Tonight, I
watched the fifth film in the Carry On series ‘Carry On Regardless’ for the
first time and really quite enjoyed it.
I’m surprised
that I’d never seen it before or even heard of it. It’s more of a prototype
sketch show than anything, with very little in the way of a through-line plot,
but the performances in it are excellent, with lots of lovely little comedy set
pieces to drive things along. It’s still in the early stages of the Carry On
format, so isn’t brash and gaudy like some of the later ones, but as ever the
cast are great when it comes to making the most of the subject matter and wringing the comedy out of it; Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims and Sid James in
particular stand out for their gently understated comic turns.
I’m a little bit
in love with those three, all of whom are vastly underrated. Sid gets less to
play with in this one, but Connor and Sims have a bit more meat. Connor is at
the top of his game, managing to get a laugh out of every line; he doesn’t miss
a trick. Sims is similarly on form, particularly in a drunk scene towards the
beginning in which she isn’t afraid to make herself look ungainly in aid of a
laugh; that’s what’s so great about her: she can be both sexy and funny. You
don’t get those sort of character actors any more, which is a real shame,
as they're a cut above.