Carry on Regardless (1961)

The Helping Hands agency employs some very strange people to perform some very strange jobs! Even the simplest of tasks get bungled by the incompetent but lovable staff, as they get given ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writer:

Norman Hudis (screenplay)

Stars:

Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sid James	...	Bert Handy (as Sidney James)
Kenneth Connor	...	Sam Twist
Charles Hawtrey	...	Gabriel Dimple
Joan Sims	...	Lily Duveen
Kenneth Williams	...	Francis Courtenay
Bill Owen	...	Mike Weston
Liz Fraser	...	Delia King
Terence Longdon	...	Montgomery Infield-Hopping
Hattie Jacques	...	Sister
Esma Cannon	...	Miss Cooling
Sydney Tafler	...	Strip Club Manager
Julia Arnall	...	Trudy Trelawney
Terence Alexander	...	Trevor Trelawney
Stanley Unwin	...	Landlord
Joan Hickson	...	Matron

Storyline

The Helping Hands agency employs some very strange people to perform some very strange jobs! Even the simplest of tasks get bungled by the incompetent but lovable staff, as they get given jobs ranging from taking animals for walks (no ordinary animals you understand) to demonstrating new products at a large and prestigious exhibition...

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Plot Keywords:

photograph | knitting | policeman | sequel | nurse | 

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Taglines:

Can you stand the laughs? Do you cry real tears at comedy? Do your sides ache when you laugh too hard? [USA one sheet]

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Carry on: Nicht so toll, Süßer

Filming Locations:

15 Park Street, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Rogers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley Unwin worked four days

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Quotes

Lily Duveen: You know it'll take ninety-nine years to clear up this dump.
Bert Handy: Yeah, well, step by step. That's the method. Little by little.
Sam Twist: Okay then, boss, where do we start?
Bert Handy: Well, I reckon to make it easier for us to walk about, we ought to sweep the floor first.
Delia King: I don't wish to interfere, but I'd have thought it'd be better to start cleaning at the top of the house.
Lily Duveen: Yes, quite right, I mean disturbed dust will only fall down and muck up what we've already cleaned up.
Francis Courtenay: Ladies and gentlemen, may I submit, with...
[...]

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Connections

Follows Carry on Teacher (1959)

User Reviews

The total lack of plot still allows the film to become an enjoyable and amusing collection of sketches

With work sparse in England, the labour exchanges have become almost a social club with so many men hanging around without joy. It is in this environment that Bert Handy spots an opening for a firm carrying out any odd-jobs on request and thus the "Helping Hands Agency" is born. Recruiting a gang of odds and sods, Bert quickly finds that there are all manner of jobs out there to be done that don't fit anywhere. However can his men all cope with the sheer range of jobs thrown at them? About 10 minutes into this film I started to realise that this had no plot. At regular intervals from then on this view was reinforced as the film just became a series of sketches using the odd-job company as a frame for setting each one up. This sounds like a criticism because it is but surprisingly it was not a real problem because the sketches are mostly pretty funny and the amusement they make up for the total lack of any actual narrative drive. The sketches mostly stand alone but are not that contrived or forced – only the mixed up jobs part is a little forced; the wine tasting, the translated argument, the home improvement show and others are all consistently amusing even if none of them had me rolling in the aisles.

The cast all take to the sketch format with their comedy background. James has the least role since he has to act as the glue holding the funny bits together but he does get some laughs and he is rarely less than interesting and amusing. Connor, Williams and Hawtrey all do the characters they had done in the previous four films – all of them are funny and they do well in their various sketches. Owen joins the male cast in a minor role while Sims and Fraser are stuck with "pretty young girl" roles which minimise their comic impact a little bit. Support from Jacques, Hickson, Cannon, Alexander and others is good and they make the film feel fuller than it would have done with only the main roles filled with well known faces.

Overall on the surface of things this is a plot less mess that has no rhyme or reason to it; however it does set up a series of sketches that are mostly pretty amusing. It won't be remember as fondly as the later Carry On films that produced laughs with a fuller plot and costumes but it is still an enjoyable film that shows how good the group were as comics. Not quite what you think of when you think Carry On but an entertaining collection of sketches nonetheless.