Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me

Staying safe and following all the official guidelines makes us hope that it is enough to ensure that we will be able to enjoy freedom once more next year.

We are horrified at the rising death rate and saddened when it is someone in the public eye, like actress Barbara Windsor, although that wasn’t from Covid, but dementia.

Younger people would identify her with ‘EastEnders’, but my generation remembered the saucy star of ‘Carry On’ films.

The ‘Carry On’ films spanned the years between 1958 and 1992. There were four Christmas specials, a television series of 13 episodes and three West End plays.

Many Brits loved the mixture of old-fashioned music hall twinned with bawdy seaside postcards. However, it was not humour that would be acceptable today being recognised as ‘lazy’ comedy, based on sexual stereotypes, offensive, blatantly sexual innuendos, and racial insensitivities. But it was typical of the humour served up in the ‘Carry On’ heyday. There was sending up of British institutions like the NHS, Monarchy, British Empire, Armed Forces, and the Police. And, an underlying dig at class barriers and incompetence of institutions.

The main actors accompanying Barbara were Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtry, Peter Butterworth, Hattie Jacque s, Liz Frazer, Bernard Bresslow, Jack Douglas, Terry Scott, Joan Sims, June Whitfield, all sadly gone to the great theatre in the sky, Leslie Phillips, now in his nineties, and the youngest of the cast, pop singer Jim Dale who is now an unbelievable 82.

The films were quite low budget as far as production went, compared to today’s blockbusters, with the actors receiving around five thousand pounds per film.

‘Carry on up the Khyber’ was filmed on Mount Snowdon in Wales, with Sussex beaches used for the Sahara in ‘Follow that Camel’.

The individual lives of the actors were as entertaining as the films. Charles Hawtry hated everyone and the inhabitants of Deal in Kent, where he lived for the latter part of his life, also hated him after he called the townsfolk ‘peasants’ and would tell children to ‘eff off’. He developed a delusional personality, drank heavily and used men from the local barracks as rent boys. At his funeral in 1988 there were only nine mourners. Sid James was a ladies’ man who was said to have always played himself. He had a well-publicised relationship with Barbara Windsor which lasted for ten years, gambling and alcohol addictions. He died on stage at the age of 62.

John Le Mesurier married fellow Carry On star Hattie Jacques. The marriage broke up after his affair with actress Joan Malin whom he subsequently married, although she left him for Tony Hancock who committed suicide in 1968. However, Joan and John remained married until his death in 1983 at the age of 71. He penned his own death notice which stated that ‘John wishes it to be known that he conked out on November 15th’, Hattie Jacques had died in 1980 at the age of 56.

Kenneth Williams appeared in more ‘Carry On’ films than any other, and although fondly regarded in the entertainment business found it difficult to come to terms with his homosexuality. His series of diaries published posthumously achieved great acclaim and were bought by the British Library for £220,000. He was a lonely man although he did have friends to include Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell, dying aged 62 in 1988 of a drugs and alcohol overdose. His comment of ‘Infamy, infamy, they’ve got it in for me!’ when playing Julius Caesar in ‘Carry on Cleo’ in 1964, was voted the funniest one liner in film history. He was one of the most prolific and best loved contributors to children’s show Jackanory, appearing 69 times. He had a wonderful range of voices and considered his time on the show one of the happiest times of his life.

Possibly the best known of the ‘Carry On’ films was Barbara Windsor.

Her private life was interesting to say the least. She was married three times, the most famous to Ronnie Knight. He was a small-time criminal who was jailed for seven years in 1994 for his part in the £6million Security Express robbery which took place in 1983. Barbara had much publicised affairs with Sid James, Reggie Kray and his brother Charlie, glamorous footballer George Best, and a reported five abortions.

One scene from ‘Carry on Camping’ when Barbara stretches when doing exercises causing her bra to fly off is possibly the one that people remember the most from the Carry-On films. It was a tricky stunt to pull off with an invisible fishhook attached to her bra and yanked off at the appropriate time. At the sight, Dr Soaper played by Kenneth Williams exclaimed ‘Matron, take them away!’

Her attributes were often used in saucy innuendos. In ‘Carry on Doctor’ she is examined by a doctor with a stethoscope who says to her ‘Big breaths’ to which she replies, ‘Yes and I’m only 16!’ In 1992 the very last ‘Carry On’ film hit our cinema screens. ‘Carry on Columbus’ was pretty dire and signified the beginning of the end.

The news that there may be plans afoot to revive the films after 26 years was disturbing. They deserve to stay where they are in film history. Yes, they were often controversial and very sexist, but they were part of British folklore.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.