Carry on Camping

I don't consider the Carry On movies the best movies I have seen or anything, but I do find them very entertaining. Carry on Camping is for me one of the better movies of the series, it is very funny and lively. It is perhaps too short, and the big slapstick finale was a wee bit of a disappointment compared to other scenes of the film such as the wonderful double entendre incidents. That said, it looks great, one of the better-looking Carry Ons I think, the music is quirky, the direction is lively and the film moves quickly. Not to mention a nice story, some hilarious dialogue and some of the funnier comedy set pieces from any Carry On movie. And the cast are on top form- Sidney James has a ball as an unlikely hippy, Kenneth Williams is delightful as pretty much always, Barbara Windsor brightens up the screen with her presence, Charles Hawtrey is hilarious and Peter Butterworth has possibly his finest hour as the miserly site owner. Overall, very entertaining, high art it isn't, but fun it is. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Sid Boggle (Sid James) and his friend Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) hatch a plan to take their girlfriends, Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and Anthea Meeks (Dilys Laye), to a nudist campsite called Paradise. However, when they get there it's not the paradise they envisaged, full of odd balls and bad British weather, things only perk up when a coach load of girls turn up. Trouble is, the guys must get shot of their girlfriends first.

Oddly, Carry On Camping is a film that is revered by the series fans yet frowned upon by critics. Plot wise I'm inclined to agree with the critics, it's as basic as can be and is nothing other than a series of vignettes weaved together to create a lurid camping based holiday film. Tis true, but hell the comedy is good here, smutty and awash with innuendo and making the most of the double meaning of the word camping. It's also one of the series best roll calls as regards its cast, most of the big hitters are here, it's easier to just say Jim Dale and Kenneth Connor are the two notable absentees.

From the sight of Barbara Windsor's bra shooting thru the air, to the hapless Terry Scott having buck shot removed from his posterior, Camping has no other intentions other than to titter the discerning Carry On fan. What often gets forgotten tho, is just what great comedy actors some of these series regulars were, witness here a sequence in a tent as Terry Scott, Charles Hawtrey and Betty Marsden attempt to get ready for bed, comedy gold. So one for fans only it seems, hooray for me then because I love Carry On Camping, always have, always will. 8/10

This certainly one of the better CARRY ON films which had me laughing out loud at the scene where the farmer is lecturing his pregnant daughter " You don`t know what his name was ? Couldn`t you have asked to whom do I owe the pleasure ? "

The door is knocked and the farmer answers it to a man wanting some milk : " Oh hello there. I was round earlier and your daughter gave me it . And I would like some more please , but don`t worry I`m willing to pay for it this time "

Cut to farmer aiming his gun

Classic scene

A British holiday - what could possibly top that? Well, a camping trip, naturally. Sid and Bernie manage to persuade their girlfriends into a getaway at Paradise, a supposed nudist camp. Predictably, nothing is quite as advertised. The only thing truly bare is the organisation, and perhaps Sid's patience. One thing's certain: it's a holiday none of them are likely to forget.

Carry On Camping really is a national institution - the sort of film you assume everyone has seen at least once, if only by cultural osmosis. It's from that golden era of British comedy, when a simple day out could collapse into farce, innuendo, and a collapsing tent.

The cast are at their absolute best. Kenneth Williams is superb as the snooty headmaster, pairing wonderfully with Hattie Jacques, who fires off her lines with such gusto it borders on tragic. Betty Marsden is sensational as Harriet Potter, the perfect domineering counterpoint to Terry Scott's increasingly frazzled Peter. Her laugh still reduces me to tears.

Charles Hawtrey, naturally, walks away with some of the funniest moments. The sequence with the farm girl - "Couldn't your father do that?" "No, it has to be the bull" - is delivered with a face so priceless it might as well be preserved in a museum. It's pure Carry On magic.

As British as a damp bank holiday, and twice as charming. A comedy classic you can revisit endlessly.

9/10.

This movie (a real guilty pleasure for me) contains one of the best convoluted gags in movie history. The boys drive up to what they believe to be the nudist camp they're searching for. A sign states "All Asses Must Be Shown". The boys guffaw, their girlfriends are appalled. Sid asks where the manager is. "He's gone for a pee" is the reply. Soon, the scruffy manager appears, hitching up his pants, carrying a wooden letter "P" which he proceeds to nail onto the sign so it now reads "All Passes Must Be Shown".

Most of the other jokes are old as the hills (and welcome nonetheless), but whoever came up with this elaborate bit of business belongs in the Charles Kaufman/Preston Sturges/Jacques Tati club.