About to retire from the service, Sergeant Grimshaw (William Hartnell) bets 50 quid that his last team of recruits will win the best platoon award on graduation day, only to discover that he has been saddled with a disparate group of insubordinates, incompetents, hypochondriacs, and layabouts. The film is the first of the 'Carry On' series of comedies and features a number of the players associated with the long running series (including Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey, and Kenneth Connor). Most of the humour comes from Grimshaw's exasperation at his men's inability to do anything soldierly, Private Strong's increasingly farcical attempts to convince the unit's doctor (Hattie Jacques) that he is too sick to serve, and canteen operator Nora's (Dora Bryan) pining after the hypochondriacal recruit. Anyone expecting the leering barrage of sexually suggestive puns, double entendres, and 'bras'n'knickers' sight gags usually associated with the sniggering series will be disappointed. The principal reason I watched the film was to see William Hartnell, who famously played the 'First Doctor' on the BBC's long running Dr. Who series. He is excellent as the usually irascible Grimshaw who decides to try a softer, more 'caring' approach to basic training in the hopes that he might finally take home the cup for best platoon. More interesting as the precursor for the increasingly raunchy sex-com series than as entertainment in its own right, but still watchable.
Review of Carry on Sergeant
Carry on Sergeant
(1958)
Typical military comedy, mildly amusing but dated and predictable.
21 November 2023