Two Britons, Hengist and Horsa, are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets dr... Read allTwo Britons, Hengist and Horsa, are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Caesar.Two Britons, Hengist and Horsa, are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Caesar.
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it seems that the scriptwriter and cast,let off the normal constraints of the series, were determined to excel.
In addition to the oft-quoted Kenneth Williams line ('Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me!'), there are other gems; 'Ptolemy?' , 'I AM TELLING YOU!!!', and to Gloria, the British girl who falls ill aboard ship - 'Oh well, Sic Transit Gloria!'.
If you only see one Carry On film, make sure that this is it.
Yet perhaps uniquely among the cycle, this film contains memorable performances too. Amanda Barrie has never been more seductive as Cleopatra she she lolls in her bath of asses' milk tempting Mark Antony (Sidney James) to join her. She remains gloriously empty- headed when faced with any schemes to enact, but certainly knows how to deal with men, especially the duffer Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams). It is only when she gives Briton Hengist Pod (Kenneth Connor) a love-potion, transforming him from a mouse into a sexual Lothario that she meets her match.
What perhaps distinguishes this film, however, is its metatheatrical awareness. Director Gerald Thomas makes no bones about tracing its origins in music-hall and variety; jokes are delivered as separate lines direct to camera with little concern for dramatic verisimilitude. The cast have no need to; they know that the viewers are waiting for the next innuendo, and they are prepared to glance briefly at the camera before delivering it, taking us into their confidence as they do so.
This makes for both a liberating yet a lasting experience; we feel that we are somehow complicit with the actors in a ritual that we all know and love. It doesn't really matter what the film's subject might be; as if going to pantomime or a variety show, we are there to see our favorite actors doing what they are best at, and participating in a community experience of cathartic laughter. It is this unique quality, shared only by a few films (others might include Abbott and Costello or the Marx Brothers) that invests them with their timeless qualities.
20th-Century Fox rather carelessly left behind some quite elaborate sets at Pinewood Studios when production on the first attempt to film this spectacular under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian had to be shut down and then abandoned in London, when Elizabeth Taylor experienced one of her many life-threatening illnesses. (Other IMDb-ers err in stating that the abandoned sets used were those from the Joseph L. Mankiewicz version filmed at Cinecitta in Rome and on various locations in Italy, Spain and Egypt.) When M-G-M finished production of "Ben-Hur" (1959) in Italy they prudently destroyed the massive sets to prevent those cleverly thrifty Italian producers of sword-and-sandal "epics" from taking advantage of the bounty left behind.
The "Carry On" series may not have translated all that well to American shores, but I recall standing in line in Westwood, California, to see "Carry On Nurse" and enjoyed several of the later productions in this lengthy British franchise of satirical and slapstick humor. They were great fun and the new DVD collection is no doubt worth the price for aficionados of the series.
Though emerging to be somewhat patchy considering its reputation, there are some undeniably uproarious moments throughout the Roman soldier throwing a shield at Dale during a scuffle and hitting Connor squarely in the face; the famous carpet-rolling scene introducing Cleopatra in the 1963 Hollywood epic being directly lampooned here by having the Egyptian queen roll under a table replenished with food and spilling its contents onto herself and the floor; untrue to history, Antony connives with Cleopatra to murder Caesar and become Emperor himself she suggests using a poisonous asp and hands him one from a basket, which he mistakes for a local delicacy and promptly bites off its head! Talbot Rothwell's script also includes a running gag involving the famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" Shakespearean speech, as well as an in-joke wherein a couple of traders merge their business to be known from then on as "Marcus & Spencius"!
Carry on Cleo is arguably one of the greatest of the Carry on films. It puts so many big budget films, notably Cleopatra, to shame.
It is a visual delight, admittedly it used the scenes from the bid budget flop, but I'd argue they made equally good use here. Awesome costumes, some truly incredible sets. However this film contains style, and substance.
Most of the regulars are here, notable faces missing include Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques.
Amanda Barrie gets her biggest Carry on role, she's excellent, and looks amazing, perhaps a more convincing Queen than Taylor was.
They're all amazing, but Kenneth Williams is truly at his best here, he is utterly hilarious, and perhaps gets the best of lines, who will ever forget Infamy, Infamy....
Well over half a century old, and still awesome. 9/10.
Did you know
- TriviaThe line of dialogue said by Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams, "Infamy...Infamy.....they've all got it in for me!", became particularly well-known because of this movie. It has been voted as one of the all-time ever funniest one-liner jokes in a movie.
- GoofsWhen Hengist (Kenneth Connor) pours the ashes over Julius (Kenneth Williams).. you can hear somebody laughing in the background.
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Julius Caesar: Friends, Romans...
Whoever happens to be next to him: Countrymen.
Julius Caesar: I know!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film Review: ...Carrying On (1968)
- SoundtracksRome, Sweet Rome
(uncredited)
Sung to the tune of "Home, Sweet Home"
Music by H.R. Bishop
Original lyrics by John Howard Payne
Performed by Charles Hawtrey
[Seneca sings the song while he's taking a bath]
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