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.
Spying and now this one, Carry On Cleo, are funny.
"Cleo" was all Williams as Ceasar. I don't think anyone else could have done that so-so line and made it funny. "Friends, Romans, . . I know that!"
Okay, Sid James and Kenneth Conner had a bit more material to work with here, namely plot and direction.
Direction would have helped more in earlier ones, such as Regardless and Nurse. I guess the history helped drive Carry On Cleo.
Upon seeing Cleo, I thought Barbara Windsor (whom I had only glimpsed for the first time just earlier when I watched Spying) was the Egyptian queen, and deduced, wow, she used alot of padding in her bra.
Now I read I was in error and it was Amanda Barrie as Cleo. I wonder if Windsor was offered the part of Cleo first?
That soothsayer. What a scene stealer and master at his craft that one was! I liked James and Conner here, but the Soothsayer was running with the movie from them all. Had he hung around, he would have shown Williams how to do it as well, no doubt.
Who was he? Jon Pertwee, Doctor Who #3.
No idea where Hattie Jacques would have fit in this tale. I haven't seen her now since Carry On Cabby. Look forward to what is left, with or without her.
Next up: Carry on Screaming! Heard it is a good one.
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.
I believe these films were considered racy in their time, but are quaint indeed by today's standard. `Cheeky' is the best word I can think of to characterize them. I was familiar with Kenneth Williams and Sid James as voices on a couple of old `Round the Horn' radio shows I'd heard. They didn't look quite as I'd pictured them. The cast is colorful and likable, but the pace and form of the humor seem to me very English, or maybe more accurately, not very American. Sometimes the jokes make references that simply wouldn't register with Americans, and I can see why it was probably decided long ago that they wouldn't travel well. Still, if you are something of an Anglophile, and have seen and appreciated a great deal of British movies and television, as I have, you're likely to get the jokes.
One of the characters in `Carry On Cleo' is named `Hengist Pod,' and his wife's name is `Sena' hence, `Sena Pod,' hardy-har! Now, I must have come across a hundred or more references to `senapod' in British comedies, and as an American, this was a great mystery to me. As far as I have been able to determine from countless sniggering references, a senapod was (is?) some sort of strong laxative. Ah, you saucy English and your beloved poo-poo humor!
Anyway, this is probably a good introduction to the `Carry On' films for the uninitiated, as it is colorfully filmed with lavish sets and costumes left over from the Burton/Taylor production of `Cleopatra.' In addition, as much of it is set in ancient Rome, it may not seem as provincially English to non-Britons as some of the others in the series. I was delighted to finally make the acquaintance of the `Carry On' films, and look forward to seeing more.
Hit-or-miss but frequently hilarious spoof of Joseph L. Mankiewicz' infamous super-epic "Cleopatra", that generates far more amusement than the original. The pace is hectic, the writing unusually clever and most of the actors caught somewhere near their best. Some dull spots, but the whole enterprise remains cheerful and sprightly.
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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