Evil snakes, a scheming Charlotte Rampling and the Virgin Mary turned into a sex toy. So why does it all feel so chaste?
There comes a time in the viewing of any historical film when you start to wonder how the Carry On team would have cast it. The moment came for me in this film when the arrogant and sensualist Papal Nuncio in counter-reformation Italy receives a petition from a Mother Superior while he is having lunch, about an errant nun in her charge. A character who appears to be the Nuncio’s heavily pregnant courtesan then comes in and demonstrates that she is lactating. The nuncio here is Lambert Wilson, although Kenneth Williams would do just as well, with Joan Sims as the saucily up-the-duff attendant.
Related: Stillwater review – fictionalised Amanda Knox drama is so bad it’s bad...
There comes a time in the viewing of any historical film when you start to wonder how the Carry On team would have cast it. The moment came for me in this film when the arrogant and sensualist Papal Nuncio in counter-reformation Italy receives a petition from a Mother Superior while he is having lunch, about an errant nun in her charge. A character who appears to be the Nuncio’s heavily pregnant courtesan then comes in and demonstrates that she is lactating. The nuncio here is Lambert Wilson, although Kenneth Williams would do just as well, with Joan Sims as the saucily up-the-duff attendant.
Related: Stillwater review – fictionalised Amanda Knox drama is so bad it’s bad...
- 7/9/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By John M. Whalen
Some movie directors achieve greatness by steadily working at their craft over a lifetime, building their reputation movie by movie, until they develop a following, creating a catalogue of films that they become known for. It’s a steady process of craftsmanship. And then there are some few directors who seem to come out of the egg fully hatched, so to speak. Their particular vision, their attraction to certain themes, their own peculiar style is evident even from their earliest work. Orson Welles was one such film maker. So were Howard Hawks and Sam Peckinpah. If you watch the episodes of the half-hour “Gunsmoke” TV series that Peckinpah wrote in the 1950’s, or The Westerner TV series in 1960, you will be surprised to see how many of the themes and obsessions that Peckinpah put into films like “The Wild Bunch...
By John M. Whalen
Some movie directors achieve greatness by steadily working at their craft over a lifetime, building their reputation movie by movie, until they develop a following, creating a catalogue of films that they become known for. It’s a steady process of craftsmanship. And then there are some few directors who seem to come out of the egg fully hatched, so to speak. Their particular vision, their attraction to certain themes, their own peculiar style is evident even from their earliest work. Orson Welles was one such film maker. So were Howard Hawks and Sam Peckinpah. If you watch the episodes of the half-hour “Gunsmoke” TV series that Peckinpah wrote in the 1950’s, or The Westerner TV series in 1960, you will be surprised to see how many of the themes and obsessions that Peckinpah put into films like “The Wild Bunch...
- 8/12/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Stage and screen actor best known for her roles in the Carry On films and as Cynthia Kite in the 1959 classic I’m All Right Jack
The actor Liz Fraser, who has died aged 88, specialised in comedy in a career that stretched from cough and spit parts in 1950s Ealing Studios films to a guest star suspect in the latest series of Midsomer Murders (2018). She also worked with Tony Hancock and Sid James, and starred in the classic I’m All Right Jack (1959) with Peter Sellers, but her long and varied career was almost inevitably overshadowed by her membership of the Carry On team.
The slap and tickle British film institution of innuendo and pratfall, awash with music hall one-liners, Carry On celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and remains as popular as ever, a reassuring never-never land of off-colourjokes, whose occasional sexism, racism and homophobia is somehow muted by...
The actor Liz Fraser, who has died aged 88, specialised in comedy in a career that stretched from cough and spit parts in 1950s Ealing Studios films to a guest star suspect in the latest series of Midsomer Murders (2018). She also worked with Tony Hancock and Sid James, and starred in the classic I’m All Right Jack (1959) with Peter Sellers, but her long and varied career was almost inevitably overshadowed by her membership of the Carry On team.
The slap and tickle British film institution of innuendo and pratfall, awash with music hall one-liners, Carry On celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and remains as popular as ever, a reassuring never-never land of off-colourjokes, whose occasional sexism, racism and homophobia is somehow muted by...
