Carry on Abroad

The Carry On team tackle that other British staple of the 1970s, the package holiday to the Med for some sun, sea, and a bit of 'how's your father?'; the result is another seriously silly caper full of low-brow humour and cheap titillation that is more fun than doing a drunken flamenco on a tapas bar table. Olé!

Kenneth Williams plays travel guide Stuart Farquhar (Stupid what?), who leads a troupe of happy-go-lucky holidaymakers to the resort of Elsbels. With Sid James, Charles Hawtree, Joan Sims, Babs Windsor, Kenneth Connor, and Bernard Besslaw amongst the travellers, hilarity is most definitely on the agenda, especially since the hotel they are booked into is not only seriously understaffed, but also isn't quite finished being built.

Having left their inhibitions back in England, the Gang proceed to drink, fight and flirt their way through the week, getting in trouble with the local police, partaking of a suspicious looking aphrodisiac purchased on an excursion, and partying while the hotel collapses, all of which allows for plenty of smutty innuendo, daft slapstick, and a spot of welcome T&A from Carry On regular Windsor, babes Carol Hawkins and Sally Geeson, and total hottie Gail Grainger as Williams' sexy assistant Miss Plunkett.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

They didn't just make a great movie with Carry On Abroad, they nailed it. This is my favourite of the films; I think it's up there with Screaming.

So they didn't have a big budget, and it wasn't filmed in Spain, but it doesn't matter. Filmed entirely in England, during what appears to be the colder months, they somehow manage to get away with it. It's not the first time a leap of faith is needed in a film. You'll also need that faith for Barbara's wig.

Package holidays really took off for Brits in the 70s, so it was only natural that the gang had one of their own. One of the strongest casts of all time-pretty much everyone is there, and all on top form. The cast all seem to get on well, and Sid and Joan genuinely seemed to adore working together.

Noted for being the last Carry On film to feature Charles Hawtrey, there's a bit of an in-joke for the production team, having his character, Mr Tuttle, as an alcoholic with an overbearing mother. It's a sad way for him to bow out, but he's brilliant here.

Kenneth Williams is awesome, and of course it's the 70s, so he's playing a straight man. Although we do have one gay man, so let's at least credit them with that. My favourite Carry On outing for Kenneth Connor, he plays the sexually repressed husband very well. Only Gail Grainger was a little off with the timing, but it was her first acting role and she looked the part.

Some of the funniest lines and humour in any of the Carry On films appear here. Yes, in parts it's smutty and quite rude, with mild nudity, but at times it's brilliant. The best part for me is the dialogue between Sid and June Whitfield: "I tried it once and didn't like it." Genius.

The humour is very much of its time-wonderfully silly. You can switch off and genuinely enjoy a holiday of a laugh-time. I think it looks authentic; they definitely captured the vibe of a 70s holiday resort somewhere north of Benalmádena.

An out-and-out classic-bawdy, laugh-out-loud funny, and perfect to make you smile on a cold December night.

10/10.

I've noticed that, in recent years, there has been a sudden serge in the amount of holiday complaints programmes appearing on television. When I watch these 'I went on holiday and when I got there my hotel had fallen down' I can only think of one film. Carry On Abroad brilliantly lampoons the 'package holiday'. Nobody does package holidays 'better' (I use that word tentatively) than the Brits. Which is why Abroad is perfect. The huge range of characters mix beautifully in the wonderfully dismal resort of 'Els Bells. All lead, of course, by Kenneth Williams' 'Stuart Farquhar' ("Stupid What"?). Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques make a supreme double-act. My sister and I constantly quote the "Ez's no good"/"Ez's good!" line to each other whilst slapping the other's face (which raises a few eyebrows among those who haven't had the pleasure of viewing this film). Five stars to the utter chaos and eventual collapse of the hotel in the final scenes. Fiercely true and frank about the seediness of the package holiday. A comedy great. P.S. Look out for the strategically placed balloons in the party scene!

To begin with, I had previously caught a bit from this one on TV while channel-surfing when in London in September 1999! Like CARRY ON DOCTOR (1967), this is another multi-title offering: CARRY ON ABROAD, OR WHAT A PACKAGE, OR IT'S ALL IN OR, SWISS HOLS IN THE SNOW! While this is essentially a second-tier "Carry On", it proved to be consistently enjoyable – which is why I went for a higher rating than I had myself anticipated; even so, there are a bit too many gay stereotypes here and it's marred somewhat by the flat TV-style look.

Incidentally the hotel shenanigans which take up most of the running-time anticipate the FAWLTY TOWERS (1975) TV series. By the way, this turned out to be Charles Hawtrey's final "Carry On" – unfortunately, he doesn't get to do much…but, then, neither does Kenneth Williams as the tour leader (he's even given an unconvincing romance with a pretty young colleague). On the other hand, Peter Butterworth is at his best as the multi-purpose hotel manager who speaks in broken English (with Hattie Jacques as his massive and grumpy backwoods wife). Among the guests are Sidney James, who's married to Joan Sims but his eyes are constantly on Barbara Windsor!; Sims herself draws the attention of gallant but henpecked Kenneth Connor. There are also a number of youngsters thrown into the fray, as well as a manly Scot, and a group of monks (one of whom, Bernard Bresslaw, is allowed to strike a friendship with one of the girls – her companion, incidentally, is played by Sally Geeson from Norman Wisdom's WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE [1969], which I watched recently).

As I said, many hilarious gags revolve around the run-down condition of the unfinished hotel – but the scene shifts halfway through to an outing in town (which turns into a massive scuffle and lands the group in jail); the climactic farewell party, then, sees the hotel – literally on its last legs – as it's flooded and crumbling around them. CARRY ON ABROAD (on which a certain Sun Tan Lo Tion served as technical adviser) is one of the more satisfying latter-day efforts from the gang – but, ultimately, it's a notch below classic series titles such as CARRY ON COWBOY (1965), CARRY ON SCREAMING! (1966) and CARRY ON...UP THE KHYBER (1968).

Carry on Abroad is another fantastic classic 1970's movie. I love this movie and it is one of the best i have ever seen as well as the other carry on movie. Sid James is my favourite in all the other actors and actresses, the reason why i like him the best is because of the sense of hunour he comes out with and the laugh he does in the movies he starred in. That makes me laugh whenever he laughs. He is a fantastic actor and i think he has a great sense of humour which i am sure some people like to have with them all the time. I certainlly like to have someone giving me a great sense of humour. The other actors and actresses in the carry on movies were fantastic, but i still think Sid James is the best. Kenneth Williams is my second favourite in the carry on movies. He also is funny and a great actor. I give carry on abroad 10 out of 10.