Welcome
to the first ever guest blog spot on The History Usherette. I’ve invited Graeme,
who runs the wonderful carryonfan.blogspot.co.uk to give us his take on the Carry
On film and social history.
From
the Happy Wanderer to Els Bells: The Social History of the Carry Ons
The
Carry On films are a cultural phenomenon. They hold a unique place in British
culture and British life. No other series of comedy films has lasted so long,
either in terms of the number of films produced or their durability. Nearly
sixty years after Carry On Sergeant was released, the films are still shown
regularly on television and discussed endlessly in blogs just like this one.
As
well as being madly passionate about British film, the Carry Ons and their
stars in particular, I also trained as a social historian ten years ago. I
studied social history at Glasgow University, eventually clawing my way to a
Masters degree. Had the focus of my thesis been on the Carry Ons, that
distinction may have become a reality. I grew up on these films: cheaply made
yet bursting with quality actors and memorable lines. As I have gone through
life they have stayed with me, as a comfort blanket, as a hobby and most of all
just for fun. The Carry Ons were meant to be churned out and be instantly
forgotten but these days, in the digital age, they have become a time capsule.
Although they often represent a Britain that never truly existed, they still
provide a valuable insight into how much our country changed during their
twenty year reign at the box office.
They
started in black and white with National Service. Twenty years later, in
glorious technicolour they crawled towards the end of the 1970s with a send up
of the soft porn genre. For the likes of Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor,
who appeared in the credits of both Sergeant and Emmannuelle, the changes must
have been distinctly obvious. While neither of these films are my own personal
favourites, the difference is plain to see - coy romance between Connor and
Dora Bryan in the NAAFI in 1958 to plenty of flesh and mentioning the
unmentionables in 1978. Had Britain really changed that much in those years?
Probably.
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| William Hartnell in Carry on Sergeant by @aitchteee |
To
flesh this out, as it were, let's take two films from the series with a similar
theme - Carry On Cruising, released in 1962 and Carry On Abroad, brought out
exactly a decade later. Both films dealt with foreign travel and the challenges
of taking Brits abroad. Both are excellent examples of Carry On comedy but they
are light years apart in terms of content.
Carry
On Cruising was the first film in the series to be released in colour. It
revolves around a fairly upmarket ocean liner taking passengers on a cruise
around the Mediterranean. Quite a commonplace activity in 2015, but in early
1962 just how many working class people (the Carry On's core audience) would
have been able to treat themselves to such a holiday? The film is very
reminiscent of one of the lighter, frothier Doctor films. It's all coy
romantics from the likes of Kenneth Connor and Dilys Laye. Laye and Liz Fraser
are the lovely young ladies on board however it's all sweet, innocent japes and
nothing is taken too far. Laye wants a husband - that's the main plot thread.
Everything is very polite and bright and middle class and the ladies parade
around in an endless stream of gorgeous gowns and swimming costumes.
 |
| Kenneth Connor in Carry on Cruising by @aitchteee |
Cruising
is a delightful example of early 60s froth. It clearly shows a Britain emerging
from the austere 1950s and beginning to live again. It lacks the social comment
of earlier entries like Nurse and Teacher but it is still an enjoyable watch.
Let's fast forward ten years now and see what had changed by the time Carry On
Abroad was released in 1972.
Abroad
is one of my all time favourite Carry Ons. It was a timely pastiche of the then
ever growing popularity of the package holiday. The 1960s had seen a growing
affluent middle class with a taste for foreign travel. Package holidays to
Spain and Italy were commonplace as Brits became increasingly adventurous. At
the same time, horror stories of awful accommodation and dreadful food were the
stuff of legend. What better than to take the nation's favourite band of
eccentrics and send them off a fictitious Spanish island?
From
the very beginning, Abroad is a very different film from Cruising. Sex is very
much on the agenda. From marriages on the rocks to young girls out for a good
time and Barbara Windsor's suitcase full of underthings, it's all in your face
from the opening credits. Britain was arguably a much more liberal place by the
early 1970s and this is reflected in the attitudes in Abroad. Infidelity was
very much a possibility and for the first time a potentially gay couple are
seen on screen. A very cliched example of course, but there nonetheless. The
film is also much more risqué with Barbara Windsor flashing much more than is
strictly necessary throughout the 90 minutes.
At
the end of the film, all is well in the world of Carry On. There is no
infidelity (on screen at least), warring couples are reunited and one of the
(possibly) gay young men finds the lure of Sally Geeson just too much to
refuse. Everyone returns to Sid and Joan's pub for what must have been the best
lock-in in cinematic history.
So
Carry On Abroad provides the much needed happy ending, very much like that of
Carry On Cruising ten years before. Were the two films that different all
things considered? And can the Carry Ons really be taken seriously as a telling
demonstration of how this country changed in the mid twentieth century?
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| Joan Sims by @aitchteee |
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