Pack up your troubles... (Carry On Camping (DVD))

Member Name: raehippychick

Product:	Carry On Camping (DVD)
Date:	12/04/07 (258 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Most of the usual carry on regulars. A good giggle

Disadvantages: No Jim Dale

Filmed in 1969, Carry On Camping is probably the best known of all this series of sniggery seaside postcard humour British films, if only for the scene where Babs Windsor bursts out of her bikini top during an early morning PT session

As a Carry On addict and bit of a purist, this is not among my favourites, but it is better by a long chalk, than some of the later ones; most notably the execrable Carry On Emmanuelle which should never have been allowed to be filmed, never mind to see the light of day on our screens. Written by Talbot Rothwell, the gags are less subtle in Camping than in the earlier movies, but not quite as overtly and disappointingly tacky as films like Carry On England

Sid Boggle [Sid James] persuades his friend Bernie Lugg [Bernie Bresslaw] to aid him in a plot to get their girlfriends Joan [Joan Sims] and Anthea [Dilys Laye] to a nudist camp in order to further their relationships on the physical level. Sid’s laugh is at his filthy best and gentle giant Bernie is a delight as a mildly confused bumbling innocent being pulled along by Sid’s conniving shenanigans

In true Carry On style things do not go according to plan… Dilys in her last Carry On role does what she does best; as Anthea she gets violently carsick and is painfully shy and squeamish. Joan, though still in the last stages of her time as a sex kitten, before she gets relegated to the more matronly roles she was later known for, is fighting to protect her honour against Sid’s overtures

Hoping the Paradise Campsite is the nudist colony all four had seen at the cinema, the boys are disappointed to find it is a quiet family oriented site with very basic facilities. Run by the shambling, money grubbing Fiddler [Peter Butterworth] the campsite is the height of respectability with not a nudist in sight (nudity would after all upset Fiddler’s hens) and filled with annoying and dull camping neighbours, Sid and Bernie begin to despair of having a good time. Until that is, a coach load of ‘young’ schoolgirls turn up – not one looks young enough to actually still be at school, but they all have the necessary ‘qualities’ to be a Carry On movie starlet! Escorted by fussy, mincing Dr Soaper [Kenneth Williams] and winsomely pretty regardless of size Miss Haggard, [Hattie Jacques] the pneumatic Babs [Barbara Windsor] and her chums soon bring discord to the happy foursome’s days

The plot is standard Carry On fare; a simple plot with plenty of visual jokes and puns, but somehow the whole idea is beginning to seem a little forced, as if Talbot had run out of steam and was reaching for the gags. Still, it is a nice easy movie to watch with little to morally offend most ages, although the sight of Babs Windsor’s escaped breast may over-excite those of a particularly innocent disposition

Additional characters are Mr and Mrs Potter, he played by the (to me) intensely aggravating Terry Scott; even his wife’s [Betty Marsden] gratingly awful laugh is preferable to his smug face and annoying mannerisms. Charlie Muggins [Charles Hawtrey] has a small role that interacts with most of the main characters in Hawtrey’s inimitable way – that particular juxtaposition of campness and lady fancying can only really be pulled off by him

By this point in the series the main regulars; Sid, Bernie, Joan, Hattie, Hawtrey Babs et al have settled into their stereotypical roles and are mainly using their real first names for their characters. Another reason this film can seem a little stale compared to some earlier pictures. The chemistry and relationships are still working well; Hattie and Kenneth Williams spark off each other as the virginal, demure mistress and the slightly effeminate headmaster giving the girls plenty of chances for poking fun and playing tricks

I realise that I may be in a minority for not giving this ‘classic’ enough praise, but although I do re-watch it occasionally, I do prefer other earlier Carry Ons. Overall I’d recommend everyone watch this movie just once if they get a chance to see it on the telly and for Carry On aficionados it is a classic that just has to be in any film collection. Kids of all ages will enjoy the smutty humour and get a good titter out of it all!



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Main Cast:
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Sid James ... Sid Boggle
Charles Hawtrey ... Charlie Muggins
Joan Sims ... Joan Fussey
Kenneth Williams ... Doctor Kenneth Soaper
Terry Scott ... Peter Potter
Barbara Windsor ... Babs
Hattie Jacques ... Miss Haggard
Bernard Bresslaw ... Bernie Lugg
Dilys Laye ... Anthea Meeks
Peter Butterworth ... Josh Fiddler
Betty Marsden ... Harriet Potter

Summary: Typical Carry On humour - a good lazy weekend afternoon film