brags to a group of young women that he escaped the guillotine by slaying half a dozen of his captors, and one gushing admirer declares: "What a bloody sight it must have been." Hawtrey, quick as a flash, retorts: "M'dear, if me sword hadn't broken, it'd have been a bloody sight more!" Genius.

There is no doubt about it, Carry on don't lose your head is one of the funniest entries in the series, an utterly joyful film that is funny from start to finish. The backdrop of the French revolution is a real goody, the story line is actually really well devised also it works so well. The characters Thomas managed to create in this film are even bigger, bolder and more flamboyant then normal.

The English/French humour is always really funny and this is massively played on, there's always been a great humour between the Brits and our French cousins.

Kenneth Williams is on his absolute best form, he gets to totally camp it up and add his snideness. Sid James is great as our hero, Joan Sims is utterly delightful, what a pretty woman she was. As for Charles Hawtrey, I think after Camping it is my favourite performance from him, the best sequence has to be during Sir Rodney's ball and Camembert says to Pommfrit 'So you're the one looking for the black fingernail,' to which he produces a small hammer and hits his finger. One of many golden comedy sequences, the duel too and siege scenes are funny too. One of those films I never tire of, I love it. 9/10

This probably ranks as one of the better carry ons certainly in the top 10 but not quite in the top 5. Its from the period when the team were making the historical/costume carry ons that yielded so many of the classic carry on's Cleo, Cowboy and of course Up The Khyber. This time its the turn of the Black Fingernail (Sid James) to ride to the rescue of the French Aristocracy able assisted by Lord Darcy Pugh (Jim Dale) opposed by Citizens Bidet (Petter Butterworth) and Cananbert (Kenneth Williams).

James is on top form and clearly relishes the chance to play the swash buckling hero much as he did in Cowboy he steals the show in this one as Williams isn't in the fine form he was in other historical carry ons such as Cleo and Kyhber. Dale provides able support as does Butterworth who began to become a more regular cast member through this period. Jaqueline Biset looks sumptuous as the love interest but some of the best lines go to the supporting characters of Joan Simms and Charles Hawtry.

If you love Carry On's you'll adore this if not this one probably wont be the one to convert you. Overall a good carry on not up there with Cleo and Up the Khyber etc but well worthy of a 7.5 out of 10.