Carry On

maltrab

maltrab

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Do you think that if they had been available any of the regular Carry On crew would of Fitted in with LOSW, I think Sid James would of fitted in, whats your thought and who do you think would of been good in the show
 
Not sure about Sid too much of a cockney {I know he was south african} I think may be Peter Butterworth and Roy Castle
 
I don't think any of the Carry On crew would have fitted in except for maybe Hattie Jacques but I don't think any of the men would have.
Not being a fan of the Carry On films maybe I'm bias.

Happyjack I know where you coming from but saying Sid James was too Cockney would be like saying Bill Owen was too Cockney too,I don't think he would have fitted for other reason but if he had been a good actor the Cockney wouldn't have been a problem.
 
Charles Hawtrey would have made a great team mate for Marina.
 
I was thinking about Barbara Windsor playing a Marina type character, but then I thought , no...
 
I think you are probably right about Sid James Pearl-Susan but I have, I dont think seen him play anything a different way in any 0f his films. But I could be lieing.
 
I think he was one of those actors that basically played himself. I'm not saying he wasn't any good at it but I don't think he was ever really a character actor. For a hairdresser from SA he did ok for himself.
 
Agree no one from Carry On is suited for our show good films but not as subtle as LOTSW .
 
They did have one of the early Carry On regulars appear in LOTSW by the name of Bill Owen, that seemed to work out ok. I think a lot of them could have appeared because they are good comedy actors and it would depend on the role. Joan Sims and Patsy Rowland could quite easily have joined the ladies circle. June Whitfield did and she appeared in 4 Carry On's. Kenneth Cope also appeared in 3 Carry On's so there has already been some crossover. I don't think it would have been right for someone like Kenneth Williams mainly because his voice is very distinctive, but Kenneth Connor and Peter Butterworth probably could have been found roles. For example, Connor might have been ideal as the building society manager for Barry had they wanted to go down that type of route.

Here's Patsy Rowland appearing with someone familiar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOFZBBkWhpI
 
It's worth noting many semi regulars and guest stars of the Carry Ons were in LOTSW.

A small handful include
Bill Owen
Brian Wilde
Frank Thornton
Burt Kwouk
Mike Grady
Liz Fraser
Dora Bryan
Jack Smethurst
Norman Rossington
June Whitfield
David Williams
John Horsley
Brian Rawlinson
Bernard Cribbins
Norman Mitchell
Margaret Nolan
Cardew Robinson
Valerie Leon
Kenneth Cope
Henry McGee
Don Henderson.

As pointed out, I don't think many of main regulars would have been very suitable, with the possible exception of Jack Douglas and also Bill Maynard who appeared in a substantial number of the films.

Jack Douglas is overlooked for his 'straight' acting, which wouldn't have been out of place in LOTSW.

And Bill Maynard is renowned for playing northern rascals in Selwyn Froggit, The Gaffer, and Heartbeat.
 
One of the later Carry On regulars, Jim Dale, would have made a very good replacement for the Billy Hardcastle type character when Keith Clifford lect.
 
I was led to believe that only one, Carry On Nurse, was a massive hit in the USA, and is still highly regarded there now.
 
Maybe the Americans don't understand the British sense of humor. There is nothing like British comedy..
 
wstol said:
I was led to believe that only one, Carry On Nurse, was a massive hit in the USA, and is still highly regarded there now.
Click to expand...

I wonder if that had something to do with fact that one of stars was Wilfred Hyde White and he was pretty popular stateside.
 
The main attempt to break into the US market came with Carry On Follow That Camel with Phil Silvers in a role that was similar to his Sergeant Bilko type character. The Carry On's represented a very particular saucy postcard type of British humour that was quite popular and maybe still is with people of an older generation in the UK (is it popular with young people of today?). LOTSW and other Roy Clarke comedies also have a touch of that and why would anyone expect any different as he is a comedy writer from that era? The way Compo chases after Nora would not be out of place in a Carry on for instance, or for that matter the Howard, Marina relationship. 1960's to 1980's British comedy always had that innuendo element about and was often quite openly sexist and racist, it reflected the times.

What is interesting is that perhaps ones of the kings of 70's innuendo, Benny Hill, was quite popular in the US.

The Telegraph reported in his obituary: "By 1985 not a single day would pass without The Benny Hill Show being screened somewhere in America, and many stations would broadcast the programme twice a night. At San Jose penitentiary the prisoners threatened mayhem unless they were allowed to watch him."

Benny Hill was far more saucy with his characters than the Carry On's ever were. So why did the Americans like Benny Hill and his dirty old men type characters (most of the male actors who appeared in his shows were quite old, while the women were very young glamour girl types)?
 
Love Carry On films. Don't Loose Your Head is a classic. Plenty of double entendre!
 
I seem to recall when Mike Grady returned to the show in 1996 he remarked that with all the new but familiar faces, the show was like a Carry On film.
 
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