Skip to content 
What was your first encounter with ‘Carry On’? ITV3 reruns? Parents? Whatever Barbara Windsor was famous for before she became Peggy Mitchell? Or maybe its this blog entry! Whatever it may be, I am glad that we can share in the knowledge of Carry On – a British film staple that is the longest film franchise in British history so far with 31 films spanning from 1958-1992. Carry Ons are really a product of their time, living in raunchiness, parody and slapstick, while being quintessentially British.
The first time that I found out about these films was through my parents. Despite being very Nigerian, both of my parents are fans of the Carry On films, and out of curiosity, I started to watch some with them. I wondered what made my mum laugh so much, and it was these cheeky British films that seemed to transcend one culture. Carry On films usually consisted of a stock cast of approximately 10 actors who would play different roles each film. Each film would situate the cast in a new setting with new themes, ready to get up to shenanigans. These different themes were usually shown in the title of the movies, such as ‘Carry On Cowboy’, ‘Carry On Up the Jungle’, ‘Carry On Doctor’, ‘Carry On Sergeant’.
Carry Ons were mainly churned out during the 60s, in which there was a sexual revolution in Britain, and Carry On reflected that with innuendos, double entendres and cheeky chap humour. It was a bit raunchy, but they always argued that it was not offensive, and just all in cheeky fun. But offence changes as culture does, so you may think differently. But back then, Carry On films were not afraid to be self deprecating and lean into the naughty nature of its time. In an interview with the director of the films and some of the cast, when the interviewer said that the films are quite sexist, they said that it would not be possible to do a Carry On movie without some sexism in there! The movies seem to be an acquired taste – not many critics were supporting the franchise, but the British public craved Carry Ons, and the director of all of them, Gerald Thomas made sure to deliver. There were 15 Carry On’s made in the 1960s alone and 12 in the 1970s. Thomas gave each film a very short shooting schedule, but it was doable because he maintained the majority of the cast, the crew, the writers, and he also kept the location.
It is important to note as well that, when I say this is extremely British, I am not joking. Even though there are titles like ‘Carry On Abroad’ and ‘Carry On Cruising’, almost all of the films are notoriously filmed at or around Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. They rarely went on location, with the furthest that they travelled being Snowdon, North Wales. This was partly because of how low their budget was for each film. The cast was paid quite low for their roles, despite how hard and often they were working, and the wardrobe departments were limited, sometimes only having a few hundred pounds to dress the large cast. But also, Pinewood Studios added a lot of ease to the films. The studio itself ended up being a massive benefit because other productions such as the James Bond franchise and the movie epic ‘Cleopatra’ were made there. Carry On used this to their advantage; for instance, Cleopatra, a film epic, abandoned production in Pinewood after 2 months, mainly due to British weather so Carry On used those sets and some costumes to create ‘Carry On Cleo’, which was a parody of ‘Cleopatra’. If you look at the set and clothes of ‘Cleo’, they look so grand – way beyond the Carry On budget. They did something similar with ‘Carry On Spying’, a parody of James Bond films, and created broader parodies like ‘Carry On Screaming!’ (horror), ‘Carry On Cowboy’ (westerns) and ‘Carry On Henry’ (the monarchy). As they entered the 70s, the franchise got a bit more explicit but nevertheless, the Carry On films encapsulated what Britain enjoyed at the time, and considering their continued popularity, they are still loved now.
Carry On expanded to dozens of movies, a TV show and a stage show, as well as dedicated fans from all over the world. Carry On’s were great at encapsulating a real British ensemble. Naturally, an ensemble does not go without its problems, but a family bond was formed and it burst through the screen, you can feel it even through all of the innuendos. Here’s a video on Youtube to see the Top 10 Carry Ons because it’s difficult for me to truly describe – you must see it for yourself! Go and see Britain at its cheekiest.