- 9/10/2018
- by Robert Ross
- The Guardian - Film News
Featuring an all-star cast lead by Patrick Stewart alongside Neve Campbell, Joan Sims, Donald Sinden and Cherie Lunghi comes a magical adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale The Canterville Ghost, which makes its UK Blu-ray debut and DVD release thanks to Second Sight Films. This spellbinding adventure will enchant and entertain the whole family in the holidays and beyond and arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on 30 October 2017 and we have a copy on Blu-ray to be won.. Contest Ends on Monday, November 13, 2017...
- 10/29/2017
- Horror Asylum
ITV3 has announced that it will celebrate the Carry On films with a new documentary series.
The channel will air three-part documentary Carry On Forever across Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with some of the best-loved Carry On films also being aired back to back.
Martin Clunes will narrate the documentary, which features interviews with stars Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.
Carry On Forever will also feature never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of the movies. The cast will reunite as well in some of the film series's most iconic locations.
Amanda Barrie, Liz Fraser, Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Sally Geeson, June Whitfield, Shirley Eaton, Fenella Fielding and Jim Dale will also feature in the three-part series.
Mark Robinson, executive producer at Shiver, said: "Carry On is the most successful and best-loved brand in British movie comedy history, influencing generations of comedians.
"Stars like Sid James,...
The channel will air three-part documentary Carry On Forever across Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with some of the best-loved Carry On films also being aired back to back.
Martin Clunes will narrate the documentary, which features interviews with stars Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.
Carry On Forever will also feature never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of the movies. The cast will reunite as well in some of the film series's most iconic locations.
Amanda Barrie, Liz Fraser, Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Sally Geeson, June Whitfield, Shirley Eaton, Fenella Fielding and Jim Dale will also feature in the three-part series.
Mark Robinson, executive producer at Shiver, said: "Carry On is the most successful and best-loved brand in British movie comedy history, influencing generations of comedians.
"Stars like Sid James,...
- 3/12/2015
- Digital Spy
ITV3 has announced that it will celebrate the Carry On films with a new documentary series.
The channel will air three-part documentary Carry On Forever across Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with some of the best-loved Carry On films also being aired back to back.
Martin Clunes will narrate the documentary, which features interviews with stars Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.
Carry On Forever will also feature never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of the movies. The cast will reunite as well in some of the film series's most iconic locations.
Amanda Barrie, Liz Fraser, Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Sally Geeson, June Whitfield, Shirley Eaton, Fenella Fielding and Jim Dale will also feature in the three-part series.
Mark Robinson, executive producer at Shiver, said: "Carry On is the most successful and best-loved brand in British movie comedy history, influencing generations of comedians.
"Stars like Sid James,...
The channel will air three-part documentary Carry On Forever across Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with some of the best-loved Carry On films also being aired back to back.
Martin Clunes will narrate the documentary, which features interviews with stars Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.
Carry On Forever will also feature never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of the movies. The cast will reunite as well in some of the film series's most iconic locations.
Amanda Barrie, Liz Fraser, Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Sally Geeson, June Whitfield, Shirley Eaton, Fenella Fielding and Jim Dale will also feature in the three-part series.
Mark Robinson, executive producer at Shiver, said: "Carry On is the most successful and best-loved brand in British movie comedy history, influencing generations of comedians.
"Stars like Sid James,...
- 3/12/2015
- Digital Spy
‘The Thief and the Cobbler’: Original version of Richard Williams’ animated film has first public screening at the Academy The first public screening of the original version of Richard Williams’ The Thief and the Cobbler will be held at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, 2013. Williams will be in attendance to introduce the recently reconstructed original workprint from 1992. The Thief and the Cobbler will be accompanied by Richard Williams’s 1972 Oscar-winning animated short A Christmas Carol, adapted from Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella. Featuring animation by Ken Harris and Abe Levitow, among others, A Christmas Carol has, according to the Academy’s website, "a distinctive and dark tone" inspired by John Leech’s engraved illustrations of the Dickens’ tale. In conjunction with the screenings, the Academy’s public exhibition “Richard Williams: Master of Animation,” featuring film clips,...
- 11/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Prolific comedy actor who worked with Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan and Hattie Jacques
The stony-faced, beaky comedy actor Graham Stark, who has died aged 91, is best remembered for his appearances alongside Peter Sellers, notably in the Pink Panther movies. His familiar face and voice, on television and radio, were part of the essential furniture in the sitting room of our popular culture for more than half a century. A stalwart in the national postwar comedy boom led by Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery, Eric Sykes and Benny Hill, he worked with them all in a sort of unofficial supporting repertory company that also included Hattie Jacques, Deryck Guyler, Patricia Hayes and Arthur Mullard. He was also a man of surprising and various parts: child actor, trained dancer, film-maker, occasional writer, and dedicated and critically acclaimed photographer.
