Carry On Regardless

Dir: Gerald Thomas

1961

*****

Of the thirty-one Carry On films, I think I'd have to say that Carry On Regardless was my favourite, or at least, the one that makes me laugh the most. I laughed throughout to be honest, although the humour that early in the series wasn't exactly the same as the series would become famous for. Carry On Regardless broke the pattern somewhat, as the four previous films revolved around one particular theme or profession, while Regardless was much more about the characters and the possibilities. It is basically Carry On Temping, or Carry On Job Centre, with all the interesting paths that such an idea could lead to. Sid James, Kennith Connor, Kennith Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques established themselves as permanent players by this point, while Liz Fraser made her first Carry On appearance and Terence Longdon made his last. Bill Owen, like Longdon, had been in the Carry Ons from the beginning but he would only go on to make one more after Regardless. Early regulars Leslie Phillips and Shirley Eaton were also gone for good and the audience saw how the franchise would become, although the next film, Carry On Cruising, was a last blip before order was resumed permanently. Having various different roles for each actor to explore really was the making of the series. Joan Sims made first impact in Carry On Nurse as a somewhat clumsy nurse but her depiction of drunkenness in Carry On Regardless is sublime and still one of the funniest scenes in British comedy. Watching Kennith Williams trying to board a route-master with a chimpanzee and becoming offended on its behalf when refused was also a highlight and the truly wonderful cameo from 'Professor' Stanley Unwin and the cast's reaction to his signature gobbledygook known as 'Unwinese' is priceless. Much would be borrowed from Carry On Regardless later on in the series, it became quite a useful exercise in working out what worked and what didn't, although pretty much everything worked. It seems the big lesson on how not to make a Carry On would follow in the next film but Regardless, along with Carry On Nurse, surfaced as the blue-print for success.