Film #067 - Carry On Screaming (1966)
Viewed March 8, 2006
Carry On Screaming is a visually impressive entry in the “Carry On” series, but I found it’s substance to be quite lacking.
The plot is not unimaginative, with it’s mad doctor turning beautiful maidens into store mannequins. The characters are straight out of the Hammer horror films that were so popular at the time. The look of the film is strong, as well, with the costumes and make-up on line with anything Hammer was doing at the time.
But the pieces never seem to fit together. The plot requires so many side travels to fill it out that it’s difficult to see the whole picture. Something more straightforward would have, perhaps, been easier and more compelling to follow. (Even a comedy needs something to drive the film forward.) While the characters are well drawn, they are not particularly engaging. It’s difficult to see who we are meant to root for, if anyone.
Harry H. Corbett, best known as the ‘Son” in Steptoe and Son, does a fine job in the lead role as Detective Bung. He is the cement that holds the film together and he almost rescues it single-handedly. The “Carry On” regulars don’t have a strong outing, unfortunately. Kenneth Williams’ Doctor Watt is too shrill, Jim Dale has precious little to do as a young man whose girl is stolen, and Joan Sims is reduced to a single-note harpy as Bung’s wife. Only Charles Hawtrey’s small cameo provides a glimpse of classic “Carry On” banter.
The second-tier “Carry On” department fares slightly better than the stalwarts, with Peter Butterworth’s Detective Slobotham providing some nice moments and Bernard Bresslaw solid, if not memorable, as the man-monster Sockett. Soon-to-be Doctor Who Jon Pertwee makes his last appearance in the “Carry On” series until Carry On Columbus and again gives an incredible over-the-top performance to great success, this time as a scientist.
Somehow, for me, the non-stop nature of the gags in Carry On Screaming failed to help make the movie particularly memorable. Perhaps because I’ve never been a big fan of the “Hammer” style of horror movie, I just couldn’t identify strongly enoguh with the material. Perhaps it is the lack of a truly sympathetic lead or even the hint of a proper romance that usually sits at the heart of the best of the “Carry Ons”. Regardless of the reason, Carry On Screaming is worth a look for fans of the series or horror movies in general. But outside big fans who are naturally inclined towards everything of this sort, this is one you can give a miss.