Carry On Up the Khyber (1968)

That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

In true 'Carry-On' Style, this reverberates as among the teams' best (Along with 'Carry On Cleo').Of course there's the dreadfully, yet painfully funny double entendres, it wouldn't be the same without them. Also, there's plenty of racial stereotyping which certainly wouldn't be allowed now (How long before we NEVER see another 'Carry On' on TV because of it?).The British in India, though are fully lampooned themselves, with the implication that the Indian Mutiny be NOT anything to do with pork/beef fat-greased cartridges, but instead, a plot about the 'Foot and Mouth' Brigade wearing 'namby-pamby' underpants under their kilts!This leads 'The Khasi' (Kenneth Williams - from of course, 'Jacksi') to jibe The Commissioner, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond (The brilliant Sid James) that the 'Devils in Skirts' are not what they purport to be as a fighting force, wearing such garments! Aided by Bungit-In (Bernie Bresslaw), The Khasi leads the said mutiny.There are plenty of the standard but funny gags, let alone with the slang-derived names. My favourite line in my subtitle above, where the Khasi has ordered 'the Fakir' (Cardew Robinson) to go! The second part of the subtitle derives from where Brother Belcher (Peter Butterworth) answers the call of the British stiff upper lip! As usual, there's also plenty of bawdiness (Well, it wouldn't be a 'Carry On' without it! 'They call me 'Busti'!).There's the famous scene at the end, where the so-called British stiff upper lip is instilled, as the British hierarchy are shelled in their mansion by the natives, dusting themselves off and discarding the carnage as just some sort of nuisance, whilst Brother Belcher can only see the reality.This is definitely a good watch, and like all decent comedies, even though you know what the lines are, the sheer delivery of the likes of Sid James, Ken Williams and the presence of the beautiful Angela Douglas, but also investing the help of Roy Castle made this a good old fashioned British romp. Although we gave English to so many countries, with our humour, I wonder if say, Americans find this funny or understand it? I'm sure Australians are more familiar with this type of humour but I'd like to know how the other English-speaking nations receive these gems! Certain other parts of British slang you never hear now, are when Bungit In informs The Khasi the native 'Burpas' (What else?) get things mixed up/around the wrong way. He tells him the Burpas are from a very old tribe, known as the 'Arsitases'. British slang at one time for the 'wrong way around' was 'Arsy-tarsi'! This is never used by anyone I know, now! 'Arse-about face' seems to have replaced this!

Never mind those dour" slices of working - class life" epics with ex -miners/dockers/railway workers coughing their lungs into their handkerchiefs before lighting another Woodbine/pipe/roll - up and taking their whippet/bull terrier/cringeing cur into the local rec/disused pit/ dark satanic mill while the "Hovis" voice - over goes on about the good old days when you could take the "Daily Herald" into the outdoor privvie for a bit of peace and fill the tin bath with coal for ninepence,any "Carry on" will give you a truer picture of the British as they really are rather than the guilt - ridden imaginings of the North London Taliban. We are,and I say this quite proudly,vulgar,sexist,defiantly non PC,fiercely patriotic (an attribute apparently fine for everybody else),good - humoured and tolerant.We treasure the eccentric (Charles Hawtrey,Esma Cannon),love the camp(Kenneth Williams,Dick Emery),deflate the pompous(Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams again).What we most certainly are not is dour,humourless narrow - minded and filled with class hatred.From "Carry on Sergeant" to the less than magnificent "Carry on Columbus",we have a social history of 30 - odd years in the life of this island race .Nowhere is this reflected more strongly than in "Carry on up the Khyber".From Sir Sidney Ruff - Diamond to Private Widdle we have a microcosm of British Society,ostensibly a Victorian one but in fact timeless.In one of the funniest and truest scenes in UK cinema,Sir Sidney and his dinner guests blithely ignore a native(can you still say that?) uprising as the house is destroyed about them,determinedly clinging on to the familiar rather than accepting the inevitable.It is,in a strange way,rather moving. For those who would see racism in a box of Dominoes the sight of Kenneth Williams blacked up might offend,but,hey,this is Kenneth Williams we're talking about,not Heinrich Himmler.And if there is a distinct lack of black Asian faces in the cast that might just be because there weren't that many black Asian actors about 40 years ago. The whole movie is a Bumper Fun Book of puns,double entendres,lavatory and willy jokes and silly names.It is,in short,excruciatingly funny,played by an expert cast at the absolute top of their game,and, dare I say it,more representative of the real Britain than any Ealing Comedy.

As far as Carry on Films go, this one is the best I've seen. Nobody really takes them seriously as quality film-making or acting so that is why I am rating it 9/10 because as far as the plot, the humour and acting goes - this is the best in the Carry On series.Not too much to say about this otherwise. Same cast as usual, same sort of characters and same conflicts and situations. This time set in the Khyber pass region of Afghanistan/Pakistan involving the British occupation and the revolting locals.Some very funny and original scenes including my personal favourite and one of the most famous Carry On scenes when the Scottish regiment frightens off the revolting locals by lifting their kilts.British humour at its best and I recommend it to any Carry On fan.

The Carry On series had many ups and downs, but this offering is the best of the entire series and a fantastic comedy in its own right. The jokes come fast and often and the overall quality of the film is apparent. This is the perfect Carry On line up too, Sid James, Kenneth Williams lead the cast which includes Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth, all of whom are at the peak of their craft. The addition of Roy Castle to the cast as the heroic lead is perfect and the sets and set pieces are great.The story, which is one of the most coherent, is set during the British occupation of India during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond (Sid James) is thrust into the middle of a plot to reveal the feared 'Devils in Skirts' the British army who traditionally wear nothing under their kilts as underwear wearing oppressors by the Khasi of Kalabar (a deliciously sneering Kenneth Williams) who intends to start a revolution and end Sir Sidney's cushy job. Stiff upper lips, cross dressing, randy missionaries, stolen underwear and a final brilliant dinner scene in the midst of a full scale revolt showcase the reason that the Carry On Series and not Monty Python is the best representation of British comedy at its finest.Take a tea break and check out this comedy gem from the bosom of the British Empire.