Carry on Dick

Notorious highwayman Dick Turpin disguises himself as the Reverend Flasher to avoid detection and terrorises the countryside with his gang

Sid James plays Dick Turpin in his last Carry on, and he's surrounded by the usual team members, with the exception of Charles Hawtrey. It's got some good one liners and funny scenes, though some of jokes can be repetitive, and it lacks the sharpness and energy of the peak years. Still it's fun. With such a legendary cast and great direction, it would be hard to get a limp Carry on entry.

Carry on Dick is a hugely amusing entry in the series, it boasts a classic cast, they were somehow missing something beyond this one, maybe Sid James. James is fabulous, so funny, it is essentially the same character he plays in Don't lose your head, and the two films perhaps blur, but this one still boasts big laughs. The team had certainly pushed the boundaries, this is more smutty then usual, jokes galore about diddlers and bid Dick. It's still mind by today's standards though.

Laughs galore, Sid and Kenneth Williams are hilarious, the timing and delivery impeccable as always. Williams and Jack Douglas make a fine duo, it's the facial expressions from the former that get the laughs. Barbara Windsor is excellent in this film, but it's the interaction with Sid James that I find fascinating, you can see the real life closeness that existed between the pair very strongly.

Whenever I watch this one I always think how underused Patsy Rowlands was, too often only having minor roles, but wonderfully talented. Hattie Jacques is underused here, the delivery is fine, but her part was poor.

Great production values, fabulous costumes and a funny and in keeping score. Kenneth William's wig is a character in its own right.

It's a must for Carry on fans.

To be honest, I struggled with this a bit. It all centres on "Capt. Fancey" (Kenneth Williams) on the hunt for the legendary highwayman "Dick Turpin" - aka "Big Dick". Sadly, that's about the level of the rather crass and banal humour that pervades the rest of this pretty mediocre costume drama. The more "Carry On" films I watch, the more I do realise just how much Joan Sims contributed and here she shines as "Madame Desirée", but the rest of the cast seem content to take us down a rather childishly written path of stereotypes and slapstick and through a story that is a poor relation of "Doctor Syn" (1937). This franchise is reaching it's end now, the originality and playful humour of those made ten years ago has been replaced by an almost bawdy form of in-your-face comedy that really isn't anyone's finest work. Sorry, but I thought that this was quite poor.

I re-watched Carry On Dick on DVD today. I usually agree that this film is a bit of a hit and miss, but i think now that is it very good, up there with Carry On Henry for historicals, not Cleo though.

Sid James is looking older, but he can still pull it off. Critics may say that James was too old to be lusting after someone of Barbara Windsor's age, but the situation the characters are put in, (two highway man/women), you can believe this girl would have a relationship with the elder man because of the work they do together. So i think they work well together in this film.

This is the only film i can think of in the series that starts of pretty dull then gets funnier towards the middle and end. Very good ending with Hattie Jacques on the organ, pumping for all she's worth.

Kenneth Williams and Jack Douglas have good chemistry, but it's really just the same characters Williams and Peter Butterworth played in Don't Lose Your Head. The premise of the film is very similar!

As for the rest of the cast, Peter Butterworth shines in the drag sequence as he ogles over Joan Sims' bosoms. Ms Sims doesn't get much to do, but she's always funny and my favourite of the team. Kenneth Connor is excellent as the ageing Constable, such a great character actor. And Hattie Jacques excells as Miss Hoggett, the nosey housekeeper. Very good in the sequence where she is listening at the door.

The Carry Ons never felt the same after Talbot Rothwell left. There was something no quite right about Behind, England, Emmannuelle or Columbus. I don't think anyone could recapture his style, he was born to write Carry On humour.

The team was also breaking up at this point. Obviously the style was getting tired, and in reality, Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas should have called it a day after this one. The one's that followed were good in places, but never hit the mark.

This film is perhaps the last truly amusing one from the carry on stable. With Sid James in the title role as Dick Turpin the usual jokes are bound to surface "Have you seen dick" etc, etc.

However this Carry on is the last one to use all your favourites ie; Williams, Jaques, James etc.

A good movie for a sunday afternoon.