Summary
Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor find themselves in a projection
room at Pinewood studios and, having got the hang of their apparatus,
present a series of excerpts from the Carry
On films. Kenneth has one drink too many and ends up dying
to go to the little boys’ room, but the evil Barbara insists that he
stays right to the bitter end...
Review
With the Carry On films
practically consigned to history, it seems fitting that producer Peter
Rogers (inspired by MGM’s That’s Entertainment) should take stock and celebrate the former glories of the Carry
On team in this well-stocked compilation film. Made between the
twin disasters that were Carry On England (1976) and Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), That’s Carry On reminded audiences
just how great the Carry On films were in their heyday, and how
ingrained they had become into British culture.
The only film not to get a look in is Carry On England,
probably because the compilers couldn’t find a single joke in the film.
Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor were the obvious choice to present the film and they do an excellent job. Great mates off-screen, Kenny and Babs are clearly enjoying this trip down memory lane (although neither saw any of the clips that were shown in the film) and it is to be lamented that they would never again appear on screen together. Kenneth’s rousing speech at the end of the film, with its bold Churchillian overtones, would have been the film’s highlight, if someone had not taken the decision to play the credits over the actor’s face. Infamy!
Realising that he could make easy money from old rope, Peter Rogers went on to make several compilation series for British television, each featuring clips pinched from the Carry On films. This proved to be a cause of great acrimony for the performing artistes who, incredibly, received no financial recompense for the re-use of their appearances in the Carry Ons. Of all the money that was accrued from TV screenings, film re-releases, video and DVD sales, not one penny went to any of the Carry On stars. It’s a sobering thought.
Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor were the obvious choice to present the film and they do an excellent job. Great mates off-screen, Kenny and Babs are clearly enjoying this trip down memory lane (although neither saw any of the clips that were shown in the film) and it is to be lamented that they would never again appear on screen together. Kenneth’s rousing speech at the end of the film, with its bold Churchillian overtones, would have been the film’s highlight, if someone had not taken the decision to play the credits over the actor’s face. Infamy!
Realising that he could make easy money from old rope, Peter Rogers went on to make several compilation series for British television, each featuring clips pinched from the Carry On films. This proved to be a cause of great acrimony for the performing artistes who, incredibly, received no financial recompense for the re-use of their appearances in the Carry Ons. Of all the money that was accrued from TV screenings, film re-releases, video and DVD sales, not one penny went to any of the Carry On stars. It’s a sobering thought.
© filmsdefrance.com 2009
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Credits
- Director: Gerald Thomas
- Script: Anthony Church, Sid Colin, Dave Freeman, Norman Hudis, Talbot Rothwell
- Photo: Tony Imi
- Cast: Kenneth Williams (Presenter), Barbara Windsor (Presenter), Eric Barker, Amanda Barrie, John Bluthal, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth, Gerald Campion, Esma Cannon, Roy Castle, John Clive, Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Cope, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Jim Dale, Windsor Davies, Ed Devereaux, Angela Douglas, Jack Douglas, Shirley Eaton, Fenella Fielding, Peter Gilmore, Anita Harris, William Hartnell, Imogen Hassall (Jenny Grubb), Charles Hawtrey, Percy Herbert, Joan Hickson, Julian Holloway, Frankie Howerd, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Hattie Jacques, June Jago, Sid James, Rosalind Knight, Dilys Laye, Valerie Leon, Harry Locke, Jimmy Logan, Terence Longdon, Kenny Lynch, Victor Maddern, Elspeth March, Betty Marsden, Juliet Mills, Warren Mitchell, Bob Monkhouse, Margaret Nolan, Richard O’Callaghan, Julian Orchard, Bill Owen, Lance Percival, Leslie Phillips, Jacki Piper, Ted Ray, Patsy Rowlands, Terry Scott, Phil Silvers, Joan Sims, Madeline Smith, Elke Sommer, Susan Stephen, Marianne Stone, June Whitfield
- Country: UK
- Language: English
- Runtime: 95 min; B&W
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