Carry on Screaming! (1966)

The sinister Dr Watt has an evil scheme going. He's kidnapping beautiful young women and turning them into mannequins to sell to local stores. Fortunately for Dr Watt, Detective-Sergeant ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writer:

Talbot Rothwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Harry H. Corbett

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harry H. Corbett	...	Detective Sergeant Sidney Bung
Kenneth Williams	...	Doctor Orlando Watt
Jim Dale	...	Albert Potter
Charles Hawtrey	...	Dan Dann
Fenella Fielding	...	Valeria Watt
Joan Sims	...	Emily Bung
Angela Douglas	...	Doris Mann
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Sockett
Peter Butterworth	...	Detective Constable Slobotham
Jon Pertwee	...	Doctor Fettle
Michael Ward	...	Mr. Vivian
Tom Clegg	...	Oddbod
Billy Cornelius	...	Oddbod Junior
Norman Mitchell	...	Cabby
Frank Thornton	...	Mr. Jones

Storyline

The sinister Dr Watt has an evil scheme going. He's kidnapping beautiful young women and turning them into mannequins to sell to local stores. Fortunately for Dr Watt, Detective-Sergeant Bung is on the case, and he doesn't have a clue! In this send up of the Hammer Horror movies, there are send-ups of all the horror greats from Frankenstein to Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde.

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Plot Keywords:

costume horror | mad scientist | carry on | kidnapping | lavatory | 

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Taglines:

Do you believe in ghoulies and ghosts and things that go bump in the night? Do you shudder at the clunking of chains? Cringe from the dull, hollow, mournful moans? . . . Then You'll Carry On Screaming

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Carry On Line

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carry on Vampire

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Rogers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sergeant Bung's car is a 1904 Brushmobile. The company was based in Loughborough in Leicestershire, England and only six of these cars were made. The taxi used by Bung's wife is a 1906 Renault.

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Goofs

When Oddbod turns the handle which carries the cage in which the dummy is being carried, prior to it being dropped in the vat, the attached cables do not move.

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Quotes

Emily Bung: That telephone ringing at all hours of the day and night. It's the invention of the devil. It's like someone walking in on you in the bath, it's an invasion of privacy, that's what it is.
Det Sgt. Bung: You in the bath? That'd stop any invasion.

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Crazy Credits

The title page at the beginning of the film shows the year as MCMXVI i.e. 1916.

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Connections

Follows Carry on Regardless (1961)

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Soundtracks

Drink to Me Only With Thine eyes
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Ben Jonson
Performed by Kenneth Williams

User Reviews

CARRY ON SCREAMING! (Gerald Thomas, 1966) ***

This delightful spoof on the contemporaneous – and equally popular – Hammer Horror style is undeniably a highlight of the "Carry On" series: the film is remarkably evocative with respect to color scheme, sets, lighting, even the score (though the rock'n'roll title track is somewhat unwarranted)...but, then, it's regrettably neglected whenever genre parodies are discussed (in my opinion, it's a must for any Hammer devotee)!

The presence of series stalwarts Sidney James and Kenneth Connor is missed here; however, atypical 'recruits' Harry H. Corbett (in his one and only "Carry On") and Fenella Fielding (as a Morticia Addams-type nymphomaniac – she had appeared in CARRY ON REGARDLESS [1961] as well as Hammer's own spoof, THE OLD DARK HOUSE [1963]) more than make up for this. Among the typical horror elements we find here are Kenneth Williams as Mad Scientist, Zombie and Invisible Man all rolled into one, two Frankenstein Monsters named Oddbod and Oddbod Jr. (a nod, no doubt, to Oddjob from the James Bond adventure GOLDFINGER [1964] – it's interesting that the second creature is generated when electricity is applied merely to the missing finger of the first), two separate Hydes, a Mummy, plenty of wax figures, a sinister-looking butler, etc. Incidentally, the police investigation is redolent of a Holmes/Watson mystery (after all, Hammer themselves had filmed a version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES [1959]) – with Corbett and Peter Butterworth making for a great bumbling pair of sleuths.

Series regular Charles Hawtrey only has a bit part here as a tell-tale lavatory attendant/gardener, but his messy death is hilarious; ditto future Dr. Who Jon Pertwee as an eccentric police-lab technician – ironically, there's a "Who's On First?"-type routine concerning Williams' character (called Dr. Watt)! Jim Dale and Angela Douglas are again the young lovers, while Joan Sims' role is practically a repeat of her nagging wife from CARRY ON CLEO (1964). By the way, the flustered mannequin shop owner is played by Frank Thornton, later of the ARE YOU BEING SERVED? (1972) TV series. As expected, Talbot Rothwell's script contains a lot of unsubtle puns – but the film itself is capped by quite a terrific (if hysterical) climax to rival Hammer's best efforts.