Carry On Jack (1964)

Wonderful Movie

Fresh and Exciting

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

In spite of the welcome return of Kenneth Williams, this is my least favourite film in the series so far. The only other member of the core "Carry On" team present is Charles Hawtrey but that would not be a problem if the script were better. There are some good laughs in the first 20 minutes but, after that, all it produced was an occasional smile. It's surprisingly boring. It doesn't really feel like a "Carry On" film. Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills and Cecil Parker were all good but even good actors trying their best can't save a comedy with a bad script. However, Donald Houston, who is good in other films, is horribly over the top and his scenes are fairly painful. On the bright side, this is the eighth film in the series and it's the first one that I didn't like. Every other film series that I have watched with eight or more films produced at least one dud before that!

Watched this for the first time since I was 5 or 6 last night and it pre-dates Carry On's golden age and is a bit boring to be honest, okay I was watching it at midnight, but I dozed through the third quarter and considering I was wide awake and laughing out loud through an episode of the IT crowd at 1am the movie has to take some of the blame! The film struggles because most the carry on team are missing! Bernard Cribbins is hog tied by a bad script with few laughs. Not even the usually watchable Keneth Williams can spark much interest. In fact the best moments come from Jim Dale's cameo right at the start of the movie. His hilariously OTT west-country accent and plain charisma steal the movie. No wonder he became the leading man a few years later! Coming from Plymouth I did enjoy the opening scenes. there is a great line about Plymouthians later in the film. Jim Dale does a generic west country accent rather than a proper Plymouthian "Janner" accent which would've been amazing, but he's still the best thing in the movie.To summarise, awful script, few laughs, few carry on stars, too long. Sadly, you can watch the first 15 minutes and then turn it off safe in the knowledge that you've seen the best bits and its going down hill from here... I've given it 2/10 rather than 1/10 for Jim Dale's cameo.If you are looking for Carry On movies at their hilarious best then, try Carry on Sergeant, Cowboy, Cleo, Up the Kyber and Screaming. Pure British comedy gold, Don't let this turkey colour your judgement of a wonderful comedy institution.

Carry on Jack is not the most memorable Carry On, in fact its all a bit silly really and lacks much of the sauciness of latter films. I think Talbot Rothwell was still finding his feet as it has more of a Norman Hudis feel to it. There are incompetent silly people somehow triumphing in the end, squeaky clean but quite lovely heroines (despite coming from Dirty Dicks) and the bad guys getting their comeuppance in the end. Personally I don't blame the Venus crew for getting rid of their captain. I would have even tied a weight to his (gammy) leg to make sure. Still better was to come and there is at least a nod to that here. Give it a watch if you are a Carry on fan (like me), but its no 'Camping' or 'Up the Khyber'

Caught the second half of "Carry On Jack" about seven years ago. Thought it was completely unreal.I recognized Cribbins from the Doctor Who movies with Peter Cushing. Here he reminds me a bit like John Cleese at times, and Trevor Bannister off "Are You Being Served?"Clearly he is filling the blank left by Kenneth Conner. Wonder why Juliet Mills appeared in this? As Haley's sister and Sir John's daughter, surely she could have gotten whatever she wanted and didn't have to join this bandwagon.She reminded me of the young girl who "posed" as a boy in "Swiss Family Robinson". Not at all convincing.The cow in the lifeboat bit was good.The amputation joke would have NEVER existed in American film or television back in '64.The one joke I always recalled was 'the captain fell on deck right where that plaque is.'"I'm not surprised, I nearly tripped over the silly thing the other day myself."When I first heard that line, I had to do a triple take. No, Sid James, Kenneth Conner, Joan Sims, dear Hattie and Barbara Windsor (thus far, I have only seen her in one, Carry On Spying) weren't in this one.The interchanging performers basically doing the same characters is a standout for this assortment of movies. Now on to the next Carry On: Carry On Cowboy.yee-hah!