That's Carry On!

This is rather a lackluster "Best Of" compilation overall; it takes a more-or-less chronological look at the series but then omits entirely the most recent effort up to that time i.e. CARRY ON ENGLAND (1976)! Linking material features stalwarts Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor mugging and witlessly chatting; however, no real discussion is made on how the series evolved to begin with…or, for that matter, any background given on individual performers.

Some of the series highlights are seen, to be sure – and Williams does single out his role in CARRY ON...UP THE KHYBER (1968; scenes from which open and close this film) as being his personal favorite – but, watched out of context, they just don't have the desired effect (even if several of them came from entries I viewed only recently)!

Originally released in 1977 as B movie support to the Richard Harris film Golden Rendezvous, That's Carry On! is basically a compilation picture produced to make money for the then dwindling franchise of a much beloved series of films. The year previously had seen the risible Carry On England released, and the final nail in the coffin would come a year later in 78 with Carry On Emanuelle. Fighting different smutty cinema conventions like the "Confessions Of" run of films starring Robin Askwith, the Carry On formula was out of step and certainly now out of time with a changing British landscape. Sadly this meant that this compilation picture only serves to remind us of what was once great about the series, with the inevitable complaints about it not using certain clips proving to be loud from a disappointed and committed fan base. It's weird that in a film that runs over an hour and half in length, there still wasn't enough time to insert enough clips to provide relief for many Carry On acolytes!

The premise is wrapped around a scenario that sees Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor holed up in a projection booth. They swap weak innuendos whilst running through clips of the series. Kenny gives it a good go, as he always did, and Babs wears a tight top that showcases her assets that so dearly cheered the horny hounds in the Carry On crowds. Windsor's casting is understandable, but that doesn't necessarily make it a correct one. Where Williams was the stalwart who had up to then made 24 Carry On movies, Windsor had made 8. Joan Simms had done 23 by this time and Hattie Jacques 14, now they may not have been available? But really you feel that one of the older female guard should be there for this overview; as shallow as it ultimately is. The DVD finds its way into box sets and occasionally the film shows as a time filler in the early hours of the morning on British television, but it's far from essential viewing; either for fans or interested newcomers. It remains the lazy cash cow that it is, viewing it only makes us hanker still further for the times when Carry On really was a fun and vibrant British institution. 5/10

That's Carry On is basically just a compilation of the films highlighting the best moments from them with an overview by Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor.

3/10: I can't rate it highly due to having not one good scene that hasn't been viewed before

Carrying On Inappropriately with That's Carry On! (1977).

A series of films carried on, with perpetual double entendre, loved to finger an organ, unleash melons to gorge on, baps, flaps, jugs, bazookas went ding dong.

Though it's not quite so funny today, Fanny plays with her balls in new ways, Dick's choppers been cut, Kitty's curtains are shut, the clams gone from splayed to being spayed.

What an awful sequence of films these were, revisited today, they demonstrate just how out of touch and offensive the so called humour of yesteryear was, and how a generation of inappropriate behaviour was considered acceptable.

Carrying On Inappropriately with That's Carry On! (1977).

THAT'S CARRY ON is a compilation film consisting of various and extensive clips from most of the CARRY ON flicks, linked together by returning actors Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor. The plot - if you can call it such - sees them sharing some time together in a projection booth while they reminisce over the old days and share plenty of saucy laughs.

There's a definite mercenary feel to this production, the impossible-to-ignore realisation that it was purely made just to wring a few more coins out of a by-then jaded movie-going public. The CARRY ON stable had long since been on the wane and the wraparound filler material is extremely feeble compared to the good old days.

I sometimes enjoy watching compilation movies, as they're good for both introducing worthwhile-but-unseen films to the viewer or for nostalgia purposes, sharing memorable moments like old friends. THAT'S CARRY ON doesn't really work in either respect, as at the end of it you just wish you'd watched one of the proper CARRY ONs instead...