That's Carry On! (1977)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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

This may not have been a proper Carry On film, as it was all archive footage with Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor both presenting and in the archive footage, but this is definitely the film to see if you have never seen a Carry On film, or want to see all of them. It was nice to see some great clips from the films I have personally seen, such as Carry On: Again Doctor, Camping, Cleo, Constable, Don't Lose Your Head, Screaming and Sergeant (the one that started it all). But it was the clips from the ones I hadn't seen before this film that I found really fun, such as Carry On: Abroad, Cowboy, Cruising, Dick, Doctor, Henry, Jack, Loving, Matron, Nurse, Regardless, Up the Jungle and Up the Khyber. Starring (the archive of) Eric Barker, Amanda Barrie, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Jim Dale, Angela Douglas, Shirley Eaton, Charles Hawtrey, Percy Herbert, Hattie Jacques, Sid James, Dilys Laye, Bob Monkhouse, Bill Owen and Joan Sims. Carry On films were number 39 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Good!

Well, hardly the best of.If I were wanting to introduce someone to Carry On, I wouldn't recommend this. It wasn't full or complete.For some reason it showed more of Carry On Camping and the Khyber one. I thought I was watching the actual movie of one of them, so much scene was being shown.But there were great moments from other movies that weren't shown, which was a shame. Williams and Windsor did dish out their dialogue in the connecting bits very well. I especially liked Williams talking about how he would only listen to or work with someone who was clearly more intelligent than he, he worded it much better than that, and the clip from "Carry On Regardless" when he was walking the monkey was shown. Altho I now stand at having only seen half the series, the first half, that is, I do think there was more to the Carry On movies than what this hilight reel states.But I was disappointed that the theme music from the first five Carry Ons was dismissed with Cruising. What a pity. No idea how that music would have sounded with "Carry On Cowboy" or "Carry on Screaming" but I think someone who was half creative could have figured something out.Carry on.

This remains the best compilation film to date. All the films except England (as this had just been released),Emmannuelle and Columbus (neither made yet) are here. However the best bits are the linking materials by Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor, especially KW's end speech- even though it is RUDELY interrupted by the credits. A MUST for any fan/interested party- Carry On Laughing/What A Carry On/Laugh With The Carry Ons (All compilation series) pale in comparison.