Carry on Matron
Dir: Gerald Thomas
1972
**
Carry on Matron, the twenty-third Carry On film in the series once again, and for the last time, returns to the hospital. It seemed to be the workplace situation that just kept on giving to the franchise, particularly when it struggled. 1959's Carry On Nurse was an early classic which was followed up thirteen films later when the series hit a wobble and then again two years after that. This time however the film is specifically set within the maternity ward. You'd think they would have thought of many obvious jokes involving babies but some reason Gerald Thomas and peter Rogers decided a cross dressing heist would be a better approach. They clearly didn't do their homework either as Sid James' gang break into the maternity ward to steal the contraceptive pill (where it isn't kept) which is free on the NHS anyway. Cheap slapstick, sexual innuendos and jokes about having children out of wedlock really date the film but you can't beat seeing the great Bernard Bresslaw in drag and it was lovely to see Hattie Jacques in her Matron's uniform that one last time. It's also a wonderfully nostalgic look back at the fantastic NHS back in the day. Terry Scott bowed out of the franchise after Carry on Matron, his seventh film of the series. Some could say that it was a smart move, jumping ship just before it went down but for my money the Carry On films still had one last great film to come.