Carry On Regardless

Carry On Regardless (1961)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Thomas... and also apparently Ralph Thomas

Starring: The typical Carry On crew

From: The same studio that always released the Carry On movies

Yesterday, I returned home from being back in the Midwest (where I was born and grew up before moving to Florida as a 23 year old) for a few days; yes, it was related to my mother being buried. A sad time, although it was nice to visit some people and places I haven't seen in a long time... as in years. It was nice being around family & friends during this time and it was nice to do something different for a brief amount of time. Now that I have returned to Florida there should be reviews most every night. Next time should be something more prestigious but last night I felt like seeing something light in tone; thus, it was something from the venerable Carry On series.

As a number of new followers have appeared in recent months (it's been awhile since I've covered this franchise) it was something never popular in the United States although apparently at least one of them did receive some sort of theatrical release in the U.S. Regardless, even though this series is full of the same actors typically playing archetypal characters, the movies are always funny as they do inspire laughs; this comes from wordplay, slapstick, physical humor, playing with or against stereotype... not sophisticated yet they are amusing to me.

Here, the plot barely exists due to the conceit. Sid James runs a private employment agency and seven people join it at the same time. This loosely ties together a bunch of different sketches where the characters are in a number of situations... a spy spoof on a train, babysitting, modeling lingerie, a mix-up involving the wrong people going to a strip club as a bouncer and caring for dozens of birds at a crazy lady's house, a chimpanzee is walked throughout London, a boxing match where due to circumstances the fey Charles Hawtrey steps in the ring against a big brute... one scene seemed to set up a running storyline, but that is dropped and the only one that happens throughout involves an old man who speaks gibberish.

Normally I might complain about the lack of a strong plot; it is preferable seeing these characters doing a single job throughout (cops or taxi cab drivers, for example) or see them spoof one topic throughout (whether it be 007 films or Cleopatra). Thankfully for me, there were enough laughs from beginning to end where I can say this was fine. Just note that there were better entries in the series that I've already seen... and as of now less than a quarter of the franchise has been checked out by me.