Like Gypsy Rose Lee, he had a resourceful and determined...
The stony-faced, beaky comedy actor Graham Stark, who has died aged 91, is best remembered for his appearances alongside Peter Sellers, notably in the Pink Panther movies. His familiar face and voice, on television and radio, were part of the essential furniture in the sitting room of our popular culture for more than half a century. A stalwart in the national postwar comedy boom led by Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery, Eric Sykes and Benny Hill, he worked with them all in a sort of unofficial supporting repertory company that also included Hattie Jacques, Deryck Guyler, Patricia Hayes and Arthur Mullard. He was also a man of surprising and various parts: child actor, trained dancer, film-maker, occasional writer, and dedicated and critically acclaimed photographer.
Like Gypsy Rose Lee, he had a resourceful and determined...
- 11/1/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Graceful stage actor who stood out in Doctor Who on TV and the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
In a long and distinguished career, the actor Aubrey Woods, who has died aged 85, covered the waterfront, from West End revues and musicals to TV series and films, most notably, perhaps, singing The Candy Man in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), starring Gene Wilder, and playing the Controller in the Day of the Daleks storyline in Doctor Who (1972).
Tall and well-favoured in grace and authority on the stage, he played Fagin in the musical Oliver! for three years, succeeding Ron Moody in the original 1960 production. He was equally in demand on BBC radio, writing and appearing in many plays, including his own adaptations of the Mapp and Lucia novels by Ef Benson (he was a vice-president of the Ef Benson society).
In the early part of his career he...
In a long and distinguished career, the actor Aubrey Woods, who has died aged 85, covered the waterfront, from West End revues and musicals to TV series and films, most notably, perhaps, singing The Candy Man in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), starring Gene Wilder, and playing the Controller in the Day of the Daleks storyline in Doctor Who (1972).
Tall and well-favoured in grace and authority on the stage, he played Fagin in the musical Oliver! for three years, succeeding Ron Moody in the original 1960 production. He was equally in demand on BBC radio, writing and appearing in many plays, including his own adaptations of the Mapp and Lucia novels by Ef Benson (he was a vice-president of the Ef Benson society).
In the early part of his career he...
- 5/14/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Tributes have been paid to Doctor Who actress Mary Tamm, who died in a London hospital today at the age of 62 after an 18-month battle with cancer.
She played Romana (pictured above and below), a Time Lady who was companion to Tom Baker's fourth Doctor from 1978 to 1979. Tamm opted not to return for another series and the role was recast with Lalla Ward.
The daughter of Estonian refugees, Bradford-born Tamm trained at Rada. Her first professional job was at the new Birmingham Repertory theatre where she spent nine months working alongside Derek Jacobi, Joan Sims and Ronnie Barker.
She also appeared on the big screen in The Odessa File and The Likely Lads and after leaving Doctor Who was in numerous other TV shows including EastEnders, Brookside and Wire in the Blood.
Doctor Who returns to our living rooms for a seventh series in August, with guest stars including Stratford-upon-Avon actor David Bradley,...
She played Romana (pictured above and below), a Time Lady who was companion to Tom Baker's fourth Doctor from 1978 to 1979. Tamm opted not to return for another series and the role was recast with Lalla Ward.
The daughter of Estonian refugees, Bradford-born Tamm trained at Rada. Her first professional job was at the new Birmingham Repertory theatre where she spent nine months working alongside Derek Jacobi, Joan Sims and Ronnie Barker.
She also appeared on the big screen in The Odessa File and The Likely Lads and after leaving Doctor Who was in numerous other TV shows including EastEnders, Brookside and Wire in the Blood.
Doctor Who returns to our living rooms for a seventh series in August, with guest stars including Stratford-upon-Avon actor David Bradley,...
- 7/26/2012
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Actor played Doctor's companion Romana opposite Tom Baker and also starred in The Odessa File and The Likely Lads
The Doctor Who actor Mary Tamm has died aged 62, her agent has said.
Tamm, who played the Doctor's companion Romana alongside Tom Baker, died at a hospital in London on Thursday morning. She had been suffering from cancer for 18 months.
The actress was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, the daughter of Estonian refugees, and had a long career on stage and screen. She starred in the films The Odessa File and The Likely Lads and had recurring roles in the soaps Brookside and EastEnders.
