Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. It transcends the Carry On series effortlessly, yet stays true to its roots. Parodying the horror genre that had become so popular in the mid-60s was a pretty brave move, especially as the Carry On series was at its zenith, but the gamble certainly paid off. Sid James and Barbara Windsor are both missing - it could have been suicidal, but their replacements Harry H Corbett and Fenella Fielding are simply stunning, giving tour-de-force comedy performances from a sparkling script that makes even the most dyed-in-the-wool Carry On fanatic forget James &Windsor's absence. The plot is involving and suitably spooky, borrowing themes from a kaleidoscope of suspense and supernatural stories, seeming always to pick the best...... Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allen Poe, even science fiction. The performances are unilaterally superb - Williams, Butterworth and Dale are effortlessly comedic, and Bernard Bresslaw is a gem as the undead butler.
This isn't just the best Carry On film - it is, of course - it is NOT Camping, it is NOT Cleo, THIS is the best - it's almost certainly the best British comedy of the 1950s and 1960s. So funny, so lovable, so authentic. All I could wish for is that Charles Hawtrey was in it more.... Although he wouldn't have been in it at all if it weren't that the American distributors asked them to put him in. God Bless America!
This isn't just the best Carry On film - it is, of course - it is NOT Camping, it is NOT Cleo, THIS is the best - it's almost certainly the best British comedy of the 1950s and 1960s. So funny, so lovable, so authentic. All I could wish for is that Charles Hawtrey was in it more.... Although he wouldn't have been in it at all if it weren't that the American distributors asked them to put him in. God Bless America!