The Big Job (1965)

Such a frustrating disappointment

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

Blistering performances.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

When is a Carry On film not a Carry On film? The answer is when it's THE BIG JOB, a fun, lighthearted CARRY ON movie in all but name, sharing the same major cast members, writer, producer, and director as the CARRY ONs. It's a film made in the same spirit too, with lots of humorous moments between the sexes mixed in with slapstick jokes and some old dependables giving solid performances as ever.The opening robbery scene is my favourite part of the film and after that it turns into a loose remake of A FIRE HAS BEEN ARRANGED, where a criminal gang are imprisoned but not before stashing their loot in an old tree. They're released fifteen years later only to discover that the tree now stands in the yard of a newly-built police station, so the rest of the film chronicles their efforts to retrieve it.THE BIG JOB suffers a little from a drawn-out narrative which sees some of the situations feeling rather aimless and unfocused; it's certainly not the finest comedy out there and it doesn't have the finesse of one of the best of the CARRY ONs. However, there's a lot to love. Sid James is on top form as the lead and gets plenty of laughs as the running time goes on. Lance Percival and Dick Emery are equally fun as his companions, and Sylvia Sims makes for an arresting presence as the female of the group. Later, the foursome are joined by the likes of a scatty Jim Dale playing a policeman, Joan Sims as the owner of a boarding house, and the incredibly beautiful Edina Ronay as her daughter.The best part of the film, aside from the hilarious opening sequence, is the climax, in which the criminals decide to dig a tunnel under the road to get to the tree. The gags with the spare earth which spoof all those prisoner of war films are simply delightful and constantly hilarious. There's not one but two strong twist endings as well, so it's just that slightly stodgy mid section that slows this down a bit. Not a lot though; CARRY ON fans will be in their element with THE BIG JOB, which feels like a forgotten instalment in the long-running series.

Totally agree with all other reviewers of this brilliant film that it's a Carry On film in everything but name. Made between the filming of Carry On Cleo and Cowboy and starring the usual batch of actors at the time there's probably 2 reasons why this wasn't given the 'Carry On' title - 1 it's in black and white, the carry on series had by now already moved and would stay in colour and 2 - what could it have been called? Carry on Criminal/ Thieving/ Stealing all send out a message that crime is fun so are probably unsuitable, 'Carry on the Big Job' doesn't really work so maybe that's why it's not included in the series proper but let's face it this IS pure Carry On and a fantastic addition to the films the team were making at the time and easily the funniest non Carry On title made by Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers. I have all the carry on films (and this on DVD) and every year or so I watch them in order and I always include this between Cleo and Cowboy, as far as I'm concerned there were 32 Carry On films - Don't Lose Your Head and Follow That Camel were quickly re-released with the Carry On prefix - although that was just because of a change of distributer, it's a shame this wasn't added because it sits perfectly into the series. Chances are everyone involved treated this as a continuation of the series anyway. A very funny film.

Haven't seen this film for years as its rarely shown on TV now days,and very hard to pick up on DVD.I was lucky i found a copy,and it is as funny as i remember it being. Sid James ,Dick Emery and Lance Percival rob a bank and while making their very short getaway Sid James who is known as the Big Brain hides the money in a tree.The hapless three get sent down for fifteen years,when they come out they go to the sight where the tree was hoping to retrieve the money only to find that a big housing estate has been built in the area,and worse still the tree they are after is directly opposite a newly built police station. They move into a lodging house opposite the police station along with Sids girlfriend played by Sylvia Syms,the four of them come up with plot after plot of attempts of getting back the money,unsurprisingly every plot fails. The Big Job is a very good British comedy,my twelve year old son loved it so it hasn't really dated apart from being black and white{but who cares}its funny. Sid James and Dick Emery acted really well together and you wonder why they didn't pair up again.Sylvia Syms is very good in a comedy role and gives a very likable performance its a shame she didn't do more roles like this.Jim Dale as the annoying policeman and Joan Sims as the landlady are both very good. Its a shame we don't make comedies like this anymore.

Another homegrown gem from the director (Gerald Thomas ), producer (Peter Rogers) & writer (Talbot Rothwell) of the Carry On movies. This is very similar to those classics as it also has a cast of Carry On regulars such as Jim Dale, Joan Sims & the irrepressible Sid James! After finishing their porridge at her majesties pleasure a gang of crooks attempt to retrieve the loot they hid before being caught. Unfortunately the tree they hid it in is now within the grounds of a police station! They hole up in a neighbouring B&B and so begin many bungled attempts to retrieve it. To make matters worse their fellow lodger is a policeman. D'oh! A top comedy with that must have ingredient, good characters (often lacking from more recent so-called comedy films). A great hour & a half for fans of Carry On. It would be a crime to miss it!