Carry On Spying (1964)

The Worst Film Ever

Beautiful, moving film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Britain's perennial low-brow favorites, the "Carry-On Gang", take aim at spy films. For those who appreciate the sort of urbane, sophisticated British humor produced by the likes of Sheridan, Wilde, Saki and Noel Coward, this will definitely not be your dish of tea. The "Carry-On Gang" simply don't do that sort of thing, their humor is aimed considerably lower down than that.Although ostensibly aimed at the then-current James Bond spy films, "Carry On Spying" also takes swipes at other movies of the genre, such as "the Third Man", "Casablanca", "The 39 Steps" and "The Ipcress File". As is usual in this series no source of humor is too low to be plumbed. nevertheless it is all in good fun and it all works surprisingly well.

An audience may be forgiven for viewing Carry on Spying as a spoof of an eclectic range of spy films. However, in fact this is a mistaken view. Films such as The Third Man (1949), Casablanca,(1942), The Lady Vanishes (1938) and James Bond are all borrowed in order to spoof British culture; the eccentricity of the British and our view of the world, particularly during the Cold War era. Moreover, the film suggests that as Brits we are not afraid to send up ourselves and, moreover, that we have a sense of humour, thereby detracting from the'stiff upper lip' persona.Acting wise the ' Carry On' team performed well, and were particularly adept at stereotyping British eccentrics. The message they conveyed via their respective acting roles in the film was to look on the bright side of life! The film has broad appeal to those interested in the genres of thrillers, spy, or comedy. Moreover it will appeal to film buffs of the black and white genre.

This is yet another popular (and good) entry in the "Carry On" series. Like JACK, CLEO and SCREAMING, it's a parody of a current film or fad – in its case the box-office sensation that were the James Bond extravaganzas (in fact, it was the first of innumerable spoofs/imitations of that long-running franchise). Kenneth Williams (complete with funny accent) is more or less at his best here; accompanying him are Barbara Windsor (this proved to be her series debut), Bernard Cribbins, Charles Hawtrey, Dilys Laye (as a femme fatale), Jim Dale (playing the gang's long-suffering contact man) and Eric Barker (as, what else, their superior).While it cleverly features an androgynous villain (played by Judith Furse and voiced by John Bluthal), the film also lampoons earlier classic British thrillers – such as Hitchcock's 1930s efforts and THE THIRD MAN (1949). The action takes place in a variety of locales from a Viennese café to an Algerian harem; typical espionage elements are the gang's donning of various disguises to follow or elude enemy agents and the perilous train journey. By the way, the villains' headquarters are amusingly accessed via a public convenience – which also pays off with an inspired surreal ending. In a direct nod to the Bond model, we get silly acronyms for the various organizations involved (such as S.T.E.N.C.H., S.M.U.T., S.N.O.G., etc).

When the evil forces of STENCH strike at a British research laboratory they get away with a top secret chemical formula. With the British agents spread thin across the world, The Chief has very few options open to him to follow up the lead into the mysterious Milchmann who led the attack. The Chief scraps the bottom of the barrel and comes up with Simkins – probably one of his worst agents. Assigning Simkins with a handful of trainee agents – Crump, Honeybutt and Bind – the ragtag band set off to meet up with Agent Carstairs in Vienna.Despite being made in the mid-sixties this Carry On film has more in common with those made early in the series (Teacher and Sergeant) more than it does with those made around the same time as it (Jack, Cruising, Cowboy). It is not just the black and white that made me think this but also the fact that the humour seems fresher and slicker than the heavy innuendo and crudity of the later films. Others have said this has more in common with Ealing than Carry On – they are wrong, but I can see what they mean because the light spy spoof is very much an early Carry On. The material isn't great though but it does produce easy and obvious comedy and those looking to just to fill a wet Sunday afternoon.The cast make a big difference even though not all the regulars are present. Williams and Hawtrey are the most fun as both play up their camp characters to good effect – they both get the best lines as well. Windsor is pretty good as she isn't just used as an object. Cribbins was pretty dull I thought but Dale was good value in a small role. Additional support from Barker, Laye and a few others all helps. Overall a Carry On like they first made them; not brilliant but light fun.