  |
|
 1958
"That's a matter of opinion." |
 |
83
min Black and White Cert U
| The Stars | |
|
William Hartnell Bob Monkhouse Shirley Eaton Eric Barker Dora Bryan Bill Owen Charles Hawtrey Kenneth Connor Kenneth Williams Terence Longden Hattie Jacques Terry Scott |
Sergeant
Grimshawe Charlie Sage Mary Captain Potts Nora Corporal Copping Peter Golightly Horace Strong James Bailey Miles Heywood Captain Clark Sergeant O'Brien |
| The Crew | |
|
Producer Director Screenplay Music Cinematographer Editor |
Peter
Rogers Gerald Thomas Norman Hudis (from the Bull Boys by R F Delderfield). Additional by John Antrobus Bruce Montgomery Peter Hennessy Peter Boita |
Synopsis
Carry On Sergeant is a boisterous barrack-room send up of the army life. First of the series, this has several elements in embryo, that the unplanned series keeps, not least the casts bounce and brashness.
Kenneth Connor as a nail-biting
hypochondriac, Kenneth Williams as the snooty egg-head, Charles Hawtrey being rather light
on his feet and Hattie Jacques as imperious Medical Officer. These established their
character, with little change, for the rest of the Carry Ons.
Eric Barker, Shirley Eaton, Bill Owen and Terence Longden went on to make a few more of the earlier Carry Ons. Bob Monkhouse plays a displaced Bridegroom, sent for National Service on his honeymoon, and would have improved the series if he had stayed, but only makes the one appearance.
Norman Hudis bases this romp on the Bull Boys by RF Delderfield, but changes the setting from a ballet school to a Army camp, using his experiences in youth for it's benefit.
A reasonable start to the series, and it was certainly successful, being one of the box-office pulls of the year, but for the person brought up on the later Carry Ons as I was, this is just from a tamer and older era of British comedies.
