Carry on Christmas (1969) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ronnie Baxter

Writer:

Talbot Rothwell (writer)

Release Date:

24 December 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

Ebenezer Scrooge is a misery on Christmas, not allowing people money or doing anything to share Christmas cheer around his employees or acquaintances...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Carry On

Cast

Sid James	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
Terry Scott	...	Dr. Frank N. Stein / Convent Girl / Mr. Barrett / Baggie the Ugly Sister
Charles Hawtrey	...	Spirit of Christmas Past / Angel / Convent Girl / Buttons
Hattie Jacques	...	Elizabeth Barrett / Nun / Bemused Passer-By
Barbara Windsor	...	Cinderella / Fanny / Spirit of Christmas Present
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Bob Cratchit / Frank N. Stein's Monster / Spirit of Christmas Future / Convent Girl / Town Crier / Policeman
Peter Butterworth	...	Dracula / Street Beggar / Convent Girl / Haggie the Other Ugly Sister
Frankie Howerd	...	Robert Browning / Fairy Godmother

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Thames Television

Trivia:

The rehearsals for this seasonal offering were held in a yacht club, just down the road from the actual studios.

Quotes:

Robert Browning: [to Elizabeth] The colour's come back in your cheeks. They look lovely when they're green like that.

Movie Connections:

References "Opportunity Knocks" (1956)

Has energy and a sort of roughshod charm to it but funny it ain't

Ebenezer Scrooge is a misery on Christmas, not allowing people money or doing anything to share Christmas cheer around his employees or acquaintances. While Scrooge is visited by three ghosts we see how his penny pinching has affected those around him.

I tuned in to this little show expecting just a version of the Christmas Carol story except with a great deal more innuendo and smut. That is half what I got - innuendo! The actual story didn't really hold true to the Scrooge story, this is apparent from the get-go where we have 10 minutes in the offices of Dr Frank A. Stein who is building a monster with his friend Count Dracula, Cinderella and a later scene with a poet and his love. The connection of these side stories to Scrooge is very, very thin indeed and they serve more as separate sketches than anything else.

If they were hilariously funny then this wouldn't be a problem - thing is, they aren't. At best they are energetic and silly, with some of the crudity and wit of Carry On movies, but sadly it doesn't even get near to the consistently of the films!

The cast is good on paper and do try hard - playing well to the studio audience but most of the material is not great and they can't work with it. Howerd has the most fun as he seems to be ad libbing all over the place. Sid James is always fun as are Hawtrey, Jacques, Winsor has a good role as Cinderella and Butterworth and Bresslaw are OK.

Overall this is a pretty average show. It has low production values and only really gets laughs because the audience are clearly hyped up to laugh. The actors lack the subtlety that is often needed to make innuendo work and I simply didn't laugh at all.