Carry On England (1976)

Captain S. Melly takes over as the new Commanding Officer at an experimental mixed sex air defence base. It's 1940 and England is under heavy bombardment, but the crew seem more interested ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writers:

David Pursall (screenplay), Jack Seddon (screenplay)

Stars:

Kenneth Connor, Windsor Davies, Judy Geeson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenneth Connor	...	Captain S. Melly
Windsor Davies	...	Sergeant-Major 'Tiger' Bloomer
Judy Geeson	...	Sergeant Tilly Willing
Patrick Mower	...	Sergeant Len Able
Jack Douglas	...	Bombardier Ready
Joan Sims	...	Private Jennifer Ffoukes-Sharpe
Melvyn Hayes	...	Gunner Shorthouse
Peter Butterworth	...	Major Carstairs
Peter Jones	...	Brigadier
Diane Langton	...	Private Alice Easy
Julian Holloway	...	Major Butcher
David Lodge	...	Captain Bull
Larry Dann	...	Gunner Shaw
Brian Osborne	...	Gunner Owen
Johnny Briggs	...	Melly's Driver

Storyline

Captain S. Melly takes over as the new Commanding Officer at an experimental mixed sex air defence base. It's 1940 and England is under heavy bombardment, but the crew seem more interested in each other than the enemy planes above. Captain Melly plans to put a stop to all this, and becomes the target of a campaign to abandon his separatist ideals...

---

Plot Keywords:

carry on | twenty eighth part | country in title | three word title | sequel | 

---

Taglines:

It's the biggest bang of the war

---

Genres:

Comedy | War

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Carry On Line

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ist ja irre - Retter der Nation

Filming Locations:

Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£220,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (archive footage in closing scenes) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An early publicity campaign, pitched to the Rank Organisation, claimed that the film would star Kenneth Williams, Carol Hawkins and Penelope Keith (all of whom declined roles) as well as Adrienne Posta, James Bolam, Ian Lavender, Susan Penhaligon and Anne Aston (none of whom were eventually cast).

---

Goofs

When the Sergeant Major Bloomer sounds the wake up call in Melly's hut, the Sergeant Major's rope on his uniform is on his right shoulder. But in the next shot when he is shouting at Sgt. Len Able, the rope is on his left shoulder.

---

Quotes

Capt. S. Melly: What the blue blank blazes is that?
Sgt. Maj. Tiger Bloomer: It's a gun, Sir.
Capt. S. Melly: But it's made of wood.
Sgt. Maj. Tiger Bloomer: It's not a real gun yet, Sir.
Capt. S. Melly: A gun emplacement without a real gun?
Sgt. Maj. Tiger Bloomer: With all respect, Sir. Remember there's a war on. Real guns is hard to come by.

---

Alternate Versions

Two versions of the plane recognition scene exist. On the 2001 VCI/Cinema Club DVD, Patrick Mower's ad lib "No, but I know a Fokker when I see one" is used. This was removed prior to the film's theatrical release in favour of a different take featuring the scripted response "well, Bristols usually come in pairs" in order to get to get a lower certificate. The Bristols version is the one used on BBC TV and the later 2003 Special Edition DVD release included both versions.

---

Connections

Follows Carry on Dick (1974)

User Reviews

why? why? why?

this is absolutely awful. I heard that Carry on Emmanuelle was the worst of the series, but this really is. I bought this and started watching it four times then turned it off...only watched it fully the fifth time around, it's really that bad.

Joan Sims looks bloated and old, Kenneth Connor's not the little bloke with humorous quirks that we know and love him for in the series...there's nothing in here that actually works. There's no gags that are humorous.

There's a hugely embarrassing scene where there's a soldier blinking heavily....and Kenneth Connor asks him 'why he's blinking'. The gag commences for a minute 'why are you blinking?' 'no I'm blinking not' 'yes you blinking are'....That unfortunately is the level of humour used in this awful film.

You can see them trying to go back to Carry on Sergeant...but that's like trying to find Debbie Harry attractive when she's an eighty year old pensioner based on 'how she used to be'.

Kenneth Connor in his first lead role for the Carry on's deserved better than this. Patrick Mower is not carry on material.

avoid.