Carry On Behind (1975)

Powerful

People are voting emotionally.

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

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

A group of imminent archaelogists, led by the stuffy Professor Roland Crump (Kenneth Williams) and the more fun and liberated Professor Anna Vooshka (Elke Sommer), are in search of an old Roman town that is thought to be lying underneath a holiday caravan park.Scriptwriter Dave Freeman was drafted into the fold (replacing Talbot Rothewell) having already worked with producer Peter Rogers and director Gerald Thomas on the 1972 film version of the hit ITV sitcom, Bless This House. Dave Freeman's windy, sparky and far bluer dialogue was more risqué, a trend that had started to emerge in the 1970s Carry On's. The jokes and endless gags all overflow on smutty innuendo and double entendres, even though Freeman was in fact attempting to vaguely recapture the spirit and flavour of 1969's classic (and more innocent) Carry On Camping.Times had certainly changed since then with all sorts of ludicrous sex comedies scoring high at the Box Office, like the dreadful Confessions Of A... films and the even worse Adventures Of A... series, all of which seemed pretty lame stuff when compared to the sparkling, feel-good factor of the Carry On's. However, by 1975 the Carry On's were suddenly seeming a little out of place and somewhat dated in comparison to the more explicit sex comedies that were roaming around.Yet, thankfully, 1975's Carry On Behind still comes out a winner, even if it did fare disappointingly at the Box Office. It's missing several of the regular stars, but an injection of new faces keep things fairly fresh, with the likes of Carol Hawkins (who had previously starred in 1972's Carry On Abroad) and Sherrie Hewson providing the eye candy for the men, while Adrienne Posta and Ian Lavender (star of the BBC sitcom, Dads Army) star as a married couple on their annual holidays.Surprisingly, it's international film star Elke Sommer who receives top billing, pipping Carry On lifer Kenneth Williams to the post. Her wonderful performance is always impeccably timed and tossing in delightfully fractured English comments that becomes the foil of each scene she shares with Kenneth Williams. Both stars seemingly spark off one another.Kenneth Williams is the typically snide, arrogant and campy Professor Roland Crump. If you were to delve into Kenneth Williams famous Diaries that were published shortly after he allegedly commit suicide in 1988, you would be a little startled to learn (I certainly was) that Williams had grown very unhappy with the Carry On series over the years, feeling they had hindered his acting career in finding more serious, challenging roles. You really can't detect that animosity when you view Williams performance in Carry On Behind (even though he declared this to be the worst in the series at the point of filming) as he goes through the motions with seemingly effortless energy, delivering on the whole, a fine comic turn.Bernard Bresslaw stars as Arthur Upmore who is on his annual holiday with his wife, Linda (Patsy Rolands), and whom bares the burden of having to bring his interfering, dragon-like mother-in-law (Joan Sims) along. Bresslaw's performance seems to be on auto-pilot a little, although he does have his moments, while Patsy Rolands bubbles along nicely in the background in a fairly minor supporting turn.Joan Sims also seems to be on auto-pilot (at least for the duration of the first half of the film), though manages a few witty lines to deliver. As the film draws on, however, her character reveals a far softer side when she is unexpectedly reunited with her long-lost husband, Henry (Peter Butterworth) whom had been working at the caravan park as an "odd job" man for the past twenty years. The scenes in which Sims and Butterworth are re-acquainting themselves in the caravan are actually quite touching, delivered beautifully by these two stalwarts of the series and containing a real, poignant edge.Peter Butterworth as Henry Barnes practically turns in a re-creation of his stingy, scavanging character Mr. Fiddler in the more famous Carry On Camping for this film, and his performance is top notch as always. Another stalwart of the series, Kenneth Connor gets the occasional chance to shine as the sexually repressed and ever-randy caravan site owner, Major Leep.The pairing of Windsor Davies as Fred and Jack Douglas as Ernie is a slightly pale reflection of the dynamic teaming of Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw in Carry On Camping with just a few variations. Again they are the stereotypical middle-aged married men looking for extra marital activity whilst their wives (Liz Frazer and Patrica Franklin) are blissfully ignorant of their husbands intent, believing they are going on a "fishing" trip.The pace and energy of the Carry On films was slowing down considerably now, though Carry On Behind stays afloat with some fine performances and hilarious (even if predictable) situations that makes this one of the classics in the series and indeed the last watchable of the series (subsequent entries Carry On England (1976) and Carry On Emamanuelle (1978) are probably best forgotten).There does seem a lack of real interaction with the cast until the ending when Jenny Cox turns up (typically through a comic misunderstanding) at the caravans club/bar on the final night of the holiday performing a raunchy strip tease. It is at this climax that the film really scores best. And the film ends firmly retaining that feel-good factor that the Carry On's were always renowned for; sadly a last hurrah for the series.

