Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966)

From my favorite movies..

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There is no doubt about it, Carry on don't lose your head is one of the funniest entries in the series, an utterly joyful film that is funny from start to finish. The backdrop of the French revolution is a real goody, the story line is actually really well devised also it works so well. The characters Thomas managed to create in this film are even bigger, bolder and more flamboyant then normal. The English/French humour is always really funny and this is massively played on, there's always been a great humour between the Brits and our French cousins.Kenneth Williams is on his absolute best form, he gets to totally camp it up and add his snideness. Sid James is great as our hero, Joan Sims is utterly delightful, what a pretty woman she was. As for Charles Hawtrey, I think after Camping it is my favourite performance from him, the best sequence has to be during Sir Rodney's ball and Camembert says to Pommfrit 'So you're the one looking for the black fingernail,' to which he produces a small hammer and hits his finger. One of many golden comedy sequences, the duel too and siege scenes are funny too. One of those films I never tire of, I love it. 9/10

Dandy fop Sir Rodney Effing has an alter ego, The Black Fingernail. A man, who along with his partner, Lord Darcy Pue, rescue French aristocrats from the clutches of the revolutionary police chief, Citizen Camembert.Carry On producer Peter Rogers had severed his links with Anglo Amalgamated and swiftly signed up with Rank Organisation. Miffed at losing their number one cash franchise, and no doubt with a touch of petulance, Anglo's brass refused Rogers permission to using the "Carry On" prefix. Thus this picture was initially released as just "Don't Lose Your Head" in 1966. Eventually common sense prevailed, and this rightly became known as the 13th franchise entry as "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" {tho the American release of it being called "Carry On Pimpernel" makes better sense one feels}.Spoofing The Scarlet Pimpernel legacy with a ream of innuendo and double entendre's, the Carry On team deliver one of the better efforts from the series. This is in the main down to Talbot Rothwell's screenplay. Rothwell wrote the screenplay for 20 of the series efforts, he was someone who director and producer both trusted, and crucially that the cast also had faith in. Here his writing is excellent, if of course you be a fan of the saucy shenanigans that came with this particular part of British cinema that is? With characters called Citizen Camembert {refered to as the big cheese, get it?}, Duc de Pommfrit, Citizen Bidet and Sir Rodney Effing {yes that's two F's}, Rothwell lets loose with wave after wave of cheeky dialogue, all delivered with comic aplomb from the likes of Sid James, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale and the undervalued Peter Butterworth.There's also a real good production from Rogers. Armed with £200,000, Rogers assembled a fine wardrobe of period costumes and hired out Clandon Hall, Cliveden House and Waddesdon Manor to give the story its 18th Century feel. It's also a film that asks of its stalwarts to do a little bit more than just say risqué lines and act the goat. Oh it's all still gaudy and simple in premise, for sure, but some nice swordplay and derring-do from the boys shouldn't go unnoticed. It of course is just like most of the others they made, a cheeky romp, but to me it's proof positive that the "Carry On" series had some crackers mixed in with the dregs. Sit back and romp with the rompers I say. 7.5/10

This film is set during the French Revolution in 1789, where public executions were carried out efficiently and, seemingly, for entertainment. Basically, in order to stop all these rampant executions, two British noblemen, played by Sid James and Jim Dale (of course) travel to France and use various ways to thwart them. This is very amusing, in that their symbol of valiance is the "Black Fingernail", a funny send up of the "Scarlet Pimpernel". As it is a Carry On film, you're going to get one liners, slapstick, sight gags etc. You also get some pretty decent swashbuckling, that was a surprise. Also, you get a lot of speaking to the camera, also funny. Not perfect, but an amusing film. I'd recommend it, especially if you're a Carry On fan.

Spoofing the French Revolution is the great British Carry On team, and 21 years later Blackadder did the same. Anyway, this mock of the great Scarlett Pimpernell has Sir Rodney Ffing a.k.a. The Black Fingernail (Sid James, with a great constant laugh), is the anti-hero saving people from execution, but mainly his own life as a master-of-disguise. Citizen Camembert (Kenneth Williams) and Citizen Bidet (Peter Butterworth) are the only two that can possibly stop him. This is a really good comedy film with great depiction of the period, and the other Carry On members do their great parts as well. These include Jim Dale as Lord Darcy Pue, Charles Hawtrey as Duc De Pommfrit and Joan Sims as Désirée Dubarry, but where's Barbara Windsor when you want her? Carry On films were number 39 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Very good!