Tamm leaves her husband Marcus Ringrose, daughter Lauren and seven-year-old son Max.
Barry Langford, her agent of 22 years, said: "She had a great zest for life. She was a fantastic actress – she played stage parts of such range, parts that would take your breath away. She could play any role,...
The Doctor Who actor Mary Tamm has died aged 62, her agent has said.
Tamm, who played the Doctor's companion Romana alongside Tom Baker, died at a hospital in London on Thursday morning. She had been suffering from cancer for 18 months.
The actress was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, the daughter of Estonian refugees, and had a long career on stage and screen. She starred in the films The Odessa File and The Likely Lads and had recurring roles in the soaps Brookside and EastEnders.
Tamm leaves her husband Marcus Ringrose, daughter Lauren and seven-year-old son Max.
Barry Langford, her agent of 22 years, said: "She had a great zest for life. She was a fantastic actress – she played stage parts of such range, parts that would take your breath away. She could play any role,...
- 7/26/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ Gerald Thomas' Twice Round the Daffodils (1962) is a classic example of what British cinema became known for during the 1960s (outside of kitchen sink dramas and Gothic horror) - old-fashioned, feel-good humour. Widely considered an unofficial entry to the Carry On canon, this comedy set within a TB sanatorium featured several of the iconic film series' production staff including director Gerald Thomas, producer Peter Rogers, writer Norman Hudis and cult actors Kenneth Williams and Joan Sims.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 5/1/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
To mark the release of Twice Round the Daffidils on DVD, we’ve been given three copies to give away. It’s directed by Gerald Thomas and stars Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Sheila Hancock, Juliet Mills, Sir Donald Sinden, Nanette Newman and Jill Ireland.
A classic British comedy starring ‘Carry On’ legends Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams, Twice Round The Daffodils sees a group of four male patients arrive at a sanatorium to be treated for TB. As they adjust to their new home, each one of them starts to take a shine to the nurses that are there to care for them.
From the Carry On series team (producer Peter Rogers, director Gerald Thomas and writer Norman Hudis) and starring many of our well-loved British comedic stars, Twice Round The Daffodils is often considered an unofficial Carry On film.
To be in with a chance of winning this great prize,...
A classic British comedy starring ‘Carry On’ legends Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams, Twice Round The Daffodils sees a group of four male patients arrive at a sanatorium to be treated for TB. As they adjust to their new home, each one of them starts to take a shine to the nurses that are there to care for them.
From the Carry On series team (producer Peter Rogers, director Gerald Thomas and writer Norman Hudis) and starring many of our well-loved British comedic stars, Twice Round The Daffodils is often considered an unofficial Carry On film.
To be in with a chance of winning this great prize,...
- 4/19/2012
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
With the much anticipated release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in theatres today, WhatCulture! were challenged with coming up with our 10 best British ensemble casts. With Tinker’s all star British cast – including the likes of Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch – it was a bloody hard challenge to come up with ten that could even come close to rivalling such a solid cast!
Read on to discover what we came up with!
10. Gosford Park (2001)
The murder mystery genre is always one that employs a vast and impressive ensemble cast and Gosford Park is a prime example of how effective a film can be when this is done proficiently. A range of talented British stars fill the screen, disclosing the everyday workings of a 1930s mansion house from the privileged inhabitants and their wealthy guests, right down to the most invisible of servants.
Read on to discover what we came up with!
10. Gosford Park (2001)
The murder mystery genre is always one that employs a vast and impressive ensemble cast and Gosford Park is a prime example of how effective a film can be when this is done proficiently. A range of talented British stars fill the screen, disclosing the everyday workings of a 1930s mansion house from the privileged inhabitants and their wealthy guests, right down to the most invisible of servants.
- 9/16/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
"The Trial Of A Time Lord" - Part 1
After what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Who was finally back on TV in September 1986. The 18-month hiatus had not been welcomed by viewers and fans, after the likes of Grade and Powell saw fit to ‘rest’ the show which they felt had become stale and violent.
So not anything like EastEnders then.
Season 23 was awaited with bated breath - but was it worth the wait? Hmmm, the jury’s out on that one - literally, since the end product was, of course, the notorious Trial Of A Time Lord.
The Trial Of A Time Lord is the show’s longest story - a 14-part epic that’s generally regarded as three four-part stories and a two-parter to tie up the loose ends. Given that the fans were really looking forward to this new run of stories, you can imagine the sighs...