It's a retread of Carry On Camping only with caravans as the usual array of characters ripe for fun picking innuendo laden shenanigans. Plot for what it's worth has a bunch of Carry On holidaymakers caravanning next to a Roman excavation site being run by Prof Anna Vrooshka (Elke Sommer) and Prof. Roland Crump (Kenneth Williams). Chaos inevitable ensues.The absence of Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques and Terry Scott was always going to be felt (they had all left the franchise by this time), but Williams, Bernard Bresslaw , Kenneth Connor, Joan Simms and Peter Butterworth plough on stoically with the thin formulaic screenplay. Windsor Davis supplements them but he's no Sid James.The series would trundle out two more films in the 70s before the ill advised comeback movie in 1992 (Carry on Columbus), one of which was the dreadful Carry on England. "Behind" isn't an awful movie as it does have its moments, such as the by-play between Sommer and Williams, and Bresslaw's henpecked husband act. It's also a very good snapshot of the era with budget holidays pointing to the unsteady political climate, while the sexual aspects reek of a time well left behind – but those attitudes did exist back then.Passable Carry On fare but carrying with it the sadness in knowing the series was long past its sell by date. 6/10

The Carry On series were wonderful satirical films that like Mel Brooks took on a particular genre of film and went to town with spoofing. But Carry On Behind went back over some familiar ground that the troupe previously trod over in Carry On Camping. In addition series regulars Sid James and Charles Hawtrey are not in Carry On Behind. Not all the regulars were available for all films at any given point. But it somehow doesn't seem an official Carry On film without them.Kenneth Williams plays an archeology professor who with a visiting Russian colleague Elke Sommer has discovered a site near Hadrian's Wall which he believes will yield artifacts. So the two go on a dig. As it turns out their site is right on a campsite where the British vacationing public bring their trailers and set up camp. The director of the camp is Kenneth Connor and he's not terribly thrilled with the dig. But he's got enough problems of his own with just his campers.Seeing Sommer trying to seduce the diffident Williams provided a lot of laughs. As did Joan Sims myna bird saying all kinds of inappropriate things. And of course the hazards created when one is digging all kinds of holes.Still it's ground covered before and Carry On Behind just doesn't seem right without James and Hawtrey,

Not the best film of the Carry On Series, but Carry On Behind certainly isn't the embarrassing blot on the Carry On landscape that all the subsequent Carry On's would turn out to be. 'Behind' is really funny in many places but does admittedly fall flat on it's derriere in others.Carry On Behind is set in an intimate caravan park, and just like all the other 'holiday' themed Carry On's such as Cruising, Abroad and Camping, we are given some in-depth character defining introductions to all our protagonists.Kenneth Williams plays Archaeologist Professor Roland Crump, who goes to a campsite where Roman Mosaics have been unearthed whilst digging a new cesspit. Accompanying him is the sexy Russian Professor Anna Vooshka played by the delectable Elke Sommer, who's poor understanding of the English Language is matched only by Crump's poor understanding of the opposite sex.Windsor Davies makes an impressive Carry On Debut as Butcher Fred Ramsden, who, along with Electrician Ernie Bragg (Jack Douglas), are going to the campsite intent on a spot of fishing, (bird watching more like, and not the kind ornithologists do either!), while their wives played by Liz Fraser and Patricia Franklin are away at a health farm. At the camp, they meet up with dolly birds Sherrie Hewson and Carol Hawkins, who uses their blatant sexuality to play on the two men's affections in order gain a free ride holiday from them.Adrienne Posta and Ian Lavender play a young married couple off on their annual jollies. Sounds Ideal, but not when Posta has more love for a Great Dane Dog than she does for her husband.Bernard Bresslaw & Patsy Rowlands (in their last Carry On) Play another married couple who's holiday is marred before it even begins by the ever present mother of Patsy's, and ever moaning mother-in-law of Bernie's, played by a slightly miscast Joan Sims, who also brings her potty mouthed mynah bird along for the trip.At the caravan site, the two main characters are Kenneth Connor as camp 'commandant' Major Leep, who's air of regimental respectability can barely disguise his hidden lust for scantily clad females, and the penny pinching Barnes, played by Peter Butterworth who gives us another one of his brilliant 'Mr Fiddler' type characters that we all know and love.One of the funniest moments for me, is when Kenneth Connor, in an inebriated effort to seduce Sims, plays 'The Galloping Major' in the absurd hope that it will get her in the mood for a bit of 'ows your father'. 'This'll get you going!' he chuckles gleefully, 'It certainly will' she nervously responds as she rushes for the door. A great scene from two great comedy actors.As you can expect being one of the later Carry On's, the innuendo runs thick and fast as does a moderate amount of nudity. Ex Benny Hill and Arthur Askey gag writer Dave Freeman takes over from the legend that was Talbot Rothwell, and gives the movie a more than adequate screenplay, though not a patch on his predecessor, who had left the series after the release of Carry On Dick the previous year. Eric Rogers's score is everything you expect a Carry On score to sound like and as always, he doesn't disappoint. The movies main theme music is actually quite catchy, as he seems to have adopted a jaunty ragtime piano sound that seemed to be going through a unexpected renaissance in the early-mid 1970's, courtesy of the movie The Sting.Sadly, there are a few very poor scenes, in 'Behind' which really do accentuate the decline of quality gags after Rothwell's departure, however, these weak points are well bolstered between some extremely funny moments, Had Rothwell stuck it out for another year, and wrote the screenplay for 'Behind', I have no doubt that we would have had a movie to rival Carry On Camping, but I'm afraid that scenario will simply have to remain another one of life's great 'What If's'.As I said at the beginning of this review, not the best Carry On out there, but certainly better than the one's that came after and to be honest, arguably better than some that came before.A great way to exercise the old chuckle box and kill 90 lazy minutes.Enjoy!