Carry On Loving (1970)

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I see so many reviews of people commenting about Loving being one of the Carry on movies during its declining years, I have to disagree with those, with Convenience, Girls and Behind still to come the crew were still on top form. Loving highlights a sexual revolution that had pretty much already happened years before. It's not loaded with particularly original material, but it has its moments, Sid and Hattie are great fun as warring married couple The Bliss's, Kenneth Williams is hilarious as Percival, the excellent Patsy Rowlands is finally given a large role, making full use of it. Joan Hickson is a delight as Jenny's mum, as are the whole eccentric family, but the all time highlight must be the laugh out loud finale which is side splitting, you can almost see the look of joy on everyones faces. I must admit to a feeling of sadness when I watch Imogen Hassall, such a tragic waste, a good actress, incredibly beautiful, such a shame she never went on to bigger things. Bernard Bresslaw is once again made an idiot out of, not able to show that he could act. It may not be one of the classics, but it's still a very, very funny film.

The music played at the end of the film where Sid gets married is from a war film called the victors 1963 .one of my favourite carry ions . Sid is brilliant along with Hattie Jacques big Bernie as gripper hilarious.the taxi driver at the station appears in various films can't think of his name. Always plays a dapper cockney .peter Scott is a bit lame in the film,Imogen what a shame she ended her life so early,she was a stunner,

As the 1970s arrived the era of fairly innocent Carry On films has gone. Sex isn't just hinted at it is the driving force of the story. Sid James and Hattie Jacques run the 'Wedded Bliss' dating agency where prospective couples are matched using the latest in computer technology… at least that is what the customers are led to believe; in reality Sid puts the completed forms in the slot and it goes through to the back room where Hattie puts a form for the opposite sex in another slot. Unsurprisingly the agency doesn't have the best result; at least not the way they intend. One innocent young man goes out with the wrong woman after she mistakes him for the photographer who is due to take racy pictures of her and another finds himself at the house of a girl whose family are about as much fun as a funeral… of course when he bumps into her again when she has become a glamorous model things are different! Other jokes include Joan Sims wrestler boy friend who gets very jealous of any man who gets near her and a marriage guidance councillor who is told he must get married himself if he is to keep his job. There was also a nice running gag where characters kept bumping into an amorous couple; they had nothing to do with the plot but provided a chuckle.I didn't expect this to all that good as most later Carry On films are comparatively weak; thankfully it wasn't that bad; indeed it had far more laughs than I'd expected. Sid James did a good job as Sidney Bliss, manager of the agency and Hattie Jacques was fine as his partner Sophie. Kenneth Williams was somewhat underused as the marriage guidance councillor although his character did have a very funny scene alongside Joan Sims, who was also rather good in this. The rest of the team did good enough jobs as did those who aren't regular Carry On actors; in particular Richard O'Callaghan, who plays the young man looking for his first girlfriend... although he is nowhere near as good as Jim Dale who'd typically be given this role before he left the series. Over all this was far from the worst in the series even though it isn't a contender for the best… not by quite a way; if you are a fan of the series it is worth watching although some parents might find it far less suitable for children than the earlier films.

With the famous British sex based comedy series heading into the 1970's naturally things were going to get a little ruder, due to things like Emmanuelle and more pornography available, but luckily this film is bearable and not grim viewing. Basically the Wedded Bliss dating agency is specialised in bringing together lonely single people that want to find that special someone and obviously get married very quickly. Owner Sidney Bliss (Sid James) is recently having complications with his work partner and fake business wife Sophie Plummett (Hattie Jacques) becoming very paranoid and argumentative, but he is determined to keep things going. We obviously see the strange people who are visiting the dating agency looking for love and more, these include seamstress Esme Crowfoot (Joan Sims), confirmed bachelor and marriage councillor Percival Snooper (Kenneth Williams), timid and nervous Bertrum Muffet (Richard O'Callaghan) and Terence Philpot (Terry Scott). Bertrum manages to get a blind date but confuses his actual date partner with model Sally Martin (Jacki Piper), Terry manages to find a beautiful big breasted mate with Jenny Grubb (Imogen Hassall) but cannot get the moment to seduce her, and Esme finds herself a partner but has to keep him from original boxer boyfriend Gripper Burke (Bernard Bresslaw). While all this is going Sidney is unaware that Sophie may still have feelings for him, but with her angry nature she hires private eye James Bedsop (Charles Hawtrey) to follow him and his activities. In the end all the happy couples, including a reformed Sidney and Sophie, are brought together for a celebratory dinner, filled with loads of cream cakes, and some arguing turns into a mass food fight. As always the cast play the parts we have become used to, it's a little annoying Barbara Windsor isn't featuring, but you can forgive it because of all the actually surprisingly funny sexualised antics, and close to the mark innuendos and double-entendre jokes we adore, I can slightly see why the critics give it two stars out of five, but personally I think it is a fun and near worthwhile comedy. Okay!