After what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Who was finally back on TV in September 1986. The 18-month hiatus had not been welcomed by viewers and fans, after the likes of Grade and Powell saw fit to ‘rest’ the show which they felt had become stale and violent.
So not anything like EastEnders then.
Season 23 was awaited with bated breath - but was it worth the wait? Hmmm, the jury’s out on that one - literally, since the end product was, of course, the notorious Trial Of A Time Lord.
The Trial Of A Time Lord is the show’s longest story - a 14-part epic that’s generally regarded as three four-part stories and a two-parter to tie up the loose ends. Given that the fans were really looking forward to this new run of stories, you can imagine the sighs...
- 2/25/2011
- Shadowlocked
Let’s go back to when Britain had its own cinema and see who some of our homegrown stars were then. If we dissolve back to 1960, we find a plethora of movie stars - enough to guarantee full houses in all the West End, and regional theatres, in the country. Here are just some of them: Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, John Mills, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Virginia McKenna, Denholm Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Diana Dors, Terry Thomas, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, Joan Greenwood, Hermione Baddeley, Moira Lister, Oliver Reed, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Robert Shaw, Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Laurence Harvey, Paul Scofield, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, Leslie-Anne Down, George Formby, Peter Ustinov, Peter Finch, Harry Andrews, Maxine Audley, Nigel Stock, Eric Porter, Noel Coward, Dinsdale Landen, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Wymark, Shirley-Anne Field, and Moira Redmond…...
- 12/23/2010
- by Jonathan Gems
- Pure Movies
Cinematographer known for his work on the Carry On films
Despite, or because of, the ancient, dirty jokes, schoolboy humour, double entendres, and a string of hammy actors tele- graphing each jest with pursed lips, rolling eyes or a snigger, the Carry On films have an army of devotees. Among the most regular actors were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Sid James, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor, and behind the camera, on almost all of the 30 Carry On movies, was the cinematographer Alan Hume, who has died aged 85.
Hume started as camera operator on the very first, Carry On Sergeant (1958), soon becoming director of photography (Dp) on Carry On Regardless (1961), and continuing as Dp until Carry On Columbus (1992) ended the franchise. Though few would make any artistic claims for the films, they were competently shot, rapidly, on a shoestring. Because of the rapport Hume built up over a long period with...
Despite, or because of, the ancient, dirty jokes, schoolboy humour, double entendres, and a string of hammy actors tele- graphing each jest with pursed lips, rolling eyes or a snigger, the Carry On films have an army of devotees. Among the most regular actors were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Sid James, Joan Sims and Kenneth Connor, and behind the camera, on almost all of the 30 Carry On movies, was the cinematographer Alan Hume, who has died aged 85.
Hume started as camera operator on the very first, Carry On Sergeant (1958), soon becoming director of photography (Dp) on Carry On Regardless (1961), and continuing as Dp until Carry On Columbus (1992) ended the franchise. Though few would make any artistic claims for the films, they were competently shot, rapidly, on a shoestring. Because of the rapport Hume built up over a long period with...
- 8/17/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Rogers with actress Joan Sims on the setBy Lee Pfeiffer
Peter Rogers' name probably isn't well known outside of the UK, but within the British film industry, he was a legend. Rogers has passed away at age 95. His body of work was largely defined by the laugh-charged Carry On series of films that pushed the envelope in terms of sexual content in the 1950s and 1960s. The series generally boasted a host of talented British comic actors all involved with bedroom antics featuring well endowed actresses. The series was always innocent fun and attracted mainstream audiences who wouldn't have dreamed of attending a real X rated film. Rogers had a productive working relationship with his wife Betty Box, who passed away in 1999. Betty was one of the industry's first successful female producers, having overseen production of the Doctor series of film farces. Rogers started in the film industry after...
Peter Rogers' name probably isn't well known outside of the UK, but within the British film industry, he was a legend. Rogers has passed away at age 95. His body of work was largely defined by the laugh-charged Carry On series of films that pushed the envelope in terms of sexual content in the 1950s and 1960s. The series generally boasted a host of talented British comic actors all involved with bedroom antics featuring well endowed actresses. The series was always innocent fun and attracted mainstream audiences who wouldn't have dreamed of attending a real X rated film. Rogers had a productive working relationship with his wife Betty Box, who passed away in 1999. Betty was one of the industry's first successful female producers, having overseen production of the Doctor series of film farces. Rogers started in the film industry after...
- 4/17/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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